We can finally leave all that NFL Draft nonsense behind us and move on to the nonsense that is the 2011 NBA Draft. Syracuse only has one player with a shot of getting drafted this year, senior Rick Jackson.
If they handed out draft spots based on the number of double-doubles you had during the season, Rick would be a lottery pick. For some weird reason, they do not. So Rick's going to have to prove why he's worth picking on June 23rd.
Rick will get a great chance to showcase his talents when he attends the NBA Draft Combine this weekend in East Rutherford. He's among 44 draft-eligible players who will showcase their skills in front of coaches and personnel executives from 26 NBA teams. The players will be poked, prodded, show off their skills and compete in 5-on-5 games.
Rick will be there on Sunday, as they split the sessions up for 22 players each day. Workouts take place in the PNY Center in East Rutherford, NJ (take a tour of the facility here).
Jackson will be joined by fellow Big East players, such as Georgetown's Austin Freeman, Chris Wright and Hollis Thompson; Pittsburgh's Ashton Gibbs, Notre Dame's Carleton Scott and former Providence player Jamine Peterson.
In the Mock Draft world, this one has Rick going to the Celtics in the 2nd round and this one has Rick going to the Grizz in the 2nd round, but most don't have him getting picked at all. Hence, the importance of this weekend and the future team workouts he'll be doing.
SB Nation's Tom Ziller also has his mock lottery picks up over at the Mothership, if you are so inclined...