The NBA Draft is proof that while some players may have on-court smarts, they’re not so good with math.

A total of 77 college players and international players have declared early for it, which means a serious case of musical chairs is about to break out, since only 60 players get selected.

While the list of early-entry college players features such big stars as Trey Burke, Nerlens Noel, Otto Porter Jr. and Cody Zeller, there are also some real head-scratchers. Among those whose names you’ve probably never heard of include Christian Kabongo (New Mexico State), Tahj Tate (Delaware State), John Taylor (Fresno Pacific), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (Georgia), Trevis Simpson (North Carolina-Greensboro) and Adrien Coleman (Bethune-Cookman). That’s an impressive who’s who of “Who?” for sure.

The international pool, meanwhile, is filled with players who may become stars in the NBA, but whose lack of exposure in the US means they’re relatively unknown stateside right now. Seriously, don’t start talking smack about the inside game of Mouhammadou Jaiteh (France), the rebounding prowess of Francois Affia Ambadiang (Slovenia) or the smooth open court vision of Strahinja Stojacic (Serbia). No one will believe you, even if you have Internet access and have come across a 10-second clip of them dunking on YouTube.

2012 NBA Draft
Getty Images
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The bottom line is this: a bunch of players are going to be left out in the cold (we mean that quite literally if you’re one of the Serbian players who's not picked). Having given up their collegiate eligibility, a good chunk of these collegiate players will find themselves going from big man on campus to trying to figure out how to order boiled lamb in an Istanbul restaurant during a day off with his Turkish league team.

The NBA Draft is a tough nut to crack. Unlike the NFL, there are no guarantees you can make much of an impact after being a lottery pick, so it's kind of a mystery why so many of them would remain in the draft when the numbers dictate a good portion won't end up on an NBA roster come opening night next season. Look at the photo above: can you give the first names of each player? Didn't think so.

The deadline to declare for early entry was April 28. The draft lottery is slated for May 21 and the draft itself will be held June 27, a night when many of the players will officially learn they made the worst vocational decision since Shelley Long left ‘Cheers.’

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