Today was the worst day of my drive. I found myself incredibly restless, tired, lonesome, and out of place.

The drive from Bismarck to Bozeman is mostly high grassland, which is nice for a little while, but sort of feels like someone is pulling a Hollywood set, for a boring movie, alongside the car. The weather today didn’t necessarily cooperate with my body’s interest in oxygen consumption, either. It was in the mid-50s for most of my drive and if you know me well, you know that warm weather suits me better than anything under 60 degrees. 70 degrees, really. And really, when the speed limit is 75 mph, it’s hard to drive with the windows down and hear your podcast/NPR/music.

Some of you may have seen my video blog from beneath Salem Sue, the world’s largest fiberglass cow. Salem Sue was not a victim of the federal government shutdown as it has yet to achieve National Park status (get on that, Hoeven and Heitkamp). Setting aside the stigma of roadside tourist traps, it was the highlight of my drive, save for the 50 miles or so that I talked to Amanda tonight. The air was cool. The view was lovely. It was all very relaxing.

Where I think I’m going wrong here, besides the fact that I’m traveling across the entire country alone, is that I’m driving too much every day. If I were breaking this down into two 3-hour driving sessions with an hour break in between, I’d be much better off. But I’d also be back somewhere in Minnesota right now, and spending more money on hotels, food, and gas. So you take the good with the bad, I guess.

Notes:

-You can add New Mexico, Washington, Wyoming, and Guam (yes, Guam. In Miles City, Montana) to the list. Kansas really needs to get with the program.

-I tweeted about this (@midatlanticbias) in the morning but at the complimentary breakfast, I saw a man  fill a plate with breakfast potatoes and then proceed to cover those potatoes in: cheese, four packets of butter (“my butter fix,” he said to an old man), mayonnaise, an egg, and an incomprehensible amount of salt. If the Midwest had a flag, I’d want that man’s plate on it.

-I saw my first snow between Bismarck and Dickinson, ND. A lot more snow on the mountain tops here in Montana.

-There’s a place called “New England, North Dakota.” It’s like a combination of all of my hells.

-Another thing I tweeted: the cowboy hat thing. Maybe it’s just my big city, East Coast way of thinking, but every time I see a man in a cowboy hat, I assume he’s just some ironic hipster from Greenpoint. It just doesn’t seem real to me. I know that it is.

-Pete seemed to be a big hit yesterday and I thought a lot today about his “polite but unfriendly” line and it really rings true. I find myself getting a lot of looks at gas stations and rest stops (license plate and funny looking car probably do it) but no inquiries. I’d really appreciate an inquiry rather than a “look.” I like to feel like I belong, wherever I am, and I do not feel like I belong in the middle of these United States.

-I always assumed that Eastern Montana was going to be beautiful like the rest of Montana. Come to find out, most of that part of the state is just an extension of North Dakota and that makes for some really boring driving….

-…and then, all of a sudden (not really, but go with me here) I turn and I see MON-TANA. Wide open space. Snow-covered mountains. Horses. Cattle. Water. And a highway sign that says, simply, “Crazy Mountains.” Indeed

-Finally, I am sure that there are typos and words that unintentionally spit out to my fingers that I’m not proofreading here, so thanks for bearing with that. I’m doing the drive, then writing about the drive. Proofreading the drive, well, I just don’t have the energy.

-Tomorrow will take me south for the first time in this trip, to Salt Lake City, where I will, for the first time since Tuesday morning, see familiar faces, in the form of Brian and Ali Spittler. They’re going to get the Raw and Uncensored Story of Pete from Bismarck. Be jealous.

Pete sees me as I walk into the Pirogue Grille before the bartender/maitre de does. His eyes light up. Pete is looking for someone to talk to. Luckily for Pete, so am I.

Unluckily for me, Pete is drunk. There are two glasses in front of him, both half-consumed. One I make out to be an old-fashioned. The other might just be straight whiskey. There are two seats at the bar. One is in the far corner, the other is next to Pete. I choose Pete over solidarity. I’ve had enough solidarity over the last three days. I sit.

