Wow! What a week for the Charlotte Bobcats.

Those of you that have read my rambling in the past know that I prefer not to go off on tirades on the current and very dire straits of the franchise. With that in mind, the above words are about the only thing I can really say. However, if I stop there this will not be much of a post.

So what in the world am I going to talk about if I’m not going to go off on these guys?

The future.

It’s kind of a bummer to have to go through a season of sucking (I’m still holding out a little hope that the guys will turn it around), but the benefit to that is a good shot at getting one of the top draft picks in next year’s lottery. With the number of talented players that are in the college ranks it is not hard to imagine which ones would be great fits in Charlotte.

So let’s do that. Let’s imagine who the Bobcats might get in the draft next year. Now of course it would depend on who comes out and who doesn’t, so for the sake of argument anyone the team could want will come out.

Also, I think we can look away from the guards. The team needs a big man more than it needs someone to spell Kemba Walker and D.J. Augustin. With that in mind, here are some of the big men that I wouldn’t mind seeing wearing the blue and orange in 2012:

  1. Jared Sullinger, Ohio State: The man would have easily been a top pick in last year’s draft had he entered it. If you believe the press clippings, he returned to help the Buckeyes win a national title. In all likelihood he went back because as messed up as the NBA labor situation appeared he wanted to make sure he was going to be playing basketball for someone, and one more year of college will not hurt him (as long as he doesn’t get hurt).
  2. Andre Drummond, UConn: At right around 7-foot and 275 I think it is safe to say that Drummond has the ‘big guy’ part covered. The man has the tools to be a beast; it’s just a matter of whether he puts them together. So far he’s averaging right under a double-double his first year of college. I will not be surprised if it is his last year of college.
  3. Perry Jones, Baylor: I hesitate to call him a big man because at 6’11’’ and 235 pounds he looks more like a stringbean in sneakers. You can put meat on a person’s bones, but you can’t give them talent like he has. The good thing is the man can play some serious ball! When the tournament starts come March don’t be surprised if you hear his name called a lot.
  4. John Henson, North Carolina: He averaged a double—double last season to go with 118 blocks—118 blocks!!! The only thing that kept this man from going pro last year was the lockout or a promise to his momma. Expect him to break that promise this season (and then buy momma a house to make up for it). The best part about him going back to play his junior year is he gets to prove last year was not a fluke; 20 games in he’s averaging a double-double again and has 65 blocks.
  5. Jeremy Lamb, UConn: Yes, I know I said this was going to be about big men, but there is something appealing to me about pairing Kemba Walker back up with Jeremy Lamb. As impressive as Kemba was last year in the tournament, I thought Lamb looked just as good (and in fact helped Kemba look as good as he did). I hope the Bobcats go big, but if they don’t this guy would be alright.