Here we go again. As we discussed last night on the WBN Podcast, it seems that the annual rite of Spring for Wildcat fans is going to be the talk of which Wildcat players will go pro. Last year of course, Kentucky lost five players to the NBA and still made the Final Four, so my faith has been reinforced in John Calipari. Yet, the talk about which UK players may bolt has already started. Eric Crawford says that it is a safe assumption that Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones are gone for the NBA. I tend to disagree. I would say that while Jones is gone, I think Knight is 50/50 right now. It’s all rampant speculation however and we all have about a month to talk about it.
One bit of news that has come out is the news that DeAndre Liggins will actually sit down with his family soon and discuss the possibilities of going pro. Granted, most people think that Liggins will return to Kentucky, but making the Final Four is going to open a lot of people’s eyes. For the record, I have no ill will for any player that wants to test their options for the NBA, especially after a Final Four performance. In the case of Liggins, I think it’s good for him to listen and see what he needs to work on for next year and that can only make him a better player for Kentucky next year.
One bit of news coming out of the UConn game is the fact that Kemba Walker sought out DeAndre Liggins after the game and complimented him on his defense:
"“I just told him, ‘Great defense,’ ” Walker said Sunday. “I thought he did a great job on me, definitely one of the best all season.”"
Liggins held Walker about 6 points below his average.
Probably one of the biggest storylines of this season is the fact that Josh Harrellson is now on the radar of NBA scouts and has made himself a NBA prospect. It’s an amazing story and I really hope that Harrellson gets at least a chance on the next level:
"NBA scouting director Ryan Blake loves Harrellson’s “nasty” game and trots out an oft-used truism when discussing him: “You can’t coach big.” Blake thinks the Portsmouth Invitational will provide yet another forum for Harrellson to convince an NBA team and it takes only one to give him a shot."
Regardless of who goes pro and who does not go pro, John Calipari will return a squad next year that will be well equipped to make yet another Final Four run and in all probablility, will enter the season as the preseason number one team. Gary Parrish points out that the one key factor is Calipari, who has had a team that was on the verge of a national title in four of the past six seasons. In other words, Kenbtucky is going to be OK.
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