Pete can tell right away that I’m not from here, despite my flannel shirt. Maybe it’s the skinny jeans. Maybe it’s the haircut. Who knows what it is. He asks me where I’m from. I tell him I’m from Washington, DC. I explain the road trip thing. He immediately wants to buy me an old-fashioned, but I’m driving. He seems upset so I let him buy me a Deschutes Black Butte Porter.

Pete talks. And talks. And talks. He tells me that I chose the wrong restaurant. This one is to bourgeois. I chose the restaurant, I explain, because it was a recommendation from a former colleague and because it is TripAdvisor’s number one restaurant in Bismarck. And, let’s be real, I like bourgeois things.

Pete has a lot of theories about North Dakota. He grew up in Grand Forks. He loves Grand Forks. He lives in Bismarck now because that’s where the good-paying white collar jobs are. He thinks North Dakota should be split into Western North Dakota and Eastern North Dakota. Like, actually split into two separate states. “Bismarck makes Fargo and Grand Forks look like Greenwich Village” he repeats to me multiple times.

The bartenders are annoyed by Pete. One of them wants him to leave, but I keep him out of trouble (i.e. I slow down his drinking) by asking him questions. I ask him what it was like in Grand Forks during the flood of 1997. The images of that flood, for whatever reason, are still etched in my brain. I truly thought, as a 13 year old, that an American city was destroyed by that flood. Years later, I found out that Grand Forks was doing just fine. Pete confirmed it. I ask him about the economic state of the North Dakota (lowest unemployment rate in the U.S., y’all) and whether it’s just as good as the national media would have you think (Pete: “Hell yeah it is. We are (expletive) riiich.”)

He talked about the metal scene in Grand Forks. He recommended a few bands that I would never listen to and can’t remember the name of already.

Pete wants me to go out to a bar with him, and quite frankly, that’s probably exactly what I need (to go out and talk with people and try to relax), but I don’t like being around drunk people, and Pete is very drunk (so drunk that he was concerned about my ability to drive back to my hotel after drinking one beer and eating a large meal of bison, rice, and vegetables). So I tell him I’m beat from driving (which is true) and he accepts.

I didn’t intend to write about Pete earlier today, but I was struck when I was driving back to my hotel room, by the thought that until Friday, that will probably be the most interaction I have with anyone. And beyond that, Pete will forever in my life be the official representative for the state of North Dakota. And he described North Dakota to me in a way that makes me not like it very much at all. He described North Dakota, the place he grew up and a place that he clearly loves, as a drunk, weird, slightly Canadian, polite, unfriendly, xenophobic, socialist…um, mecca???

Pete held in his hands the ability to shape North Dakota for me. And he did. But he shaped it into a place I don’t really understand and don’t much care to.

As I left, Pete asked me if I was going to write about my trip. I told him that I was writing about it for my personal blog. He looked at me suspiciously and asked if I wrote for Vice or Vanity Fair. I assured him I did not. He then asked that I mention him, use his name, and say that he is a “Badass Motherf****r.”

—

Tomorrow, I’m heading to Bozeman, Montana, which is a bit of an audible (Casper, Wyoming was my original intended destination). I’ve never driven in Montana and have long considered it to be the number one state in America that I hadn’t seen that I wanted to see. Granted, Montana from I-94 is probably not Glacier National Park, but I’m looking forward to seeing Big Sky Country for the first time.

Notes:

-Add these states to the list:
Nevada
Vermont

-Radio in rural America is basically: Christian Talk, Christian Music, Christian Talk, Country, Christian Talk, that one Verve Pipe song

-I’ve listened to very little music and only a few podcasts so far. I’ve relied on either the radio or on the sounds of the road. And it’s a good thing because…

-Somewhere in western Minnesota, I discovered a radio program called “The Swap Shop.” The concept is simple and amazing. There’s a host (if you’re a sports fan/southerner, think Paul Finebaum) who takes calls from people who want to sell things. Here’s a sampling:

Host: Caller?

Caller: Hi. Thanks for taking my call. I have three kittens. They’re orange with white stripes. Two males, one female. They’re all de-clawed. Very nice kittens. $25 for one or $50 for all three. I also have a set of wooden shower curtain rings that I’d like to sell for $5. 555-6525. Thanks.

Host. Thank you caller. Caller?

