Kentucky Wildcats 5 for Tuesday: Charles Barkley weighs in on Kentucky's "one and dones"
By Paul Jordan
Charles Barkley has always been one of my favorite people. During the NCAA Tournament, he elevated his status a bit with his prognostication skills and he seemed especially in tune with the Kentucky Wildcat basketball team. Yesterday, he was on the Dan Patrick show and the subject came up on the NBA Draft and this exchange occured:
"Barkley: Now this ain’t directed at Kyrie (Irving), but I am so annoyed at some of these stiffs that I got coming to the NBA now. These guys … listen, I watched the NCAA TournamentPatrick: YupBarkley: The kid at Arizona Patrick: WilliamsBarkley: Ummmm I’m try to think. There were very few players that I saw that were ready after one and done to come to the NBAPatrick: Brandon Knight? Kentucky? You think he’s closeBarkley: Not even close. Patrick: Yea?Barkley: Not even close. And the Jones kid either."
Even if Jones, Knight, and Liggins depart, Kentucky is still in pretty good shape for 2011-2012. Gary Parrish released his post NBA Draft edition of his top 25 for next year and even with the defections, the Wildcats still come in at number two:
"Top veterans on projected roster: Doron Lamb, Darius MillerTop newcomers on projected roster: Anthony Davis, Mike Gilchrist, Marquis Teague, Kyle WiltjerComment: Even if Knight, Jones and Liggins all remain in the draft, Calipari’s top-ranked recruiting class will have the Wildcats as talented as anybody (except UNC)."
So what if Liggins and say Jone’s return? Or if Kentucky can add a Trevor Lacey? Watch out UNC!
Not surprisingly, Kentucky is the team that has the most to lose in the upcoming NBA Draft. Sports Illustrated’s Luke Winn had this to say about the Wildcat’s “NBA Three”:
"1. KENTUCKYFreshmen Brandon Knight and Terrence Jones have yet to hire agents, but they’re close to gone. Knight’s mother said it would take “something unexpected” to keep her son out of the draft, where he’s projected to be either the second or third point guard off the board, and be taken in the top 10. Jones, also a lottery pick, is a long shot to return. In the unlikely event both players contract lockout-itis and opt to stay in Lexington, the Wildcats would overtake North Carolina as 2011-12’s preseason No. 1.Coach John Calipari has a better shot at keeping junior defensive stopper DeAndre Liggins, who’s fishing for a guaranteed contract. “He’s a mid-to-late second-rounder right now,” one NBA scout said of Liggins, “but he could be a find for someone, because he has offensive talent that he hasn’t been able to fully show while playing with ball-dominating guards, like John Wall, or [Eric] Bledsoe, or Knight.” Liggins would be playing with another ball-dominating guard (incoming freshman point Marquis Teague) in 2011-12, but could elevate his profile by serving as the key veteran on a national title contender."
Well, you can mark God’s Gift Achiuwa off of Kentucky’s recruiting list for 2011. Achiuwa recently left Kentucky off his list of his final three teams, but to be honest, I doubt that he was ever offered by John Calipari and Kentucky. This leaves Trevor Lacey and Joseph Uchebo as the two main recruiting targets to add to the 2011 class …. if Kentucky decides to add someone.
Randall Cobb is one of 25 players that have been invited to New Your for the NFL Draft, which starts Thursday Night. This would indicate that Cobb has at least a decent chance of going in the first round. Barkley went on to say that the 18-19 year old kids in the draft were hurting the NBA because if a team is drafting that high, they obviously need help and drafting a project is not going to provide that immediate help.
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