With the 12th pick, the Sixers selected Thaddeus Young from Georgia Tech. I don't really know much about him, but apparently the Sixers' brass thought he was the 10th best player in the draft so they're very happy. Based on the pre-draft coverage, his selection was definitely a bit of a surprise--so I guess Billy King should be congratulated for not tipping his hand. I'll be curious to watch Young play this year and see how he develops--he's only 19, having only played one year of college ball, so clearly the Sixers are expecting him to show dramatic improvement over the next couple of years. I'm also curious to see how playing time gets split among him, Rodney Carney, and Kyle Korver--three different types of players, but they all share the same position and are all (at least in theory) considered a part of the Sixers long-term plans.
With the 21st pick, the Sixers selected shooting guard Daequan Cook (Ohio State) before trading him (along with cash and a 2009 second round pick) to Miami for seven-footer Jason Smith (Colorado State), who Miami had selected with the 20th pick. I've heard mixed things about Smith, but he's another player the Sixers had ranked high on their board (apparently ranked as the 13th best prospect), so we'll see what happens. I guess the Sixers were destined to select a big man with this pick since they ended up breaking with ten years worth of tradition and not selecting one with the 12th pick in the draft. History tells us not to get too excited about players selected this late in the first round, but the Sixers definitely need to improve their frontcourt so I can't really argue with the Sixers attempting to do so with this selection.
If I was a bigger college basketball fan, then maybe I'd have something insightful to say about these selections. Unfortunately, I'm really just an NBA fan so I'll hold my judgment until I actually see all the draftees play during the upcoming regular season.
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