UTEP’s Derrick Caracter Latest To Throw Name Into NBA Draft Pool

With a potential lockout looming in 2011, expect the NBA draft class of 2010 to be loaded with underclassmen hoping to get into the league and start collecting paychecks before the owners turn off the lights the following year. And with that in mind, the expected, but still curious, decision by UTEP’s Derrick Caracter to declare for the NBA Draft this season, as reported by Gary Parrish of CBS Sports, begins to make more sense.

The 6’9”, 265-pound Caracter has rehabilitated his image after flaming out at Louisville and transferring to UTEP, but he’s still viewed as a second-round prospect, at best. Caracter displays some deft footwork in the post offensively, and his work on the glass could be enough for him to catch on with an NBA team, but his defensive, conditioning, and attitude issues push him down draft boards. Draft Express currently has him ranked 71st for this year’s crop of players, pushing him into the undrafted range prior to workouts and camps.