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Many people remember the 2003 NBA Draft because of the future hall-of-famers that came out of it: LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Darko Milicic. What makes that draft memorable for MAC fans is that was the last time a player from the MAC was drafted.
The Los Angeles Clippers took Chris Kaman out of Central Michigan with the sixth overall pick. Kaman has scratched out a nice NBA career, averaging eleven points and eight rebounds over his twelve-year career and has an All-Star Game appearance to his name. Ohio alum Brandon Hunter was also drafted that year with the 56th pick by the Boston Celtics. His NBA career spanned two seasons.
It's been a long twelve years since Kaman and Hunter were drafted, and this year just might be the year where a MAC player hears his name called on NBA Draft night. Bowling Green's Richaun Holmes has been popping up in numerous mock drafts as a second round selection, and his fantastic showings at pre-draft workouts have only increased his stock.
Western Michigan's Shayne Whittington was the only former player from the MAC to get any NBA floor time during last season (other than Kaman) and has shown to be one of the MAC alums that will consistently be within striking distance of an NBA roster spot. Many are having nice careers overseas like Javon McCrea and D.J. Cooper, and they may look to hop on an NBA Summer League team.
Let's get back to Holmes. We'll have a full draft profile on him later, but here are where the mock drafts around the interwebs see as a potential landing spot for the talented power forward:
| Writer | Outlet | Pick |
|---|---|---|
| Sam Vecenie | CBS Sports | 56. New Orleans Pelicans |
| Gary Parrish | CBS Sports | 49. Washington Wizards |
| Jonathan Givony | Draft Express | 45. Boston Celtics |
| Chad Ford | ESPN | 49. Washington Wizards |
| Aran Smith | NBADraft.Net | 36. Minnesota Timberwolves |
| Jonathan Wasserman | Bleacher Report | 38. Detroit Pistons |
| Derek Bodner | USA Today | 49. Oklahoma City Thunder |
It's certainly a good sign to see him on so many lists, even if it's the second round. A lot of these writers know people in the league and base their mocks off of what they hear. Here's to hoping that Holmes is finally the one to break the drought of MAC players in the NBA.