We all pretty much knew it was coming, but it became official Tuesday evening that the entire Kentucky Wildcats starting five players, consisting of 3 freshmen and 2 sophomores have officially declared for the 2012 NBA Draft. It was a no brainer that the nation’s best team, fresh off winning the 2012 NCAA National Title, go through a massive turnover in talent heading into next season.
Judging by the most recent NBA Mock Drafts, NCAA National Player of the Year Anthony Davis, multi-talented SF Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and athletic forward Terrence Jones are all expected to be chosen within the Lottery, while the decision to declare was probably much tougher for freshman PG Marquis Teague and sophomore SG Doron Lamb as they are projected as late 1st Round selections.
At a press conference held at the Wildcat’s practice facility, named after legendary Kentucky coach Joe B. Hall, current coach John Calipari began the festivities with a brief statement about how proud and how much of a bond he formed with each of the 5 players before turning the microphone over to each player to make their own individual announcements and thank the rabid Kentucky fanbase, called the Big Blue Nation.
Coach Cal did aid in adding some intrigue by initially announcing that only Davis, Lamb, and Jones had “thrown their names into the Draft” before pausing, smiling, then announcing that Kidd-Gilchrist and Teague had also declared, adding that he just wanted to make a few other top flight coaches a little nervous that 2 of his players were returning. That’s what makes Cal…….well Cal. Calipari also made sure to make mention of seniors Darius Miller and Eloy Vargas graduating in a few weeks with a college degree in hand.
In their individual announcements, Davis may have had the best one liner when, after thanking the usual culprits God, the coaching staff, and Big Blue Nation, he chose to make the statement that he “wanted to thank everyone that helped make me the great player that I am.” The comment prompted Calipari to interject, “Did he really just say that.” Chalk it up to a 19 year old, incredibly talented basketball player that is nervous, and having fun with the situation. If I recall, Davis made some similar comments last week on the Jimmy Kimmel Show.
Next season, Calipari will have to rebuild behind the nation’s top ranked recruiting class (for the 4th year in a row) with players like the nation’s #1 rated player Nerlens Noel, SG Archie Goodwin, SF Alex Poythress, and two sport sar big man Willie Cauley. Of note, only the 6’9 sharpshooting big man Kyle Wiltjer and redshirt sophomore PG Ryan Harrow return from last season that have played any meaningful minutes.
Check out a clip from the Kentucky Underclassmen Press Conference:
You can watch the presser in it’s entirety over at the UK Athletics site.
Allen Moll has been a lifelong NBA and NCAA College Basketball fan who watches and studies games religiously, and coaches youth basketball in his native Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania. Allen has also provided content to Bleacherreport.com, Upperdeckblog.com, Cleveland.com, CSN Philly.com, Buckets Magazine, in addition to being a tenured NBA and NCAA columnist for TheHoopDoctors.com.
