Regression and Progression of Future Stars

Who's Down?
John Wall - It's hard to really voice a complaint about the future No. 1 pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, but his play has been particularly un-stunning over the course of conference play. His assists and scoring are down, and in particular he has been unable to be effective in transition. Wall is still the best player on one of the best teams in the country, but he has to find a impose his will on a game even when the other team is playing a zone.

Xavier Henry - Henry's play has been pretty average over the course of conference play. His scoring and rebounding are down, and he is in a dismal shooting slump. His play forced coach Bill Self to keep him on the bench for an extended period in the second half of the Kansas-Kansas St. game Saturday. It will be interesting to see how Henry is used over the remaining conference games, because Kansas certainly has the talent and depth to relegate Henry to the bench during stretches of certain games.

Who's Up?
Demarcus Cousins - Cousins has been an absolute monster for Kentucky over the past few weeks, and is likely going to lock up his third straight SEC Freshman of the Week. Cousins has still been rebounding the ball with great tenacity, but has become the Wildcat's go to scorer. His agility is unparalleled at his body size, and he has the foot speed and touch around the rim to be a prolific scorer for some time. He seems to be much more comfortable receiving the ball in the post, displaying a unique skill set of patience, vision, head fakes, and spin moves that make him unguardable at the collegiate level.

Avery Bradley - Although Texas has been slumping over the course of the past few weeks, Bradley has displayed a very unique all around game for a freshman. In a win over Colorado, Bradley scored 29, grabbed 9 boards, and handed out 3 assists with only one turnover. Four days later, against Iowa St., Bradley scored 24, grabbed 6 boards, had 6 assists with no turnovers, and had three steals. In those games, he went 22 for 28, and 7 for 8 from behind the arc. Bradley has been showcasing a great feel for the game at the college level. While I don't believe he possesses the NBA star type talent of Wall or Cousins, Bradley is just as ready to contribute to an NBA team, and could become a lock down defender who fills up the stat sheet night in and night out. I think any NBA team that picks up Bradley in next year's draft (if he comes out), is immediately a much better team. Personally, I'd love to see him land with OK City and start right away with Westbrook and Durant. He and Westbrook would both be capable of playing off the ball and running the point, which would give them great versatility in the backcourt with bringing in Harden and Sefolosha off the bench. Tasty.