FanHouse Kosta Koufos

For the third straight year, Ohio State has lost a 7-footer to the NBA draft after only enjoying him for one season. Like Greg Oden and Kosta Koufos before him, B.J. Mullens is out the door after his freshman year. The 19-year-old from Canal Winchester, Ohio won the Big Ten sixth-man of the year in his freshman season, but didn't really flash NBA-ready skills consistently.

Mullens averaged 8.8 points and 4.7 boards a game, and he never appeared dominant. His best game against worthy competition was a 17-point, 8 rebound outing against Purdue. He only had double-digit rebounds once all season. This could cause some question as to whether or not he's ready.

After missing the first six games of the season with a sprained ankle, Deron Williams is expected to make his season debut tonight. It's not clear how many minutes he's going to play, but considering the Jazz turned the ball over 20 times in an embarrassing loss to the Knicks on Sunday, the team will appreciate his steady presence for any length of time.

Unfortunately, Williams' return doesn't mean the Jazz will finally be at full-strength: Mehmet Okur left the team on Monday to return to his native Turkey due to his father's illness. There's currently no timetable for his return.

This opens the door for for funny-man Kyrylo Fesenko to slide into the starting lineup, right? Not so fast. As it turns out, he's out of the country, as well, traveling to Toronto to resolve a visa issue. All of a sudden, the lone remaining option seems to be giving 19-year-old rookie Kosta Koufos, who's played all of seven minutes this year, the start tonight in Philadelphia.

At 2-4, the Sixers are still finding their way after their big moves this summer, but Elton Brand and Samuel Dalembert have combined for over 22 boards a game so far. Things could get ugly.

Crystal Ballin' takes a team-by-team look at what should, could, and probably will happen in the June 26th NBA Draft.

After just barely making the playoffs, the Nuggets were unceremoniously swept out of them by the Lakers in the first round. There have been a lot of rumors lately surrounding Carmelo Anthony, which have been put to rest for the moment. But it's obvious the team is going to have to make some changes -- either philosophically or otherwise -- to get more out of obe of the league's most talented rosters.

Picks: #20.

Needs: This team has a lot of firepower offensively, but could use a low post presence who isn't opposed to playing defense.

Best case scenario: Roy Hibbert or Kosta Koufos would fit nicely, especially Hibbert with his defense.

With the NBA Draft coming up on Thursday night, FanHouse's Tom Ziller took a friend's advice and unilaterally decided what teams ought to do in the first round. Think of it as a shorter version of our ongoing Crystal Ballin' series.

1. Chicago -- Michael Beasley, Kansas State. Fan consensus would have the point guard from Memphis here, and it looks like John Paxson will swing that way, too. It looks like a whole lot of Chris Paul-induced "pure point" fervor to me. Beasley, though, is the rare unassailable post presence who also boasts great perimeter skills and extraordinary tenacity on the court. With a team so desperate for points on something other than jump shots, Beasley fits right in.

2. Miami -- Derrick Rose, Memphis. The Heat, on the other hand, has some firepower in the paint, between Dwyane Wade's irrepressible slashing and the alternating efforts of Shawn Marion and Udonis Haslem. But Wade needs help running the show. Rose would provide the right engine to push Miami's offensive abilities while offering some backcourt defensive support.

3. Minnesota -- Brook Lopez, Stanford. Like any other basketball aesthete, I have cracked some Brook Lopez jokes. But behind the Cheetah Girls t-shirts, he's a good prospect. The biggest thing he can offer Minnesota in some interior anchorage on defense. Al Jefferson got abused routinely in the paint last season, with nary a partner to help stunt the opponent. Lopez immediately fortifies the effort, maybe not creating a good defense by himself, but at least helping out. Oh, and he can score too.

27 more picks of questionable logic after the jump.

With all the name going around about who was staying in the NBA Draft and who was going back to school ... there were a few names that may not be as household that are keeping their names in the draft.

Some may have made a mistake. Just as Josh McRoberts, JamesOn Curry, Von Wafer and Alex Acker made mistakes in the past few seasons ... some could be doing the same now.

Guys like UCLA's Luc Richard Mbah a Moute. Mbah a Moute probably won't be drafted (and if he is, it will be very late in the second round). If he had stayed in school, he could have become the rare guy to go to four Final Fours in his career. Despite losing some big-time talent, the Bruins still have a good shot at getting back.

Or there is USC's Davon Jefferson who probably won't be drafted either. Jefferson left school as a freshman and almost immediately signed with an agent. He made this move without even discussing it with the Trojans' coaching staff. When they have "testing the water" discussions in the future, they might want to have him talk to the class.

How about IUPUI's George Hill? Ya know, good ol' George? No? Yeah, he didn't have a household name or, really, no hype around him to warrant heading into the draft. He may not have the skill, either. He probably will be drafted, but not until the second half of the second round.

Mississippi State's Jamont Gordon really never had a second thought about coming back to school. I mean, he may go late in the second round. Not bad for a guy that no one knows what position he'll play.

The Big Ten Diaries recaps the previous night's action in Big Ten Basketball, but of course, you're probably smart enough to figure that out on your own.

Penn State Nittany Lions 68 Illinois Fighting Illini 64

While the top four spots in the Big Ten figure to belong to MSU, OSU, Indiana, and Wisconsin, don't be surprised if the Penn State Nittany Lions sneak up into 5th place this season. After only being able to win three conference games last season the Nittany Lions picked up their second conference win in as many games on Sunday afternoon in Champaign.

The duo of Geary Claxton and Jamelle Cornley looks like one that could give a lot of Big Ten teams trouble this season, as both players had their second consecutive double-doubles at the expense of the Illini. Cornley lead Penn State with 18 points and 12 rebounds, while Claxton scored 11 and grabbed 11 boards as well.

The Illini had a chance to win the game after freshman Demetri McCamey hit two three-pointers in the final minute to pull Illinois within a point with 10 seconds left, but his floater in the lane that would have won the game missed it's mark and Illinois lost it's second straight home conference game, and third overall.

Another factor that helped Penn State pull of a big road victory was outworking the Illini 49-24. This despite the fact the Nittany Lions don't have a single player over 6'5 in their starting lineup.

Illinois' next two games are at Wisconsin and Indiana, so if Bruce Weber's already feeling the heat for his teams lackluster play, just wait until they start out 0-4.

After winning their second straight Big Ten title, and making it to the title game against Florida last season, I don't think many people expect the Ohio State Buckeyes to win their third straight conference title this season. When you lose players like Greg Oden, Mike Conley, and Daequan Cook to the NBA, there's going to be a drop off.

Fortunately for the Buckeyes, Thad Matta is one of the best recruiters in the country, and this year's freshman class is looking very promising so far.

I had read a little bit about Kosta Koufos before the season started, but last night was the first time I had a chance to actually see him play. Replacing Greg Oden may not turn out to be so tough after all, as I was very impressed by what I saw from the freshman.

Granted, the Buckeyes were playing Columbia last night, but I was very impressed with Koufos' game. He's not the defensive stalwart that Oden was, but his offensive game is far more polished. The seven-footer led the Buckeyes with 19 points on Tuesday night to follow up his 18 point performance the night before.

Koufos displayed a touch down low on the blocks that's far beyond his 18 years, making eight of his twelve shots, and grabbing seven rebounds as well.

I don't know if Koufos will ever be able to develop into the defensive presence that Oden was, but his offense should more than help make up for the scoring the Buckeyes lost from last season. The question is, will Koufos still be able to play like this going up against D.J. White or the Spartans?

If he can, that third straight Big Ten title might not be so far out of reach after all.