.... of joy from one NBA franchise.

The NBA draft is on Thursday, and the only player of interest to Ohio State partisans will be the aforementioned "Sloppy" BJ Mullens, the former number one overall prospect according to Rivals, who had this to say about BJ's game:

Size, athleticism and skill are the big three that separate Mullens from the rest of this class. It just isn't very often that you find a 7-foot plus center who can run, jump and shoot like Mullens. He has the type of athleticism that makes you think of Bill Walton and then he has the shooting touch that makes you wonder if he could develop into a Dirk Nowitzki type player. Mullens does need to become a tougher defender and rebounder, but the pieces are there for him to be a number one pick in the draft and premiere big man in the League.

 

and the humble Mullens infamously had this to say about his own game:

"I can get compared to Kevin Garnett, his inside game. Outside game, Dirk Nowitzki, explosive like Amar’e (Stoudemire). Those three guys I like to compare myself and mix them all together and do a little bit of triple threat."

Ahem. Right. If anyone's curious, here's BJ's stat line from his lone season in Columbus:

Keep in mind that this was on a team that suffered from an utter lack of a competent big man, where BJ probably should have stepped in immediately and been that guy. Unfortunately, he was That Guy. Nevertheless, pro franchises are still going apeshit over his potential. If you're not basketball-savvy and need a football comparison, Mullens is this draft's Josh Freeman. Remember him? The guy who sucked for a few years at Kansas State, declared early, and got picked by the hapless Tampa Bay Buccanneers to be the franchise quarterback? Yeah, him. Mullens did not openly suck, as Freeman often did, but he did not dominate in anything reasonably approximating the manner in which he was expected to do so. Instead, Mullens endured a sub-par year in Columbus, and, like Kosta Koufos before him, took his ball and went pro. Mullens, however, may end up getting a better deal out of it: MyNBADraft has him going 16th to the Bulls, as promised, while NBAdraft.net sees him as a future Detroit Piston (please God don't let this happen - not because I think he'll become a star, but because this guy is already disliked enough by Buckeye fans). HoopsHype has this to say:

Highly intriguing big man with outstanding natural tools—size, strength, athleticism, great hands, and the ability to play inside. Can finish with either hand around the basket. Pretty instinctive as a scorer. Doesn’t always play hard, fails to box out or compete defensively, seems to go through long stretches of unproductiveness. Superbly gifted and appears to have huge potential, but still has a lot to prove as well. Basketball IQ is average. Could be a big steal or a huge bust—all depends on his work ethic and drive.

That.... well, that sounds about right, actually. Personally, I watched Mullens struggle against anyone and everyone who challenged him physically at the college level. At the pro, Dwight Howard and essentially any competent big man (including the ones he compared himself to) should eat him alive. It's pretty clear that Mullens isn't quite levelheaded; he's a little arrogant, and I'm not sure how well he responds to "getting coached up", as it were. In the end, he has the talent, and I simply will never put it past an NBA franchise to take a flier on someone with massive talent and sizable maturity issues.