No. 2 pick Derrick Williams is No. 1 in terms of readiness

NOT SURE WHICH of last night's draftees will turn out to be the best player, but there is no doubt as to the most NBA-ready player. It is Arizona's Derrick Williams, college basketball's most efficient and athletic player.

Many players have to adjust to the speed of the NBA game. Most can't hope to compete near the rim. Those will not be issues with Williams, who is NBA explosive.

Williams will be a regular on the highlights because of how he finishes. But he is as skilled as he is athletic. As a freshman, Williams was 4-for-16 from the arc. As a sophomore, he was 42-for-74, making him almost impossible to guard. What he did to Duke in the Sweet 16 should have been illegal.

In two seasons, Williams went to the foul line an amazing 563 times. Which is why he was so efficient, getting 1.95 points per shot last season, easily the best mark in the country.

The Sixers said they were going big. They got the biggest player in the draft in USC 7-footer Nikola Vucevic. If he improves as much in the league as he did from his freshman to his junior season, they might have something. He averaged just 2.6 points in his first season. Last season, it was 17.1 points and 10.3 rebounds.

He is not a shot-blocking big man, but he is skilled. He can score around the hoop and bring his defender away from the rim to hit midrange jumpers. He is a very good foul shooter.

Is he going to change the balance of power in the East? No. Can he help? Yes.

There appears to be this huge debate about Jimmer Fredette. Why?

College basketball's leading scorer will score in any league, including the NBA. He shoots so well off the dribble that he is going to be very hard to guard in the screen-and-roll game. When he gets closer to the rim, he gets shots off from strange angles.

I remember hearing a lot of the same questions about Stephen Curry 2 years ago. Won't be able to get his shot off. Not quick enough. In two NBA seasons, Curry has already scored 2,772 points. He averaged 17.5 points per game as a rookie, 18.6 points last season.

Before last night, Kansas had 24 players taken in the first round since 1990. Make it 26 after Philly's Morris twins were taken 13th and 14th, just minutes apart.

In a bit of a surprise, the older brother, Markieff, went first to Phoenix. Marcus went to Houston. So, they will be both be in the Western Conference, with just New Mexico and most of Texas between them.

Marcus gets the line of the night when he was asked on ESPN how he would deal with being separated from his brother for the first time: "I'll send him some flowers or fruit."

Marcus will get to play with Philly's Kyle Lowry, the Rockets' point guard. Markieff will get the ball from Steve Nash.

After LeBron James took his talents to South Beach, Cavs owner Dan Gilbert said his team would win an NBA championship before the Miami Heat.

Well, the Cavs went from 61 wins to 19. They lost 26 straight. They were historically bad. The Heat got within two wins of a championship.

The Cavs got terrific Duke point guard Kyrie Irving and Texas big man Tristan Thompson last night. Irving looked like he was going to kill everybody before that toe injury ended his regular season just after it began. His only issue is that he plays the league's deepest position. Cleveland is better, but quite a long way from a title. Or even the playoffs. The Cavs will win no championships while LeBron is still in the NBA, so the best Gilbert can hope for is that the Heat doesn't win any time soon.

Anybody who watched college hoops last season knew it was not a vintage season. And when four of the best players decided to stay in school, it really opened the lottery for international players. So four of the first seven picks were international. Turkey's Enes Kanter was at Kentucky, but never got a chance to play because it was ruled he got too much cash for his team there. Now, he will get more cash in Utah. Six international players went in the first round.

If either Jared Sullinger (Ohio State) or Harrison Barnes (North Carolina) had declared for the draft, Irving might not have been the No. 1 pick. Terrence Jones (Kentucky) and Perry Jones (Baylor) also might have been lottery picks. North Carolina will be preseason No. 1. Sullinger is working on playing away from the basket. Good luck on stopping him next season.

Interesting that the Congo's Bismack Biyombo (who will only score by accident) went just before Kemba Walker and Jimmer Fredette, two players who can score in their sleep. Defense obviously matters, but my man Bismack better be one of the great defenders in history.

with big game

Charles Jenkins, Hofstra.

His game is understated, but he does absolutely everything right. He reminds me of Delonte West, without the explosiveness. He can play with the ball or without it. Last season, he shot 51.7 percent overall, 42 percent from the arc and 82.4 percent from the line. He is very much old-school. He will be a great teammate and help any team win.

The ACC and Big 12 had 11 players taken in the first round. The Big Ten had one.

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