Former Kentucky Wildcat Rex Chapman Breaks Down One-And-Dones

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

It is no secret that John Calipari’s success since he arrived in Lexington, Kentucky has been due to the fact that he can recruit the best freshman in the country. Unfortunately for the fans, this means a mass exodus of these freshman after each and every season. Do fans always agree with the players that leave? The answer to that would be no. And the reason for that is a lot of these players simply aren’t ready for the NBA yet. In fact, our own King Rex Chapman broke down his thoughts on the one-and-done fad and separated recent players into three categories. Check out his criteria for each category and which Kentucky players fell into each.

"This first group is comprised of players who dominated the college game during their one season in college, were voted either 1st-team all-conference, All-American’s or NCAA Player’s of The Year. You can also call them “no-brainers” to leave school. These guys had proven at the college level to be quite dominant each and every night during their one year as a college student-athlete.In this category, Chapman placed four former Kentucky players. John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist all made the cut for the no-brainers category.One thing you will notice about the guys on the list below is that even though they hadn’t been selected in college as 1st-team all-conference players, EACH guy had either something he did exceptionally well as a college player, was extraordinarily big and agile OR was an incredibly freaky athlete. Elite athleticism is sometimes like extraordinary size in professional sports – it can make-up for many deficiencies.This category, which wasn’t exactly named by Chapman, saw some players that could have come back and improved their draft stock. However, this wasn’t exactly necessary. Former Wildcats on this list included Eric Bledsoe, Enes Kanter, and Brandon Knight.The third and final group was rather self explanatory, as King Rex simply called them the “head scratchers.” In this group, former Kentucky players Daniel Orton and Marquis Teague made the cut.Now, it is important to note that the 2013 NBA Draft Class was not included in this sorting. I’m not sure why, but I think we an agree that Nerlens Noel would have been in the second category while Archie Goodwin would have fallen into the “head scratchers” category. Also, using these categories, Rex Chapman said that the only freshman that should go from Kentucky this year is Julius Randle. Check out his explanation below and let us know what you think in the comment section!Would Julius Randle, Willie Cauley-Stein and James Young have played 30+ minutes per-game this season had junior Anthony Davis, sophomore Nerlens Noel and junior Michael Kidd-Gilchrist still been playing for the Kentucky Wildcats? Would Andrew Harrison have played much at all had he been playing behind senior Brandon Knight? Of course they wouldn’t have. But here’s the rub, if the freshmen on this Kentucky squad are to enter the draft this summer and then are subsequently drafted to the Pelicans, Rockets, Bucks or Hornets/Bobcats (where those former ‘Cats are currently playing) – ALL of them will sit and play behind the guys 2 and 3 years older. Why, because those older guys are better. In the NBA whether you’re 20 or 24 doesn’t matter to coaches or management. You may as well be in the “same grade”. You’re looked at as “young”. And the strongest/”best” survive (play the minutes).Published on 04/13/2014 at 6:00 PM EDTLast updated on 06/27/2019 at 2:03 PM EDT This first group is comprised of players who dominated the college game during their one season in college, were voted either 1st-team all-conference, All-American’s or NCAA Player’s of The Year. You can also call them “no-brainers” to leave school. These guys had proven at the college level to be quite dominant each and every night during their one year as a college student-athlete.One thing you will notice about the guys on the list below is that even though they hadn’t been selected in college as 1st-team all-conference players, EACH guy had either something he did exceptionally well as a college player, was extraordinarily big and agile OR was an incredibly freaky athlete. Elite athleticism is sometimes like extraordinary size in professional sports – it can make-up for many deficiencies.This category, which wasn’t exactly named by Chapman, saw some players that could have come back and improved their draft stock. However, this wasn’t exactly necessary. Former Wildcats on this list included Eric Bledsoe, Enes Kanter, and Brandon Knight.The third and final group was rather self explanatory, as King Rex simply called them the “head scratchers.” In this group, former Kentucky players Daniel Orton and Marquis Teague made the cut.Now, it is important to note that the 2013 NBA Draft Class was not included in this sorting. I’m not sure why, but I think we an agree that Nerlens Noel would have been in the second category while Archie Goodwin would have fallen into the “head scratchers” category. Also, using these categories, Rex Chapman said that the only freshman that should go from Kentucky this year is Julius Randle. Check out his explanation below and let us know what you think in the comment section!Would Julius Randle, Willie Cauley-Stein and James Young have played 30+ minutes per-game this season had junior Anthony Davis, sophomore Nerlens Noel and junior Michael Kidd-Gilchrist still been playing for the Kentucky Wildcats? Would Andrew Harrison have played much at all had he been playing behind senior Brandon Knight? Of course they wouldn’t have. But here’s the rub, if the freshmen on this Kentucky squad are to enter the draft this summer and then are subsequently drafted to the Pelicans, Rockets, Bucks or Hornets/Bobcats (where those former ‘Cats are currently playing) – ALL of them will sit and play behind the guys 2 and 3 years older. Why, because those older guys are better. In the NBA whether you’re 20 or 24 doesn’t matter to coaches or management. You may as well be in the “same grade”. You’re looked at as “young”. And the strongest/”best” survive (play the minutes).Published on 04/13/2014 at 6:00 PM EDTLast updated on 06/27/2019 at 2:03 PM EDT One thing you will notice about the guys on the list below is that even though they hadn’t been selected in college as 1st-team all-conference players, EACH guy had either something he did exceptionally well as a college player, was extraordinarily big and agile OR was an incredibly freaky athlete. Elite athleticism is sometimes like extraordinary size in professional sports – it can make-up for many deficiencies.Would Julius Randle, Willie Cauley-Stein and James Young have played 30+ minutes per-game this season had junior Anthony Davis, sophomore Nerlens Noel and junior Michael Kidd-Gilchrist still been playing for the Kentucky Wildcats? Would Andrew Harrison have played much at all had he been playing behind senior Brandon Knight? Of course they wouldn’t have. But here’s the rub, if the freshmen on this Kentucky squad are to enter the draft this summer and then are subsequently drafted to the Pelicans, Rockets, Bucks or Hornets/Bobcats (where those former ‘Cats are currently playing) – ALL of them will sit and play behind the guys 2 and 3 years older. Why, because those older guys are better. In the NBA whether you’re 20 or 24 doesn’t matter to coaches or management. You may as well be in the “same grade”. You’re looked at as “young”. And the strongest/”best” survive (play the minutes).Published on 04/13/2014 at 6:00 PM EDTLast updated on 06/27/2019 at 2:03 PM EDT Would Julius Randle, Willie Cauley-Stein and James Young have played 30+ minutes per-game this season had junior Anthony Davis, sophomore Nerlens Noel and junior Michael Kidd-Gilchrist still been playing for the Kentucky Wildcats? Would Andrew Harrison have played much at all had he been playing behind senior Brandon Knight? Of course they wouldn’t have. But here’s the rub, if the freshmen on this Kentucky squad are to enter the draft this summer and then are subsequently drafted to the Pelicans, Rockets, Bucks or Hornets/Bobcats (where those former ‘Cats are currently playing) – ALL of them will sit and play behind the guys 2 and 3 years older. Why, because those older guys are better. In the NBA whether you’re 20 or 24 doesn’t matter to coaches or management. You may as well be in the “same grade”. You’re looked at as “young”. And the strongest/”best” survive (play the minutes)."