I listened for 5 minutes. People were trying to sell: dogs, cats, stoves, cars, car parts, agricultural equipment, and televisions.

-I took a rural highway from Minneapolis west into South Dakota, before taking a U.S. highway up to I-94 in North Dakota. One of the real advantages of this strategy is you get to see actual towns and people. One of the real downsides is that nearly every tractor trailer that drove by shot up little rocks into the side of my face. At one point, I actually had to check for blood.

-I reached my 24 hour mark (total time driving the car) at the junction of I-29 and US12 in South Dakota.

-Finally, I leave you with this bit of wisdom from the sign in front of a Presbyterian Church in North Dakota: “Big Bang Theory? Give me a break.” –GOD

When dining alone, always sit at the bar. If the bar is full, wait for someone to go to the lavatory and steal their seat (And food. And date.) DO NOT under any circumstance, sit alone at a restaurant at which you are not a regular, during dinner, especially if it’s packed to the gills.

Of course, I speak emphatically about this subject as I put myself through the great horror of DINING ALONE tonight in Minneapolis.

I ate at Pizzeria Lola, one of Food and Wine or Bon Apeitit’s best pizza restaurants in America. The pizza was terrific (I got “The Boise,” natch. Potato, caramelized onions, fontina and (added) smoked bacon.). Eating alone isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the world. There are times when it’s a fun experience. Namely, when you’re sitting at the bar and can talk to strangers. It’s much harder to talk to strangers when they’re on a date at the table next to you. People don’t really like that interaction very much.

Today’s drive took me from South Bend to Minneapolis, with a stop in Chicago for breakfast and a stop in Madison for a mid-day walk. 

I’ve never actually “been” to Chicago. I’ve been to Chicago. I went to a White Sox game. I saw Wrigley Field from the outside. I drove on Lake Shore Drive. But that’s it. One day on my first cross-country trip when I wasn’t a very smart traveler. Today was my second experience in Chicago.

Very often, I find myself bothered by Chicagoans love of Chicago. I come from a school of thought that says you should resent the place that you’re from. There are obvious and non-obvious exceptions (basically, it’s a case-by-case basis) but in general, I am comfortable with those who don’t like the place they grew up in. I mean, we all leave for a very good reason, right? 

Chicagoans are loyal to their city like no other American citizens. New Yorkers will defend New York with a sense of irony. Californians will “subtly” mention to you that “IN CALIFORNIA, WE….” Bostonians have no right defending their city. Etc.

Chicagoans embrace their city. They truly LOVE their city (I’m really into using the CAPS lock button right now). And so, long story short, I pretend to hate Chicago because I love being a contrarian. But I’ll say this: the little bits of Chicago I’ve seen are pretty great and I’m sure I would really love it if I, you know, spent more than a few hours there. 

—

When you’ve spent two weeks eating nothing but steamed beets, you’re probably really going to enjoy that first ribeye. And when you’ve spent hours upon hours of time in your car, when you’re presented with a really lovely city, you find yourself skipping through the streets with glee. 

Now, I care very much about how I’m perceived, so I didn’t skip, but my heavens is (Downtown) Madison, Wisconsin a lovely place. I sent Amanda a text while I was taking a 45 minute driving break and told her we need to get a weather transformation machine so that we can move to Madison immediately. 

I haven’t seen any of Minneapolis really. I got here at 7 p.m. just as the sun had set and I was frankly too tired to drive downtown and go for a nighttime stroll. Maybe in the morning. Tomorrow’s drive will, god willing, take me to Bismarck, North Dakota, aka The City Where Dreams Are Made.

Notes: 

-To yesterday’s list of states, you can add:

Arizona
Diplomatic Plate
Minnesota
Montana
North Carolina
North Dakota
Oklahoma
Ontario

-I saw my first Fiat, not in Chicago, but in Madison. It remains the only other Fiat I’ve seen. I doubt I’ll see another one until I get to Oregon. 

-Roughly 94% of the road between DC and Minneapolis is currently under construction. I need to look into starting my own business that sells orange construction cones.

