The pre-draft camp in Chicago is usually somewhat of market of College Basketball players trying to improve their stocks heading into the next NBA Draft. Thomas Robinson, after three years with the Kansas Jayhawks, believes his College Career has been good enough to make him the no.1 pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, ahead of Anthony Davis.

If you haven’t been following, Davis has been pretty much the consensus no.1 pick midway through the 2011-2012 College Basketball season, and his NCAA Tournament performances, resulting in Kentucky’s first NCAA title since the 1990’s, didn’t change what everyone knew all along – Davis will leave after his freshman year, and get selected as the #1 pick.

He showed up to the press time with a shirt that said ‘Check my Stats’. He averaged 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.7 blocks. He struggled offensively in that final against Kansas, scoring only 6 points, but that didn’t hurt his stock. He showed his versatility and ability to influence the game with his defense, shot changing and ability make others better.

He added 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals and 6 blocks. No wonder he’s been getting the Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan comparisons, with coaches and analysts arguing just how much of an impact he’s going to make once the steps on an NBA court. The optimists say that he can turn any team, even the Charlotte Bobcats, into a 50 win team.

But not everyone think Davis should be the number one pick. Thomas Robinson of Kansas, who faced Davis in the national finals, has a different opinion regarding who should be the number one pick. Seeing the shirt of Davis’ just made him even more adamant about who should be the number one pick in the not so distant future.

If you wanted to check the stats, then I’d be the No. 1 pick easily, if that’s what you want to do. I should get one of those shirts. I’ll get a shirt that says, ‘Numbers don’t lie.’ I think I play with a different level than everyone else, a different intensity level. 

I’m going to play every night, that’s not something every guy does. Everybody don’t show up every night on a consistent basis. I think out of this group, I probably would say that I’m one of the players that do.

Robinson spent three years in College, really breaking during his final Junior season, averaging 17.7 rebounds and 11.9 rebounds per game. Those numbers do stand out in comparison with Davis’. Arguably, he had a better final – scoring 18 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. But it’s not just these numbers that make the impression.

Thomas Robinson might be a great power forward and big man in the NBA, but not unlike someone we haven’t seen before. He’s a great rebounder and very hard to stop in the paint, but he isn’t a unique talent that comes along once in a generation. Anthony Davis might not be as effective with his scoring at the moment, but what he adds to any team in terms of defense and versatility is simply superior to what stat sheets say.