The 2014 draft class is undoubtedly one of the most impressive in recent years. We all know about the potential stars that will be taken early but this class is also extremely deep. It seems like any team with a first round pick will have a great chance to land a solid rotation player for years to come. Now that it’s the middle of the college basketball season teams are starting to really get a feel for where players will end up. If the draft were happening this week here’s a pretty good idea of where top 5 players would land.

1.       Joel Embiid, Freshman, C, Kansas

If a team is lucky enough to land the number one pick in the draft odds are they are not looking to fill a position need, but to just get the best overall prospect. Embiid is proving to be that prospect. The seven footer has already proven himself on both sides of the ball this season. Embiid is steadily proving himself as a post option; where he has shown a plethora of moves and the ability to hit open shoots. Defensively he’s dominating the paint and making drivers think twice about taking it to the rim. Injuries always are a risk when a seven foot tall player is being talked about; no one wants to draft the next Greg Oden and let the next Kevin Durant fall to number two. But due to a dominant center-lacking NBA it is hard for a team to pass up on a prospect like Embiid.

“If it were me making the draft pick I would probably stay away from Embiid. Big guys are too injury prone,” said Elder Senior Craig Roberto

2.       Andrew Wiggins, Freshman, SF, Kansas

The 6’-8” freshman is quietly coming off his best game as a college player, dropping 27 points with five rebounds and five assists against TCU. There’s no one better in college at attacking the rim than Wiggins. Wiggins might be having a disappointing season to some, but it’s undeniable that he has superstar potential. Even if he has a terrible rest of the season, it’s pretty much a guarantee that Andrew Wiggins will be taken with one of the first five picks.

“Worst case-scenario is he’s Vince Carter,” said Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports

3.       Jabari Parker, Freshman, SF/PF, Duke

Parker entered the New Year a little shaky but has really come on in his past few games where he has averaged 19 points. Parker’s three pointer percentage has fallen below 40 percent but NBA teams have to be happy seeing him still find ways to score. Teams know that this kid is a great shooter and his shots are bound to start falling. So when teams see him taking the ball to the hole and getting to the free throw line instead of settling for jumpers it is a major positive. This kid already has an NBA body and has the potential to be as good as a scorer as anybody. I would be extremely shocked to see him fall out of the top three.

4.       Julius Randle, Freshman, PF, Kentucky

Defenses are really starting to adjust to Randle who has not been able to dominate like he had been earlier in the season. In Kentucky’s recent loss to LSU, Randle only had six points and five rebounds. At the end of the day though this kid is still an absolute beast, he’s 6’-9” and is as strong as any basketball player. When Randle is on he can absolutely dominate a game, just like he did in his first ever college basketball game where he had 27 points against Michigan State.

“His body, his shoulders are so big. You know it, but it’s different when you see it in person. There’s just not much you can do about him,” said ESPN’s Jeff Goodman

5.       Dante Exum, PG/SG, from Australia

Dante Exum has now officially declared for the NBA draft. Exum has been considered a can’t miss prospect ever since his dominating performances in both the 2012 and 2013 FIBA World Championships. He’s an outstanding athlete and has rare size for someone who can handle the ball as well as he can. Regardless of whether he’s running the point or playing shooting guard Exum is a mismatch for defenders. The guy is more than capable of taking over a game with either his scoring or his general playmaking. Expect big things from the Aussie for many years to come.