Undrafted players who could make NBA 

June, 29, 2012
06/29/12
11:53
AM ET

It won't surprise anyone if several of the lottery picks in Thursday's NBA draft go on to have very successful pro careers, and there will likely be some late-first-round and second-round sleepers who go on to make their marks on the league, as well.

But there are also plenty of examples around the NBA of players -- Udonis Haslem, Chuck Hayes and Wesley Matthews, to name just three -- who carved out successful careers after going undrafted. For this reason, it is worthwhile to examine from this year's class some of the prospects who didn't hear their names called Thursday night but still have NBA potential.

These seven players all have a shot to make an NBA roster this season and go on to become rotation players in the league in seasons to come.

1. Drew Gordon, New Mexico Lobos -- Gordon fits the mold of a common NBA stereotype right now -- the undersized power forward. Comparable players like Paul Millsap, Carl Landry and Kenneth Faried should give him hope that there's still room on a roster for a guy who loves to rebound. Though just 6-foot-8, Gordon averaged 11 rebounds per game for the Lobos, and his 29 percent defensive rebounding rate was sixth-best in college basketball.


To read more from Fran Fraschilla on undrafted players with the potential to make NBA teams, become an ESPN Insider today.

Fran Fraschilla is a college basketball analyst for ESPN. He formerly was the head coach at Manhattan, St. John's and New Mexico.

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