-The notion that I would “disconnect” from DC and politics and all of that has already been put to bed. I listened to the President’s press conference today and listened to about 5 different NPR affiliates all of whom had stories about the local impact of the government shutdown. Seriously, Speaker Boehner badly needs a “Come to Jesus” moment. “Jesus” in this case being the House Democratic Caucus. 

-The radio edit of Trinidad James’ “All Gold Everything” left me wondering if musicians, primarily rappers, record two different versions of their lyrics or if they just go into the studio and say the words “Phoney” “Sucker” “Shhhh” “Women” and “Stuff.” Any insight would be greatly appreciated. 

I never read “On The Road,” but I could venture a guess that Kerouac’s road tripping didn’t involve him making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at a rest stop outside of Cleveland.

A few years ago, when Amanda and I drove DC to San Diego, I chronicled the trip and, looking back at it now, I find it trite. There was some part of me that actually thought I was going to “get something” out of a six-day cross country road trip with my life partner.

That’s too easy. If I’m going to get something from a road trip, it better be this one. Day one, however, was not the day where I got much of anything.

Today’s drive wasn’t difficult, per se. Two hours of heavy rain certainly wasn’t fun and never being able to drive with the windows all the way down was a pain, but as far as driving, it was easy. And boring. REALLY BORING.

The only highlight really was my version of the license plate game. I opened my notebook in the passenger seat next to me and kept track of every state’s license plate that I saw (tractor trailers are excluded. As are rest stops. I have to see the car driving on the highway. I’m serious. I debated these rules with myself.). Here is that list:

Alabama
Colorado
District of Columbia
Florida
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Nebraska
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Oregon (in Rockville, MD)
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Texas
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin

Other notes:

-I have seen 0 other Fiats since I left Washington, DC. My guess is I’ll see one in Chicago tomorrow.
-Never eat chili the night before you go on a long road trip.
-When in Rome (or South Bend, Indiana) eat at Fiddler’s Heart Public House. Tell them Jason sent you. They’ll have no idea who you’re talking about.
-When in Rome (or South Bend, Indiana) don’t necessarily stay at the Waterford Estates Lodge.
-The entrances to Notre Dame Stadium are named after famous coaches at the University. Not pictured: Tyrone Willingham, George O’Leary, or Charlie Weis.

I’ll try to make this more interesting tomorrow by picking up a hitchhiker in Wisconsin, though it’ll probably just be the guy from Bon Iver.

If you came here for my bold prediction for the UMass/Kansas State game, I offer my sincerest of apologies.

There’s only one game today. Sure, most of the other 123 FBS teams will be playing games, and there are a few okay ones (UCLA @ Nebraska, at 11 a.m. in Lincoln, for some reason, is a good one), but Alabama at Texas A&M is the pre-national championship game. And for some, it probably is the national championship.

One of those people for whom this is a title game, is Nick Saban. Nick Saban is not a fan of losing. But it’s the way Alabama lost last year that has, I’m sure, weighed on Saban. At home. Dominated in the first half. Unable to contend with A&M’s tempo. Outplayed by a loudmouth, 6’0” freshman quarterback who drives a Mercedes (keyless entry, I hear). Saban has spent the last 10 months waiting for this game. You can’t overstate the revenge factor.

College Station, however, is not an easy place to play. The line on this game (-8) is ridiculous. Texas A&M will cover. The only people taking Alabama (-8) are those who call in regularly to the Paul Finebaum show. “

“Roger from Hoover is on the line. Roger?”

“Ya, Paul, I met you back in 1993 at the Alabama/Tennessee game in Birmingham. You remember that game? 17-17 tie. Ya I was wearing my houndstooth jacket that day. You remember that? Love that jacket. Good jacket. Yeah I just wanted to say, I’m not worried about the offensive line. They were playing opossum in that first game. I’m not worried. AJ’s gonna throw it all over the Aggies. He’s a real quarterback. Do they even play football in Texas? I don’t think they play in Texas. And that little punk quarterback they got, well, you know I got one thing to say that’s Roll Tide!”

I expect an Alabama victory this afternoon in College Station. I’d imagine that the Tide spent a good deal of time working on their tackling in the offseason and in the bye week. I expect a really solid game from Bama linebacker CJ Mosley. Manziel’s flame will not burn out in this game, by any means. He’s a really good college quarterback. But Alabama has a really good quarterback of their own. This won’t be a defensive struggle. Both teams will score. It’ll come down to which defense can make a play late. I think that’s Alabama.

