With the NBA Finals now over, attention now turns to the upcoming NBA draft this Thursday.  This is always an exciting event to track your favorite players and see which NBA team will end up taking the college players we have watched for years (or in some cases only one year).  Will they be drafted and immediately traded?  It’s anyone’s guess, and I can’t wait until Thursday to find out how my favorite players will fare.

As a Kansas Jayhawks fan, I am definitely excited to see if Cole Aldrich will be a lottery pick this year.  With his strong post play and shot blocking, he will be an asset to any team.  Also, it never hurts to have a 6 foot 11 inch guy on your team.  However, Cole is not a flashy player and is limited offensively.  It looks like he will be aiming to be a solid role player in the NBA.  Most NBA draft sites have Cole right on the bubble of lottery picks and non-lottery picks.  I’ve got my fingers crossed that he will be taken in the first 14 picks.  My guess is that Cole will go to the Memphis Grizzlies with the 12^th overall pick.

Kansas Guard Xavier Henry is also projected to be taken in the first round of the 2010 NBA Draft.  Xavier is the Jayhawks first one and done player in Kansas Basketball history.  Xavier is a skilled shooter, but has been considered “soft” by ESPN’s Doug Gottlieb.    I don’t think Xavier will be a lottery pick, but should still go somewhere in the middle of the first round.  My prediction for Xavier is that he will be taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the 16^th overall pick.

Sherron Collins is the last of the Kansas Jayhawks players expected to be taken in the 2010 NBA draft.  Collins, the four-year standout point-guard, is expected to go somewhere in the 2^nd round of the draft.  Despite being an effective point-guard in college, Collins doesn’t have the potential of others in the draft.  And we all know how the NBA loves to draft players on potential.  Also, it doesn’t help that Collins showed up to the NBA draft camps overweight.  Collins was able to waddle into KU each fall, but at the professional level they expect players to be in top shape all year long.  Most NBA teams aren’t looking for a short, stocky player.  At 5 foot 11 inches, Collins will definitely be one of the shorter players in the league.     My prediction for Sherron is that he will be taken with the 51^st pick to the Oklahoma Thunder.

Every fan hopes their players are taken early in the 2010 draft.  I know that Bill Self will have a much easier time selling the Kansas Jayhawks program to high school standouts if he has a long history of having players drafted in the first round.  It would be great if Bill Self had three Kansas players taken in the first round, although I am only predicting Aldrich and Henry to go in the first round.  It is nerve racking to see your best players move on to the NBA, but I’m excited to see how the Kansas Jayhawks will look next year.  Freshman point guard, Josh Selby, should make an immediate impact to the offense where Sherron Collins left off.  It’s early to already be thinking about KU basketball tickets, but www.ticketsforless.com will be the best place to buy all of your Kansas Jayhawks tickets.   Contact the friendly staff now for Kansas Jayhawks football tickets, and make sure you get the best view at Memorial Stadium.  Or get on the waiting list for Allen Fieldhouse tickets now by calling 913-685-3322.