NBA Draft Results Favor Foreigners More Than College Stars

The 2011 NBA draft results were not expected to set the league on fire. That may be because the draft class is regarded as one of the worst in recent NBA history. But these results didn't leave the teams with much choice in their picks, so the likes of the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Jazz and Kings took what they could get. And after Kyrie Irvin and Derrick Williams went 1-2, as expected, foreign players turned out to be picked as much as college stars.

It has been a referendum on this class that several of the hottest prospects didn't play college basketball. In fact, No. 1 pick Irving only played 11 games in his Duke career due to injuries. But he was still the best collegiate prospect, although the likes of Jonas Valanciunas, Jan Veesely, Bismack Biyombo and Enes Kanter didn't need to play in college to get taken high.

Kanter was ruled ineligible by the NCAA, otherwise he would have gone to Kentucky for a year. But in spite of all that, he was still taken third by the Jazz. In addition, Valanciunas was picked No. 5 by the Raptors, although the Lithuanian is unlikely to start his career until 2012. But due to the upcoming lockout, no one else may be ready to play until 2012 either, so that would put Valanciunas on equal footing with everyone else.

Valanciunas and Donatas Motiejunas were hyped up as two major talents from Lithuania, yet Montiejunas fell all the way to No. 20 for the Rockets. Beforehand, the Czech Republic's Jan Vesely went to the Wizards at No. 6, while the Congo's Bismack Biyombo was a surprise pick at No. 7 for the Bobcats.

As Yahoo! Sports' Jeff Eisenberg pointed out, it wasn't a good year for college players if four of the top seven draft selections never played in the NCAA. However, the hope is that this is just a one-year anomaly, and the collegiate game will have better potential stars for the NBA to choose from next season. Of course, if the lockout cancels next season, then this will be the least of the league's problems.

Thursday's results offered a lot of risk, since this draft had no sure things and many teams have no idea what they are in for. That is the case with most drafts, but it especially applies to this one, with so many foreign stars and a No. 1 pick who played less than half of a year at Duke. And if these rookies miss their entire first season because of the lockout, then it will throw another wrench into things.

But the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Jazz, Wizards, Raptors and more will have to live with these results, whether they help rebuild their franchises or not. Yet now that the draft is over and the 2011-12 season is still on the brink, the NBA has more pressing matters to worry about right now.

Sources

Yahoo! Sports- "2011 NBA Draft"