Alabama 35

Texas A&M 31

Now, if I could figure out who to root for…..

And…just for fun, the three clubs who will be promoted from SkyBet to the Premier League for the 2014-15 season: Brighton and Hove Albion (that’s amazingly one team), Leicester City, and Charlton Athletic.

Each team is required to have one all-star. 34 players for each League. Here are the guaranteed team representatives in my mind:

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Boston: Dustin Pedroia (2B)

Baltimore: Chris Davis (1B)

Tampa Bay: Evan Longoria (3B)

New York: Robinson Cano (2B)

Toronto Blue Jays: Edwin Encarnacion (1B)

Detroit Tigers: Miguel Cabrera (3B)

Cleveland Indians: Jason Kipnis (2B)

Kansas City Royals: Greg Holland (RP)

Minnesota Twins: Joe Mauer (Catcher)

Chicago White Sox: Chris Sale (SP)

Oakland Athletics: Grant Balfour (RP)

Texas Rangers: Joe Nathan (RP)

Los Angeles Angels: Mike Trout (OF)

Seattle Mariners: Felix Hernandez (SP)

Houston Astros: Jason Castro (Catcher)

One Note: Castro might seem like a reach but he is the best all-around performer on the worst team and he plays a position that is fairly weak past Joe Mauer.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Atlanta Braves: Craig Kimbrel (RP)

Washington Nationals: Jordan Zimmermann (SP)

Philadelphia Phillies: Jonathan Papelbon (RP)

New York Mets: Matt Harvey (SP)

Miami Marlins: Jose Fernandez (SP)

St. Louis Cardinals: Yadier Molina (Catcher)

Pittsburgh Pirates: Jason Grilli (RP)

Cincinnati Reds: Joey Votto (1B)

Chicago Cubs: Anthony Rizzo (1B)

Milwaukee Brewers: Jean Segura

Arizona Diamondbacks: Paul Goldschmidt (1B)

Los Angeles Dodgers: Clayton Kershaw (SP)

San Francisco Giants: Buster Posey (Catcher)

Colorado Rockies: Carlos Gonzalez: (OF)

San Diego Padres: Everth Cabrera (SS)

One Note: While Travis Wood should be the Cubs’ representative, there are too many elite starting pitchers in the National League and not enough great first baseman.

I realized at 6:25 that I was never going to get this post totally completed. So lets just see how exact I am at picking each team’s representative.

And, as an aside, I expect Yasiel Puig and Bryce Harper to be in the final five voting in the National League.

Most experts do not like this draft. There is no one in this group who they think easily projects as a future perennial All-Star or Hall of Fame player. No LeBron. No Durant. No Andrew Wiggins. There are a handful of guys who will be good starters for 10 years. Some will be able to win Sixth Man of Defensive Player of the Year awards. Others might win a dunk contest or a three point shootout. Basically, you’ll know some of these names in a decade, but it’s unlikely any of them will be dominating the NBA. That said, Paul Pierce was the 10th pick in his draft and he’s going to the Hall of Fame some day. Certain players, certain TYPES of players, flourish in specific environments. Whomever gets drafted first overall by the Cavs is coming in to a great situation and should be able to excel. On the opposite side of the spectrum, the Charlotte Hornet Bobcats…

Without further ado, my rankings of the lottery players, in my mind, followed by some other list-making. Because, really, I don’t see 30 guys in this draft who are going to be household names in 5 years and I’d like to make this remotely fun to write and read.

1. Victor Oladipo (SG/Indiana): Oladipo’s skill set gives him the best chance of this class to be an All-Star in the NBA. His ability as an on-ball defender should not disappear as he transitions to the NBA. His offensive game is a step behind his defensive game, but he showed vast improvements from his sophomore to junior seasons on that front. He’s already a great slasher. If he can develop a really consistent mid-range shot and improve as a ball handler, he has potential to be a top 5 PG down the line. There’s incredible room to grow with Oladipo. Supremely athletic. Plays hard. A solid building block.

