For the past few months we've been chronicling the rise and fall of many of the top prospects for the 2012 NBA draft -- including a host of freshmen sensations like Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
But not every talented freshman is having the season Davis or Kidd-Gilchrist are having, and a few look like they'd be much better off doing what Harrison Barnes and Jared Sullinger did last year -- returning for their sophomore seasons.
I asked a number of NBA scouts which freshmen should stay in school. Here's a look at five freshmen who scouts thought would be wise to pass on this year's draft:
Andre Drummond, C, UConn
Drummond will be the most controversial guy on the list because scouts widely acknowledge he'll be a top-5 pick if he declares based on upside alone. Drummond has NBA size and athleticism. But as a basketball player, he's very much a work in progress.
To see which five freshmen NBA scouts believe need a second season in college and get Chad Ford's latest stock watch update, sign up today.
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Chad Ford
Chad Ford covers the NBA and NBA draft for ESPN Insider. He also is a frequent contributor to ESPN The Magazine and makes weekly appearances on ESPN Radio and ESPNEWS.
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Fran Fraschilla
Fran Fraschilla is a college basketball analyst for ESPN and ESPN Insider. He formerly was the head coach at Manhattan, St. John's and New Mexico. He has been part of ESPN's NBA draft broadcast coverage each of the past five seasons.
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David Thorpe
David Thorpe is an NBA analyst for ESPN.com's Scouts Inc. and the executive director of the Pro Training Center in Clearwater, Fla., where he oversees the player development program for NBA and college players. David has trained Kevin Martin, Corey Brewer, Omri Casspi, Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Yi Jianlian, Courtney Lee, Kyrylo Fesenko, Earl Clark, Jrue Holiday, DeJuan Blair and others.
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