The NBA Rookie Report: The Unheralded Rookies

By Sam Littman

If you sift through each week’s rookie rankings, you won’t find many drastic changes. Griffin and Wall have sat at the top spot all year, with Fields, Neal, Cousins and Monroe rounding out the second tier. Ed Davis has been a fixture the past few weeks, while Bledsoe, George, Sanders and Johnson have been hanging around for what seems like years.

So what about the rest of this year’s draft class, you wonder?

It’s a very valid question. Lost due to the hype given to a dozen or so very impressive rooks, a number of very talented young ballers with great upside have quietly been making an impact, and could easily displace half of this week’s top ten list in a year’s time.

Chief among these underappreciated talents is Cavaliers power forward Samardo Samuels. He was a unanimous top ten recruit in the 2009 class, ranked as high as #2 by Scout.com. He was very productive in his sophomore season at Lousiville, averaging 15.3 points on 52.4% shooting while grabbing 7 rebounds in the very physical Big East. At 6-9/260, He boasts terrific size for the power forward position. And yet, not a single team thought him worthy of a draft pick.

Considering his resume and skill set, should any of us really be surprised to see that in five games as a starter in the league, he’s averaging 15 points and 7.6 rebounds? Of course not, and there is no reason to believe he can’t still improve and fulfill the potential that scouts saw in him in high school.

Samuels is certainly lucky to have landed on a team with so much playing time up for the taking, and his two fellow rookie teammates have benefitted from the increased exposure as well. Thought to be perhaps the least NBA-ready rookie, Congoglese swingman Christian Eyenga has turned out to be great for the Cavs, averaging 8.1 points and 3.3 boards while proving to be perhaps the best defensive rookie wing. His elite athleticism suggests that he has a huge ceiling, and as his jumper improves he could be a starter on any team in this league. Meanwhile, backcourt mate Manny Harris has thoroughly proven that his scoring ability will translate fine to this level, averaging about 7 points in 18 minutes a night.

Warriors rookie big man Ekpe Udoh has missed much of the season due to injury, but to give up on him now would be completely foolish. Udoh is averaging 1.6 blocks in his last 10 games (in just 17.6 minutes a night), and is growing increasingly comfortable. In a year or two he should certainly be good for 2 blocks and 7-10 boards, depending on whether or not they keep Andris Biedrins. Seated next to Udoh in the undervalued big man department is Timberwolves center Nikola Pekovic, who has quietly put up numbers equal to that of, or superior to, a dozen more highly regarded big men from this year’s draft. Trevor Booker

In discussing underrated rookies, it would be a crime to leave the Wizards out of the conversation. Undersized power forward/center Trevor Booker has been terrific recently, averaging 8.5 points, 5.7 boards and a block while shooting 62% from the floor in his last 10 games. He is still adjusting to playing against bigger competition, so just wait until he becomes more comfortable. Everyone knows that Xavier product Jordan Crawford can score (and dunk – on LeBron James), and he certainly isn’t disappointing, averaging 11.4 points to go along with 1.6 steals over his last five games. His percentages are rather low but he’s still getting his feet wet, but the first-round pick could make a great foil to Wall off the bench in the years to come.

Last but not least, there is the greatest mystery of the 2010 draft. Plenty of analysts derided the Jazz for using a draft pick on Jeremy Evans, and from simply looking at his resume, it’s hard to criticize them; Evans entered the league as a 196-pounds power forward who averaged just 10 points and 6.9 rebounds for a Western Kentucky team that didn’t make the NCAA tournament. But you know what? No rookie has busted his ass harder than Evans, who not only made the team after being the 56th overall pick, but boasts the highest PER (21.96) of any rookie. Yes, he’s only playing 7 minutes a night, but he’s made 70% of his shots, and is averaging 16.7 points, 8.5 boards, 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per 36 minutes while providing a highlight reel dunk every other night. He won’t be a star, but like the rest of these guys, he won’t be left behind.

Rookie Rankings 3/14:

1. Blake Griffin
His March numbers are down…to 19 and 10.

2. John Wall
The Wizards’ standout is finally becoming more aggressive, with his shot attempts seemingly rising by the game. We haven’t seen much of a difference in his percentages, but with increased looks should come a higher output of makes.

3. DeMarcus Cousins
The constant bickering and misbehaving is all the more disappointing considering he’s averaging 20.7 points and 11.5 rebounds this month.

4. Greg Monroe
Starting to really make his mark, Monroe has seven double-doubles in his last ten games after not recording a single double-double in all of 2010.

5. Gary Neal
The Spurs top three-point marksman has finally fully rebounded from an awful January, averging 12.9 points on 51.5% shooting this month for the league’s best team.

6. Landry Fields
The best story of the class has been stellar of late, though he’ll have to sustain his outside shooting proficiency if he wants to crack the top five again.

7. Ed Davis
Coming oh-so close to averaging a double-double (10.8 and 9.4) in March, Davis continues to post some ridiculous numbers, such as a 65.7% FG this month while recording at least 2 steals in four of his last five games.

8. Paul GeorgeRookies Hayward & George
It’s hard not to compare him to Wesley Johnson, another lanky wing taken in the top 10. George is averaging 1 less point, but more rebounds and steals, while shooting a higher percentage from the field, in considerably less minutes for a much, much better team.

9. Christian Eyenga
You just have to give it up to the raw 21-year old wing that has proven to be a very serviceable scorer and one of the very best defenders in his class.

10. Eric Bledsoe
Another rookie who was supposed to be too young and inexperienced to contribute, Bledsoe continues to show flashes of his enormous potential when awarded minutes. In 22 minutes against the Wizards and college teammate John Wall, Bledose put up 23 points to go along with 8 rebounds and 6 assists.

Honorable Mentions:

- Samardo Samuels
Based on any given game’s footage, you wouldn’t know that he wasn’t a top 10 pick.
- Derrick Favors
His numbers since arriving in Utah are no different, but that’s a good sign; if he could adapt to that very new system without struggling, he should be posting much better numbers by the end of the year as he continues to grow in it.
- Patrick Patterson
Give him minutes and he will give you points. Since the All-Star break he’s averaging 7.5 points, 3.3 boards and a block in just 17 minutes.
- Larry Sanders
Averaging 1.3 blocks in just 15.3 minutes as a rookie. So what happens after an off-season of improvement and then eight more minutes per game?
- Wesley Johnson
9 points and 3 rebounds is impressive for a rookie in this climate, but not when you’re playing 26 minutes a night, shooting 41% from the field, and playing underwhelming defense.