2. Trey Burke (PG/Michigan): I enjoyed watching no player more than Trey Burke during the 2012-13 college basketball season. He lacks the size you’d like from an NBA player. My guess is that with what he did in college, if he were 2 inches taller, he’d be thought of as a top pick (Cleveland will not be drafting a point guard as they have a very good one already in Kyrie Irving). Burke can shoot, defend, and pass. Does he do any of them exceptionally well? Probably not. But he does all of them well. And he also has the leader trait that you want to see from a point guard. Burke showed in the tournament this year that he’s not going to shy away from taking the big shot. He’s a fighter and those are the types of players I think you need to build around in the NBA.

3. Otto Porter (SF/Georgetown): Think of Porter as the small forward version of Burke. He does everything, just nothing exceptionally well. He’ll be a valuable player on the glass considering his size. And you certainly won’t lose anything on the defensive side of the ball where he was dominant in the Big East. He’s not going to shoot the lights out of the gym, certainly. But he’s a really good building block, just without the upside of Oladipo. And as a sidebar, he’s the guy who I think makes the most sense for Cleveland with the top overall pick as they’re weakest at the 3 spot and don’t really have much room in their rotation for Oladipo or Burke.

4. CJ McCollum (PG/Lehigh): McCollum is a slashing point guard, with size, who scored at will as a four-year starter at Lehigh. He missed the latter half of this season with a broken foot, but is healthy now and could slot in, Game 1, as a starter for a number of lottery teams who lack a point guard. He’ll also rebound well for his position. I look at him as a sort of Damian Lillard-light. On a really bad team, he could be their best player. A potential Rookie of the Year.

5. Nerlens Noel (C/Kentucky): Noel would be the consensus number 1 draft pick (though not necessarily my no. 1, as though that means something) if he hadn’t torn his ACL in the middle of Kentucky’s disappointing 2012-13 season. Noel is a defensive force. His offensive game is not very well developed though. He’s a good passer, but his shooting is very poor. He’s a project for whomever drafts him. I think there’s little to no chance that he’s an impact rookie. But down the line, if he can develop some sort of offensive game, he’ll be a very good NBA player.

6. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (SG/Georgia): Caldwell-Pope is the best outside shooter in this draft. He’s also got great size as a 2-guard and is a really solid defender. His mid-range game needs some work. He’s probably not going to become much of a penetration type player either, as his dribbling is not of the And1 Mixtape quality. It’s not really of the New Balance 574 quality either. But he’ll bring a lot of value on both sides of the ball, certainly enough to make up for his deficiencies.

7. Anthony Bennett (PF/UNLV): Bennett would be higher if he was bigger. I’m usually not one to harp on size, but Bennett, at 6’8” is not an NBA power forward. He’s also coming off of rotator cuff surgery. That said, he really scored in the Mountain West. He can shoot it from anywhere on the court, despite his size and frame (he’s, um, thick). He doesn’t look like an NBA-caliber leaper, but he’s very athletic. Bennett is the reverse of Trey Burke. If he were an inch shorter and 35 pounds lighter, he’d project nicely as a 3. As it stands, he’ll have to develop a low-post game to be really successful in the NBA.

8. Ben McLemore (SG/Kansas): If Kansas had missed the 2013 tournament, you might be looking at a much higher draft pick. Instead, Kansas made the tournament. Whether Ben McLemore played is still being determined. McLemore was a potential National Player of the Year candidate during the regular season. But once the tournament came around, he struggled mightily to score, get open, and to be blunt, be useful, to the Jayhawks. That said, as I look at the pool of players in this draft, it’s hard to find one with a better skill set than McLemore’s. He’s an electric scorer with exceptional athleticism and some real defensive prowess. Yes, the psychological factors (whether the pressure leads him to wilt) will have to play into any team’s decision to draft McLemore. But if you chalk his March up to two bad weeks and choose instead to focus on the 4 successful months, you’re getting a steal at the number 8 spot. I’m just not entirely convinced.

