Hansbrough, Carroll, Hudson spice NBA draft

Hansbrough, a forward who completed his brilliant career at North Carolina as the ACC's all-time scoring leader, was taken by the Indiana Pacers.

Plenty of talk has centered around what type of NBA player the 6-foot-9 Hansbrough might be. Various experts have questioned his athleticism and potential ability to thrive against bigger, quicker and faster players.

Hansbrough, during workouts with various NBA teams, reportedly proved to be more athletic than many people had given him credit for. And there was never any question about his work ethic and desire, which have always been off the charts.

My take on Hansbrough is that I'm not sure he'll ever be a marquee NBA player, but he's got enough going for him to at worst carve out a long and solid career at basketball's highest level.

In somewhat of a surprise, Missouri forward DeMarre Carroll went in the first round, No. 27 overall to the Memphis Grizzlies. Carroll had widely been considered a probable second-round pick.

Carroll is a high-energy player who, like Hansbrough, has incredible work ethic and desire. Plus he's fairly skilled for a bigger player.

Finally, Tennessee-Martin guard Lester Hudson barely slipped into the draft, going in the second round to the Boston Celtics. Hudson was the 58th of 60 selections.

Hudson's story is a neat one as he overcame a rough upbringing and academic issues that limited his high school hoops career to thrive at UT-Martin and become one of the top players in OVC history.

In addition, Hudson earned his college degree, which is something he publicly stated was a major goal of his before he entered his pro career.

As a second-round pick, Hudson -- the first OVC player taken in the NBA draft since Austin Peay's Trenton Hassell went No. 29 overall (the first selection of the second round) in 2001 to the Chicago Bulls -- is not guaranteed an NBA contract.

But Hudson has got enough talent -- along with the work ethic and heart that mark the styles of Hansbrough and Carroll -- to stick with the Celtics, who won the NBA title just two seasons ago.