Now I was thinking about making this post before last nights UConn/Notre Dame game where Jeff Adrien had 19 rebounds against a top 20 team with a 45 game home winning streak and an All American low post player, but I think Jeff Adrien is going to be a second round or undrafted steal.
NBADraft.net has him going #46 and compares him to Jason Maxiell (another solid pro and draft steal IMO)
DraftExpress (along with Redz' Dad's Mock Draft
http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=23360.0) doesn't even have him getting drafted.
He's a 6'7" 245lb work horse, the type of players who continually get slept on but always seems to make good pros - Udonis Haslem, Don Reid, Jason Maxiell, Clarence Weatherspoon, Leon Powe, Malik Rose, etc.
He was All Big East First team last year (and likely again this year) and it's not like the Big East is some joke conference. If anything the Big East style as a whole is probably the closest thing to the NBA style.
In his last 5 games he's had 19, 14, 12, 11, and 12 rebounds, all against Big East teams.
He's a 4 year player in an NBA factory program, and knows his role. He's developed a decent 15 foot jump shot too.
I think he's going to get slept on, but whoever picks him up will be getting a steal and a fan favorite for his hard work style.
At the worst I think he'll be the kind of role player every team needs at the 9-12 roster spots. As of now the C's have no need for him with Baby and Powe, but if one of them got traded away, we could pick up Adrien over the summer and not miss a beat.
Not talking about Adrien on the C's, but do you guys think he would make a good NBA pro?