Kentucky Wildcats Basketball: Players that could make the 2014 Draft

Even though the 2014 season hasn’t started yet, there are several key Kentucky Wildcat players that could potentially  go in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft. The draft in 2014 could be very historical with the potential it brings as being the strongest of its kind since 2003. The class of 2003 contributed Lebron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade, and Dwight Howard. While the 2013 NBA Draft has been called “historically weak” by one GM, the 2014 draft could be historically strong. The 2014 draft is so loaded, one NBA GM said there are half a dozen players in it that could go number one this year.

The Kentucky Wildcats could make history in the draft once again, as they could produce anywhere between 5-8 players. Those players range from Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Julius Randle, and Dakari Johnson to even Alex Poythress, James Young, and Marcus Lee. I’m not saying all of those players will get drafted next year, but they all have the potential to be first round picks in the 2014 NBA Draft.

Julius Randle is projected to be a top five pick in the draft. With all the hype about Wiggins, it’s easy to forget about the 6-9 Randle, a Mickey D’s All-American who headlines Kentucky’s top-ranked recruiting class. Randle is being compared to a young Lamar Odom, and has the makings to be one of the great future NBA stars. In August 2012, Randle won the Under Armour Elite 24 Dunk Contest, and the next day he was named one of the MVPs of the Elite 24 game, where he scored 27 points and led his team to a 164-138 victory.The weekend after Thanksgiving in his senior season, Randle fractured his foot playing in a tournament and missed three months. In March, Randle returned for the TAPPS 5A playoffs and led his team to its third state title in four years.

Andrew Harrison, along with Julius Randle, is also projected to be a top 5 NBA draft pick. Andrew Harrison could turn out to be John Calipari’s most important recruit this coming season. After all, he will be running the point next season in Lexington, deciding how the ball is allocated and spread out among the other incoming stars at the University of Kentucky.“Me, as a man, I believe nobody can beat me,” Harrison said during the Jordan Brand Classic in Brooklyn.

Aaron Harrison is projected to be a top 10 NBA draft pick. A 6-5 shooting guard, Harrison will share time in a loaded backcourt at Kentucky next season that also includes incoming shooting guard James Young. We recommend a clickthrough to this story by Adam Himmelsbach of the Louisville Courier-Journal:

"“Aaron and Andrew don’t have other siblings, but they recently assumed the role of big brothers after their aunt, Sheryl, died in Baltimore following a long battle with cancer. After she died, the Harrison family took in her two teenage sons, Khalil and Hakeem Butler, who moved from Maryland and enrolled at Travis High School in Richmond, Texas.”"

The Kentucky Wildcats are considered serious title contenders for the 2013-14 National Championship. With all of the talent and players that coach Calipari has to tackle again for another young team, the Wildcats are looking very strong. After it’s all said and done, the Kentucky Wildcats can break another NBA Draft record. If the team holds strong then i don’t see how it can’t happen.