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WBN Kentucky Basketball Roundtable: What players may jump to the NBA after this season?

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As we all know, this weekend has been “All Star Weekend” for the NBA and three players off of last year’s squad (Wall, Cousins, and Bledsoe) have been featured in the activities during the leagues midseason showcase.  The big question that is going to follow John Calipaqri’s Wildcats every year is “How many more players will make the jump to the NBA?”.  The rumors of course, continue to buzz about the “one and dones”, so I thought that this weeks roundtable question was a no brainer:

Which if any of the UK Freshmen do you think will declare for the NBA Draft this year, and what are the percentages for each of them to do so?  Which players should not go pro this year?

Glenn Logan, A Sea of Blue:    Jones: 75%, Knight 45%, Lamb 30%.  Knight and Lamb should both stay. Jones should leave if he is a lottery pick, otherwise he should stay. He would almost certainly become a lottery pick next year if he isn’t this year.

Greg Edwards, Wildcat Blue Nation:  Simple formula: Jones 100%, Knight 50%, Lamb 0%.  Anyone else, not happening.  I was originally against Jones going pro, but he is making big strides now on offense, and no one plays defense well enough in the NBA to be concerned about his defensive woes.  I would really think that Brandon does stay another year, but the experts are all in complete disarray on him, so that is why I went 50/50 on him. Lamb is simply not ready, and no one else should even think about it.

Ken Howlett, A Sea of Blue:  I think there is a real chance Terrence Jones will leave this year. His draft stock has steadily climbed as the year has progressed, so accepting a precipitous collapse in his play or an injury, I look for him to be projected to go in the top 15. It’s all about potential on draft day, and in a weak draft, Jones stands out as a player with an unlimited ceiling. I put the chances of him leaving at 80%.  Brandon Knight is certainly creating a fair amount of buzz right now among the NBA folks, but another year of seasoning would probably do him some good. But that doesn’t mean a team or two wouldn’t be interested in his services, and draft Knight in the first round.   I think, in the end, Knight will stick around Lexington. I put his chances of leaving at 25%.

Brian Eldridge, Kentucky Sports Report:  I think both Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight are locks to declare for the draft. Knight is improving rapidly in so many ways. Jones seems to have leveled off, but the potential is there for him to be an absolute monster, especially at the next level.  I’d say Jones is 90% gone. Knight is 75% gone. Lamb is about 40% gone. With all that said, I think they can all use more seasoning in the college game, especially Lamb.

Paul Jordan, Wildcat Blue Nation:  Well, I wrote an article a few weeks ago saying none of the players should leave, but part of that was from a purely selfish standpoint, in retrospect.  I think Jones will certainly declare for the draft, and if he hears he is top 6-98, he is gone.  Well, let’s say 90% in that scenario.  I think he realizes that another year of seasoning could make him a candidate for number one overall, but the temptation of top five is too great to pass up.  As for Knight?  Let’s say 40%.  I would hope that academics does play a factor and as Kent said, he can get his degree in two years.  I think that he can move into competition for the top pick overall next year as well when he can move back to his SG position and he and Teague would make up the best backcourt in the country next year.  Knight’s a winner and I would hope the lure of a NCAA title is enough to keep him around.  As for Lamb?  I think he is right around 33%.  NBA scouts are gonna love his scoring ability and if he blows up in the tourney and gets a couple of 20 point games, he may declare and listen to what he is told.  He’s not on a lot of draft boards right now, but as we learned with Orton, it does not take much to hit that late first round projection.  In the end, I think Knight and Lamb stay.  I do hope these guys pay attention to the comments Eric Bledsoe had when he said if he knew how tough the NBA was, he would have stayed another year. It’s a rare player that can make the one and done thing work and we are blessed to have the players, including Kanter, that have that potential to make an impact in the league.

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