2012 NBA Draft Could Be Huge For Syracuse Basketball

Certainly, no school wiil be on display tonight at the 2012 NBA Draft quite like the Kentucky Wildcats. As many as six of their players could hear their names called during the draft, not to mention Anthony Davis will go No. 1 overall.

For the Syracuse Orange, however, the possibility that two players could be taken in the first round and three players could be taken in the draft is nothing to sneeze at. Just how special would it be if Dion Waiters, Fab Melo and Kris Joseph all heard their names called?

• This would be the first time Syracuse will ever have two players picked in the first round since 1991.
• This would be the first time Syracuse will ever have three players taken in the first two rounds of the NBA Draft (yes, there used to be more).
• This would be the first time three Syracuse players have been taken in one NBA Draft since 1986.
• This would be the first time multiple Syracuse players have been taken in back-to-back drafts since 1980-1981.
• This would be the first time Syracuse would have three-consecutive years with a lottery pick since 1989-1991.
• Depending on when Dion and Fab are drafted, they could be the highest duo of first-round picks in Syracuse history (currently 1991 - #3 Billy Owens and #22 LeRon Ellis)

So even if KrisJo doesn't hear his name, it's still a big night for the basketball program. It's rock-solid proof that Syracuse produces NBA draft picks and is producing more of them, more often, than any other point in school history. And with Boeheim's career possibly ending soon (who knows), that's a great progression to be on.

H/T: StatSheet