June 28, 2012; Newark, NJ, USA; Harrison Barnes (North Carolina), right, is introduced as the number seven overall pick to the Golden State Warriors by NBA commissioner David Stern during the 2012 NBA Draft at the Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

It was a typical 2012 NBA Draft with a lot of surprises, some reaches and some picks that just have you scratching your head.

WINNERS

• PERRY JONES: Jones was an average college basketball player that got by with his sure talented at Baylor. That talent alone had some considering him a lottery pick. However, Jones dropped to Oklahoma City for a couple of reasons injuries and his attitude. He is one of the most talented player’s in the draft, but it won’t matter if he doesn’t improve his work ethic. Enter the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are coming off of an NBA Finals appearance and are the perfect place for an young, talented athlete to succeed – especially behind Kevin Durant. If Jones can’t succeed with the Thunder than he has not shot at making it in the NBA.
• GOLDEN STATE: The Warriors biggest need was at small forward. Before the draft they were trying to trade for Loul Deng, Andre Igoudala, Rudy Gay and Wilson Chandler. That was before Harrison Barnes dropped right into their laps. Barnes may not be the go-to scorer which many hoped the former Tar Heel would be, but he doesn’t have to be one in Golden State – which already has Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry. He’s a perfect fit for G.S., working off of his teammates and not being forced to be the team’s star. The Warriors also got Draymond Green, who is one of the more versatile players in the draft.
• HOUSTON: The Rockets were the most active team going into the draft, adding the 18th pick and trading up for the 12th. There were talks that they wanted to move further up in the draft in order to get pieces to trade for Dwight Howard, but that didn’t happen. Instead Houston landed three very talented players in the middle of the first round. Jeremy Lamb in time should be a starting shooting guard in the NBA, Royce White was the most versatile player in the draft and Terrence Jones had to be the most underrated rated player in the draft. Jones was Kentucky’s top on-on-one defender in the post and the squad’s most versatile player. All three players was drafted by the right team.
• CHARLOTTE: The Bobcats shocked the world last week when they signed Mike Dunlap to be their head coach. They then traded Corey Maggette for sharpshooter Ben Gordon and a 1st round pick. And on Thursday they added two hard working small forwards, Michael Kidd Gilchrist and Jeff Taylor. Kidd Gilchrist has a competitive streak that is matched by few in the game and Taylor is one of the few players in the draft that is ready to play from Day 1.  Both also have potentials to be lockdown defenders in the NBA and both have the drive to win. Charlotte is building something and the only question is how good?
• KENTUCKY: The Wildcats followed up winning the National Title by having six players drafted on (Anthony Davis, Kidd Gilchrist, Jones, Doron Lamb, Marquis Teague and Darius Miller), including the top two picks in the draft (Davis and Kidd Gilchrist) and four in the first round (Davis, Kidd Gilchrist, Jones and Teague).

June 20, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Charlotte Bobcats new head coach Mike Dunlap addresses the media during his introduction press conference at Time Warner Cable Arena. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-US PRESSWIRE

Mike Dunlap is not a household name, at least not at the NBA level.

However, Dunlap has had success wherever he coaches – especially in the college ranks.

He won a pair of NCAA titles while coaching at Metro State (2000 and 2002) and led the Roadrunners to nine NCAA tournaments.

Of course that was at the Division II level, which is much different than the NBA.

His lone experience at the professional level was two seasons (2006-08) as an assistant coach to George Karl and the Nuggets.  He went back to the college ranks after the 2008 season where he was an assistant with Arizona, Oregon and St. John’s University. Last season, he ended up stepping in as St. John’s interim head coach while Steve Lavin dealt with health issues. Dunlap coached a team full of freshman to a 13-18 record.

Any coach that has worked with Dunlap will attest to how hard of a worker he is and his basketball IQ. Just ask Karl, who tweeted Tuesday about Dunlap’s hiring,

Great hire by Bobcats! Mike Dunlap is one of the most creative defensive minds I’ve ever worked with. Welcome back to the NBA!

Elated about Mike Dunlap going to Charlotte! To hire a guy of knowledge and character more than spin and perception makes me feel great.

There was a preception among many in college ranks that Dunlap’s biggest goal was going back to the NBA, which kept him from getting a full-time college coaching job – even though he was considered for a number. Most recently were head-coaching jobs at Wyoming and CSU.

Of course the biggest challenge of coaching in the NBA is managing egos and getting talented athletes to listen to you. That was the challenge for former Nuggets’ coach Jeff Bzdelik, who spent two-in-half seasons on the sidelines in Denver. He showed he had the knowledge of Xs and Os, but struggled to get superstars like Kenyon Martin and Carmelo Anthony to respect him.

Dunlap may run into the same problem down the road, but not likely with this young Charlotte Bobcats squad which features a core group of Gerald Henderson (24 years old), Kemba Walker (22) and Bismack Biyombo (19) that is younger than 24 years old.

The next move that may be of interest to the Bobcats is trading their second pick for a package of picks later in the draft. Rebuilding a Bobcats franchise will be tough, but Dunlap is the right under the radar coach for the job.