Thursday night is the night several former Big Ten basketball players have dreamed about their entire lives. In a matter of hours, guys like Meyers Leonard, Jared Sullinger and Draymond Green, among others, will hear their name called at the 2012 NBA Draft. When will they get picked? And by which teams? Dive inside this post for all of the latest mock drafts from around the web. And don’t forget to watch BTN.com’s NBA draft interviews and features before the event starts.

What if the NBA drafted solely on NCAA production and didn’t stress potential or what a player could become? According to ESPN.com’s Eamonn Brennan, the Big Ten would dominate Thurday’s NBA draft lottery. After the obvious choice, Kentucky’s Anthony Davis at No. 1, Brennan has a Big Ten player making up the rest of his production-based mock top 5. See Brennan’s list in this post, plus get all your links to mock drafts.

No disrespect to the Wisconsin football team, which advanced to its second consecutive Rose Bowl, but the Badger men’s cross country team highlighted the school’s 2011-12 athletic year. The Badgers took their 13th consecutive Big Ten title, posting the second-lowest team score in history (17), and won the NCAA crown, the Big Ten’s first since 2005. Along the way, Mohammed Ahmed set a Big Ten record 8K time (23:18) at Big Ten Championship and won Big Ten Athlete of the Year, while Mick Byrne won Big Ten Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year.

It may only be the beginning of July, but Big Ten fans are craving football. BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart answers all of your college football questions and others in his regular Big Ten reader mailbags. Wondering about 2012 season predictions? Or players to watch? Use the submission form in this post to pepper our expert with your football questions and comments.

Rejoice, basketball fans. BTN is dedicating Friday’s programming to men’s basketball. Starting at 10 a.m. E.T., we’re re-airing a trio of exciting 2011-12 games, including Indiana’s memorable upset of No. 1 Kentucky, all of which precede a marathon of our award-winning “The Journey: Big Ten Basketball 2012,” which tips off at 3:30 p.m.

“The Big Ten’s Greatest Games” for football and basketball is a popular program for our TV viewers and online readers. Each year we dig through the archives and roll out new episodes featuring games from the past. For example, that classic 1989 Big Ten basketball finish between Illinois and Indiana featured in our ongoing series “I Hit It To Win It” (watch the video in this post).