by Paul Jordan
There is a growing buzz and murmur surrounding this Kentucky Wildcats basketball team. No, it’s not concern that this team will self destruct in the Tournament and not make the Final Four. The Cats are playing very well lately, thank you.
The buzz is concerning next years team and the growing rumors and speculation that Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton may not be returning to Kentucky next season. Note, I said rumors and speculation, so let’s take a look at these rumors and see where they got started.
“Eric Bledsoe is going pro after this year”
The rumor gained steam after Bledsoe exploded for 25 points in Gainesville and some pre-NBA draft sites started listing him as a possible top 20 pick in the 2010 NBA draft. The buzz died down a bit when Eric struggled in the next few games but after Thursday’s 29 point performance against East Tennessee State, the buzz is reaching a fever pitch. Jerry Meyer from rivals contributed to that buzz when he said that “chances are quite good that Bledsoe heads to the NBA”
Someone asked me about this the other day and I told them that every year during the NCAA tournament, there is always one underclassman who catches fire and tries to convey a hot tournament run into increased NBA buzz. Bledsoe has been on fire lately, averaging 17.6 over his last five games and hitting 71.4% of his 3-pointers the last three games (15-21). It’s easy to see why Bledsoe has become the “it” freshman for now.
Granted, there are still five games left in the tournament and Bledsoe will face tougher foes than East Tennessee State. Bledsoe has never had the feel of a “one and done” player and I don’t think he is ready but the speculation about a 2011 NBA lockout and the speculation that rookie salaries will never be higher than in 2010 may cause a few players on the borderline to make the leap to the NBA. Granted, Bledsoe is listed in the first round on some projections and not at all on others, so this is a situation that bears watching.
“Daniel Orton is going to transfer/go pro”
This one is definitely a head scratcher and seems to stem from some comments made from Calipari where he said “And I’ll tell you right now, Daniel will have options at the end of the year to make a decision on what he wants to do.”
From the rumor mill, some NBA scouts have started to notice Orton and there is some speculation they may consider drafting him as a two year project or so. To date, Orton’s name has not shown up on any draft boards yet and there is not a lot of reason to expect it to do so this year as he is averaging 3.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game in just 13 minutes a game. Keep in mind that Orton was ranked about the same as DeMarcus Cousins before Orton injured his knee in HS and you can see where the buzz is coming from.
In the end, Orton has to decide what is going to be more beneficial for him – sitting at the end of a NBA teams depth chart and getting 5 minutes a night (or worse – toiling in the D-League) or starting for Kentucky next year and having the chance to post DeMarcus Cousins numbers and move into the first round?
I am sure Orton has options … every player has options and scholarships are a year to year thing, but I would be shocked if Orton decided he had a better option than returning to UK.
And this type of talk is going to be commonplace for Kentucky fans now. Both Brandon Knight and C.J. Leslie are already listed as lottery picks for the 2011 NBA Draft … and they have yet to choose a college.
It’s just a part of the price of success at Kentucky: everyone is going to try to take your coach and players. Get used to it and enjoy the ride.
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