Keeping in line with the draft trends that have developed over the past 15 years, the ACC and Pac-12 led the way in draft picks Thursday night.
The two leagues, which have combined for 204 selections since 1998, had seven apiece at the 2013 NBA Draft. The highest from the ACC: Alex Len at No. 5 to Phoenix; the Pac-12 saw Shabazz Muhammad scooped up at No. 14.
The list of every major conference's draft picks are listed below, including the four selections from the Mountain West. Of note, an unmentioned dirty secret of sorts from last year: The Atlantic 10 was a fun, good league -- but absolutely bereft of NBA talent. Not one A-10 player was selected this year.
The Big East had six (five if you remove Ricky Ledo, who never played a minute at Providence). The Big Ten and SEC had five selections, while the Big 12 -- in its revamped 10-team format -- earned four picks, three of them coming in the second round. And props to the Patriot League for getting two selections this year -- double what the league had in the past 20 years.
The roster of players, respective to their conferences, in order of when they were chosen.
ACC
- Alex Len, Maryland (fifth, to Phoenix)
- Shane Larkin, Miami (18th, to Dallas)
- Mason Plumlee, Duke (22nd, to Brooklyn)
- Reggie Bullock, North Carolina (25th, to Clippers)
- Erick Green, Virginia Tech (46th, to Denver)
- Ryan Kelly, Duke (48th, to Lakers)
- Lorenzo Brown, NC State (52nd, to Minnesota)
PAC-12
- Shabazz Muhammad, UCLA (14th, to Minnesota)
- Solomon Hill, Arizona (23rd, to Indiana)
- Andre Roberson, Colorado (26th, to Oklahoma City)
- Allen Crabbe, California (31st, to Portland)
- Carrick Felix, Arizona State (33rd, to Cleveland)
- Grant Jerrett, Arizona (40th, to Portland)
- Arsalan Kazemi, Oregon (54th, to Philadelphia)
BIG EAST
- Otto Porter Jr., Georgetown (third, to Washington)
- Michael Carter-Williams, Syracuse (11th, to Philadelphia)
- Steven Adams, Pittsburgh (12th, to Oklahoma City)
- Gorgui Dieng, Louisville (21st, to Minnesota)
- Ricky Ledo, Providence (43rd, to Dallas)
- Peyton Siva, Louisville (56th, to Detroit)
BIG TEN
- Victor Oladipo, Indiana (second, to Orlando)
- Cody Zeller, Indiana (fourth, to Charlotte)
- Trey Burke, Michigan (ninth, to Utah)
- Tim Hardaway, Jr., Michigan (24th, to New York)
- Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State (58th, to San Antonio)
SEC
- Nerlens Noel, Kentucky (sixth, to Philadelphia)
- Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia (eighth, to Detroit)
- Archie Goodwin, Kentucky (29th, to Phoenix)
- Erik Murphy, Florida (49th, to Chicago)
- Alex Oriakhi, Missouri (57th, to Phoenix)
BIG 12
- Ben McLemore, Kansas (seventh, to Sacramento)
- Jeff Withey, Kansas (39th, to Portland)
- Pierre Jackson, Baylor (42nd, to New Orleans)
- Romero Osby, Oklahoma (51st, to Orlando)
MWC
- Anthony Bennett, UNLV (first, to Cleveland)
- Tony Snell, New Mexico (20th, to Chicago)
- Jamaal Franklin, San Diego State (41st, to Memphis)
- Colton Iverson, Colorado State (53rd, to Boston)
Patriot League: C.J. McCollum, Lehigh (10th, to Portland) and Mike Muscala, Bucknell (44th, to Atlanta)
Big West: James Ennis, Long Beach State (50th, to Miami)
Horizon League: Ray McCallum, Detroit (36th, to Sacramento)
Ohio Valley: Isaiah Canaan, Murray State (34th, to Houston)
Summit League: Nate Wolters, South Dakota State (38th, to Milwaukee)
Sun Belt: Tony Mitchell, North Texas (37th, to Detroit)
WCC: Kelly Olynyk, Gonzaga (13th, to Boston)
Highest-rated KenPom.com conferences without draft picks: Atlantic 10 (No. 8); Missouri Valley (No. 9); Conference USA (No. 11); Western Athletic Conference (No. 13).
Notable undrafted college players from those conferences:
- D.J. Stephens (Memphis)
- Adonis Thomas (Memphis)
- Khalif Wyatt (Temple)
- C.J. Aiken (Saint Joseph's)
- Jackie Carmichael (Illinois State)
Another interesting note: There were 13 foreign players picked Thursday night. This is something of a buck to the downward trend of international selections in recent years. The reason? I can't help but believe this year's crop of college players' perceived inferiority to other classes in the past decade led NBA general managers to take fliers on foreign products -- because why not?
Expect a reverse of that trend next year, especially in the first round, when 2014 picks will be coveted unlike anything we've seen in recent years. And with the ACC getting Pittsburgh and Syracuse and Notre Dame into the fold, it's unlikely that league will give up its claim to dishing out the most talent on draft night.
