NBA 2012 mock drafts currently project Michael Kidd-Gilchrist somewhere between the 4th and 7th pick. Most mock drafts have him being selected after Harrison Barnes. Even though I project both Barnes and Kidd-Gilchrist to be NBA starters, I expect Kidd-Gilchrist to have a better career in terms of making more All-Star games.
There are number of reasons to love Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s NBA game. For one, he is an all around basketball player. He’s an excellent rebounder and defender. He is a decent passer and ball-handler. He attacks the basket and gets to the foul line. He has an incredible motor and a lot of fight in him.
To gauge how talented a player is, you need to look at how he does against the most talented opposition as well as how he does in big games. Kentucky played two top 5 teams (North Carolina and Louisville) so far this season. In both situations, Kidd-Gilchrist had big games, arguably his two best games of the year to date. It is even more impressive given that the production occurred in two tight ball games. These were not your garbage time production.
With the NCAA tournament looming, expect Kidd-Gilchrist to a break out player candidate and potentially catapulting him ahead of Barnes.
As mentioned earlier, I currently see 2012 NBA mock drafts having Barnes ahead of Kidd-Gilchrist. However, based on overall career projection, when everything is said and done, expect Kidd-Gilchrist to end up having a better NBA career.