It's February, which means the 2012 NBA Draft is only ... wow, it's still five months away. That's a lot of time. Oh well! ESPN's Chad Ford has his first mock out anyway. The Sacramento Kings are in position for the No. 5 pick right now, and Ford has the team landing a player at the biggest need spot: small forward. The pick is Kentucky freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. A snip of Ford's blurb on the kid:
Few players work as hard as he does, and he also has athleticism, toughness and the ability to defend multiple positions.
A third John Calipari one-and-done in four years? Why not?
DraftExpress' mock was last updated a week ago, and doesn't take team needs into account. Jared Sullinger landed at No. 5 in that version, with Kidd-Gilchrist going No. 3.