Former Ohio State star and two-time all-American Jared Sullinger will watch the NBA draft inside a Columbus restaurant, not in the green room in Newark's Prudential Center, after the NBA declined to invite him to Thursday's draft. NBA executive vice president Stu Jackson told ESPN.com that Sullinger would not be invited based on the reports the league had received that Sullinger wouldn't be selected in the top 15. "He's more likely to go in the teens or in the 20s," Jackson said. "We continue to have contact with teams, but at this late date we don't anticipate inviting him." ESPN.com's Chad Ford reported last week that Sullinger's medical reports were flagged by a number of teams after the Chicago predraft camp because of a back issue. But Satch Sullinger, Jared's father and high school coach in Columbus, refuted it, saying that his son had muscle issues and not a disk problem. Sullinger dealt with back spasms last December, forcing him to miss a road game at Kansas, but he was well enough to lead the Buckeyes to the Final Four. Read more: http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2012/st...ckeyes-star-jared-sullinger-not-invited-draft
I thought that people were a little too down on Sullinger even before the back issues. I know that a lot of analysts are admitting that he'll be a "steal" if he slips to the late teens or early twenties, but I think they are underestimating the caliber of steal he'll be. His back is the wild card, but from what I understand, he's been cleared by several teams' doctors, and the NBA doctors' evidence simply suggests that he might have issues that could shorten his career, not impact his play during his rookie contract. As far as his game goes, it's funny seeing the same types of players rise and fall every year around draft time. Sullinger isn't 7'0", he doesn't have sub-10% body fat, and he doesn't have incredible lateral quickness. What he does have is a really high basketball IQ, a great feel for the game. He get it, like the opposite of an Andre Drummond. Does anyone else see the similarities between Sullinger and guys like Kevin Love, Al Jefferson, and Zach Randolph, when they were entering the draft? Just look at the scouting reports (via NBADraft.Net) on those guys - Kevin Love Al Jefferson Zach Randolph