9. Shabazz Muhammad (SF/UCLA): Muhammad’s “career” at UCLA was a bizarre one. He came onto campus as the most recognizable freshman in the country and a favorite to be the top pick in this draft. He’s leaving as a mid-to-late first round pick, probably. And yet, he played well at UCLA. Muhammad averaged 18 points and 5 rebounds per game on a dysfunctional UCLA team. Are there flaws in his game? AB-SO-LUTELY. Muhammad has no right hand yet. He’s not interested in passing the basketball. He is not one of the aforementioned potential dunk contest winners (that is to say, he’s not a freak athlete). All of that aside, Muhammad is a scorer. Outside of McCollum, he’s probably the best pure scorer in this draft. He can drive to the basket, he plays hard, and he can defend. He’s a little undersized for his NBA position (small forward), but his ability to slash and the on-ball skills he has will make up for that. He’s kind of a project. He had a few moments where he behaved poorly on the court, most noticeably sulking after a teammate hit a game-winning shot because the teammate didn’t pass to Muhammad. He’ll require some good, patient coaching, but he could be a very valuable player in the league.

10. Jamaal Franklin (SG/San Diego State): Franklin is my first real reach here. Most everyone else you see above will be a lottery pick. Franklin probably won’t. That said, a handful of the guys who will be lottery picks won’t be very good pros. Franklin is a very athletic player with all of the measurables that you want from an NBA 2-guard. He rebounds very well for his position, and while he doesn’t have a great outside shot, he will score by using his speed and vision to drive the ball to the basket.

11. Gorgui Dieng (C/Louisville): One of the knocks I’ve seen on Dieng is that he’s old. He’s 23. For a league obsessed with size, I’m really surprised to see Dieng getting so little love. The player I saw at Louisville was a high impact guy with a developing offensive game who could really control the paint on the defensive end with his shot blocking ability. On top of that, Dieng passes the ball well for his size. He’s never going to develop into Shaq down low, but his improving ability to step out and hit a 13 foot shot makes a player with his “secondary” skill set very intriguing and in normal circumstances, a lottery pick.

12. Tim Hardaway Jr. (SG/Michigan): If I told you there was a 6’6” shooting guard who played at a big time college program and averaged 15 points a game while shooting 37% from 3, you’d assume he’d be held in some sort of regard. Unfortunately for Tim Hardaway Jr., he has his dad’s name. With that comes people’s misguided expectations for how good you’re supposed to be and who you’re supposed to be. Junior is not a point guard. He’s not excellent at handling the basketball. He’s not lightning quick. And he’s not an off-the-charts passer. What he is, is a player who can get his own shot, who can hit his shots from anywhere on the court, and knows how to get to the basket.

13. Michael Carter-Williams (PG/Syracuse): Every year, Syracuse has a player that I just don’t like. For 10 years, it was Eric Devendorf. For 14 years, it was Gerry McNamara. Last season, it was Michael Carter-Williams. The best thing that MCW has going for him is his size. He’s a true point guard, with his passing being his top attribute, playing at 6’6”. He is not a good shooter, however (sub-40% from the field, 29% from 3). Few players become a better outside shooter in the NBA than they were in college, what with the distance being greater. Carter-Williams also turned the ball over 3 ½ times per game during his sophomore year. I look at him and don’t see how he turns himself into an NBA starter at point guard, and yet, I have a hard time finding someone who I like more than him at this point.

14. European Player (PG/SG/SF): European Player is quick, but needs to add some strength and develop a more consistent jump shot. European Player doesn’t have much of a low post game. European Player competes against lesser competition, but brings a high IQ and terrific passing skills. European Player might not play this season, but has some real upside for the team who is willing to take the risk that he won’t pan out.

THE CENTERS:

(The NBA loves size. It’s hard to teach a player to be 7 feet tall. We all get that. But NBA teams fall in love with players who aren’t particularly skilled. There are a bunch of those guys who all project to be first rounders this year. One of them is even projected by some to be the top overall pick. Without further ado, THE CENTERS!

1. Mason Plumlee (Duke): Plumlee has the most offensive skill of all THE CENTERS! He can put the ball on the floor, possesses real athleticism, and improved this season as a rebounder. He will not be a star center in the NBA, but outside of Dieng, he has the best chance of being a contributor.

2. Jeff Withey (Kansas): He was a shot blocking maestro at KU and should still be a good shot blocker in the NBA. His offensive game is not very developed and never will be. But he’s tall and has a track record of success.

