Many members of last year's draft class received recognition for their first NBA seasons today, when the league announced its All-Rookie squads. Kyrie Irving, Ricky Rubio, Kenneth Faried, Klay Thompson, Brandon Knight, Iman Shumpert, and Kawhi Leonard all earned first-team honors due to a three-way tie for the fifth spot. The second team consisted of Chandler Parsons, MarShon Brooks, Derrick Williams, Tristan Thompson, and Isaiah Thomas. Here's the latest on the 2012 draft class that will be eligible for All-Rookie accolades a year from now:
- HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy interviews Kansas forward Thomas Robinson, who says he believes himself worthy of the top overall pick.
- Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio examines Jared Sullinger's potential to succeed at the NBA level.
- The NBA announced all the players who will participate in the Chicago draft combine on June 7th and 8th, and Jeff Goodman of CBSSports.com passes along the list. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com points out (via Twitter) that, besides #58 Casper Ware, the top 67 prospects on DraftExpress' top 100 were all invited to Chicago.
- Chad Ford of ESPN.com (Insider link) takes note of a few prospects who may have improved their stocks during the weekend workouts in New Jersey. Iona point guard Scott Machado tops Ford's list.
- Teams need to be careful of being wowed by Perry Jones' individual workouts and drafting him too high, one scout tells Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.
- 2012 represents the Trail Blazers' most important draft since they selected Greg Oden in 2007, writes Joel Odom of the Oregonian.
- Don't forget to follow Hoops Rumors' Prospect Profile series, where we've taken a closer look at many of the players expected to be drafted in the first round next month.