The Kentucky Wildcats have arguably been the most successful collegiate hoops program in the country over the past few years, winning the 2012 National Championship, making it back to another Championship Game in 2014, and have sent more players to the NBA than another school over the past decade.
Coach Calipari has proven to be the master recruiter, reeling in the top freshman class 4 of the past 6 seasons. Constantly introducing the Big Blue way to an entirely new starting lineup has to be a tedious task for Cal each and every season, but he undoubtedly has a wealth of talent at his disposal for the upcoming season after losing only star forward Julius Randle to the professional ranks.
In addition to another Top 5 recruiting class featuring potential Lottery picks like Karl Anthony-Towns and Trey Lyles, the Wildcats also returned several talented upperclassmen like Willie Cauley-Stein, Alex Poythress, and super sophomores like Andrew and Aaron Harrison, Dakari Johnson, and Marcus Lee.
It has been rumored that Kentucky could send a record of 8 or 9 players to the NBA following this season, which has NBA GM’s and executives salivating at the chance of landing the next John Wall, Rajon Rondo, or Anthony Davis, all former UK standouts.
It was announced a few weeks ago that Kentucky would be hosting the first of it’s kind NBA Combine prior to the season, giving all 30 NBA teams an early look at the super talented Wildcats. Per Kentucky Sports Radio………
“On Friday, scouts from all 30 NBA teams will make their way to the Joe Craft Center in Lexington to watch your Kentucky Wildcats practice in the school’s first NBA Draft Combine, which is also the first of its kind in the sport. For two hours, 85 NBA scouts/personnel will watch the team go through individual and team drills, including speed, agility, leaping, and other physical tests, along with 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 action. The combine is just the latest brainchild of John Calipari, who continuously proves he is ahead of the curve when it comes to preparing his players for the pros. The combine is also a great chance for the program to show off its stellar NBA tradition. UK currently has 22 players on NBA rosters, with a few others with the chance to join a roster before the season starts.”
The UK Combine is the brainchild of Coach Cal and is just another tool to help lure in more top recruits to the program in the upcoming seasons, since after all, Kentucky is the place to be for any top prospect looking to fulfill the lifelong dream of playing in the NBA.
The Cats will be doing essentially the same speed, agility, and strength drills we see during the official NBA Combine in May with the entire 2 hour event being telecast live on ESPNU this Friday from 3-5 PM with an added assist from ESPN NCAA experts like Jay Bilas, Avery Johnson, and Seth Greenberg.
Once the cameras go on, fans can catch an early glimpse on one of the nation’s most talented teams and elite NBA prospects testing out their vertical leaps, doing shooting drills, and even 5-on-5 scrimmages. It has been rumored that more than 85 NBA scouts and team personnel from all 30 teams will be in attendance.
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.