3. Alex Len (Maryland): Len may be the first pick in Thursday’s draft. He’s tall. 7’1” even. I look at Len and I see no way in which he fits into today’s NBA. He has no physicality whatsoever. He’s not a great defender. And he’s not a great outside shooter (not that the NBA really favors 7 footers who do that anymore, thankfully). It will be a shame if the Cavs draft Len with the first overall pick because he “fills a need.” Cleveland is one piece and a healthy Kyrie Irving away from being a playoff team in the Eastern Conference. Len is never going to be a useful center to anyone in the NBA…

4. Steven Adams (Pittsburgh): …and yet, he’s not even the worst of the projected first round centers. I’m not going to lie, I’ve seen every one of the above players in this post play a game multiple times. When I looked at other mock drafts and player raters, I didn’t remember ever seeing Steven Adams play. So I looked at some evaluations of him. It was there that I saw the phrase “looks completely lost on offense” (Chad Ford, ESPN). As a freshman at Pittsburgh, he averaged 7 points and 6 rebounds per game. He also shot 44% from the free throw line. He’s projected by some experts to be a lottery pick. I love the NBA!

THE (FOREIGN) CENTERS:

(Because if there’s one thing the NBA loves more than centers, it’s centers from Serbia and Montenegro.)

I have no idea who any of these players are. Their names are Lucas Nogueira (Brazil) and Rudy Gobert (France). I’ve never seen them play. They can’t be as bad as Steven Adams.

THE OTHER GUYS:

(I like them for no other reason than I watched them a lot and they have one or two discernible skills that could make them useful. 3 at every position (except center) who I would happily draft in the second round, if I were an NBA GM instead of whatever it is that I am.)

POINT GUARDS1. Myck Kabongo (Texas): Very fast. Excellent passer. Sat out his sophomore year because the NCAA is a horrible organization only concerned with their own bottom line.

2. Isaiah Canaan (Murray State): An excellent shooter. He’s the poor man’s Damian Lillard.

3. Nate Wolters (South Dakota State): Very good ball handler. Good outside shooter.

SHOOTING GUARDS

1. Ricardo Ledo (Providence): Would be a lottery pick if not for off-the-court issues. May be the best pure scorer in this draft outside of the lottery.

2. Reggie Bullock (North Carolina): Great outside shooter. Not much else.

3. Allen Crabbe (California): Great outside shooter. Bullock just offers better size.

SMALL FORWARDS

1. DeShaun Thomas (Ohio State): Great rebounder as a 3. Shoots well from outside.

2. Andre Roberson (Colorado): Hustle and motor. Rebounds well despite lack of size.

3. Tony Snell (New Mexico): Outside shooting. Could develop into a Bruce Bowen type if he develops defensively.

POWER FORWARDS

(See Below)

3. Trevor Mbakwe (Minnesota): He’ll give an NBA team 12-15 minutes of ferocity every night. Great rebounder, maybe the best in the draft. He’s here because he lacks any semblance of height or offensive skill. He’s the hobo’s Kenneth Faried.

CODY ZELLER v. KELLY OLYNYK

(or, let’s compare the tall white guys)

Both are 7’0”. Neither has the size or game to be an NBA center. Kelly has the greater reach. Cody has a greater wingspan. Cody is the faster guy. He runs the floor like a small forward. And he’s deceptively athletic. Olynyk has a more skilled offensive game thanks to his shooting range. Neither is going to be a good NBA rebounder or shot blocker. The battle here boils down to which guy you think will be the more useful offensive player. And that really boils down to the team they land with. If Cody ends up with a team like Golden State, who likes to run, he’ll find a spot in the rotation. If Kelly lands with a team like Indiana, who plays more of a half court game, he’ll be very useful to them. For the sake of picking one, I’d rather have Cody because of his athletic ability and the room I see for him to develop his skills and size. Olynyk is probably just about as good as he’s going to be right now.

There you have it. The NBA Draft is always on the very short list of my favorite sporting events of the year. As always, thanks for reading. Have an issue? See a mistake? Let me know below or on the social medias (@midatlanticbias).