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PHOTOS: JAMES HARDEN - NICKY WOO; MITCH MCGARY - NIKE BASKETBALL
Mitch McGary. This kid wasn't even a starter on his Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.) team last season, and now has college basketball's elite at his school to watch him work out. Oh yeah, and he's an inch or two away from being a legitimate 7-footer. By the end of his senior year, McGary will become a household name.
3 JAMES HARDEN 7 THOMAS ROBINSON
University of Kansas While potentially a bit under- sized for the power forward position in the NBA, Thomas Robinson makes up for it with length, athleticism and heart. The 6-9 junior scores and re- bounds the ball at a high rate (7.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while only averag- ing 14.6 minutes behind the Morris Twins last season), and is a fierce competitor – two things that translate well to the League. After an early exit from the NCAA Tournament, and a spot on the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50, there is no doubt that Robinson is motivated to push Kansas out of its postseason slump and become the face of the Jayhawks in Lawrence.
6 DEMAR DEROZAN
Toronto Raptors Raptors fans have to be optimistic and excited heading in to this year after the emergence of DeMar DeRozan. With a solid young core now in place, DeRozan is ready to become the face of the franchise in Toronto. On the season, the second-year wing averaged 17.2 points and 3.8 rebounds per game,
bumping up those aver- ages to 23.1 and 4.9 in the month of April. Whether or not he becomes the next Vince Carter is still yet to been seen, but his potential seems to have no limits.
5 SKYLAR DIGGINS
University of Notre Dame While Jay-Z declared jerseys dead a few years back, someone forget to tell Lil Wayne. Because when Weezy performed in Indiana this April, he was wearing Skylar Diggins' Fighting Irish threads on stage. And for good reason. Last season, Diggins led Notre Dame to the NCAA national cham- pionship game and their third Final Four appearance. The crafty southpaw made a nearly-seamless transition to the point guard position, averaging 15.0 points, 4.8 as- sists and 1.9 steals per game. This year, second place isn't an option.
4 MITCH MCGARY
Brewster Academy Every year a kid comes out of nowhere and sets the AAU scene on fire. Last year it was Anthony Davis (currently a freshman at Kentucky); this year it's
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Oklahoma City Thunder After Jeff Green was traded to Boston, James Harden's opportunities and aggres- siveness increased. So did his stats. Averaging 12.2 points and 3.1 rebounds on the season, Harden stepped up big in the playoffs, shooting 47.5 percent from the field and adding a major boost off the bench. He has too much talent to keep him out of the starting lineup for much longer. Although Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are the stars, Harden showed this summer that he has the skills and drive to take his game to the next level.
2 JEREMY LAMB
University of Connecticut After a breakout performance in both the Big East and NCAA Tournaments, Jer- emy Lamb made a name for himself as an emerging star for the Huskies. Lamb was sensational in UConn's run to the NCAA Championship, averaging 16.2 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting an incredible 58.1 percent from the field. Already with cham- pionship experience after just his freshman season at UConn, and as the star dur- ing the FIBA Under-19 World Championships in Latvia this summer, Lamb is ready to take over the spot Kemba Walker left for him and lead the Huskies to back-to-back national championships.
JOHN WALL 1 » Washington Wizards