The Big Six college conferences -- the ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC -- obviously get plenty of attention when it comes to the NBA draft.
But in the last several years, the other group -- the "mid-majors" -- have been more than holding its own. In 2011, four players from mid-major teams went in the first round -- Jimmer Fredette, Kawhi Leonard, Kenneth Faried and Norris Cole. In the 2010 draft, six players from mid-major teams went in the first round. Two of them -- Gordon Hayward from Butler and Paul George from Fresno State -- went in the top 10.
This year, we have just two mid-major players projected as first-round picks. Still, there's plenty of talent to keep an eye on.
I spoke with a number of NBA scouts to get a take on five players they'll be scouting closely in the mid-major conferences this season. Here's the breakdown:
To see the rest of Chad Ford's top mid-major draft prospects, as well as Insider's full draft and college hoops coverage, 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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