Kentucky Wildcat Basketball: No firm decisions made less than a week NBA Draft decisions for Kentucky threesome

Good afternoon, BBN. It’s been a few days since I wrote on the site as I was moving, but I am back and hopefully better than ever. If you are looking for a good mover in the Orlando, I would not look for the “nice” guys. Just saying. Email me as I have some horror stories for you, which started with the movers being four hours late and having no tools o take apart my bed. Ugh.

Anyway, I noticed that we still have no final decision on the “NBA Three” and the decisions as to whether or not their name will stay in the draft. Brandon Knight,Terrence Jones, and DeAndre Liggins still have until May 8 to pull their name out of the draft, so I decided to look at the latest rankings from NBADraft.net.

Brandon Knight – 5th to Sacramento – It’s hard to see where Brandon Knight comes back to Lexington as his draft status will never be better. Yet, the fact that he has not pulled the trigger yet and hired an agent would indicate that he is taking this decision very seriously. As recently as a few days ago, Brandon Knight said that he was “50/50” on the matter and that he would have a decision by May 8.

Regardless, the smart money is on Knight heading to the NBA. I love Brandon Knight, but being drafted fifth is simply to much to pass up. If Knight does return, Kentucky automatically leapfrogs UNC as the preseason number one team next year. As of now, let’s put the odds of Knight returning at 33%.

Terrence Jones – 13th to Phoenix – I have to admit that is is kind of mystifying why Jones has not taken the big leap up the draft board as he has hovered around the 11th to 13th pick so far. Regardless, Dick Vitale fully expects both Knight and Jones to go in the top seven picks, but admits that Jones could fall to the top 14. With Sullinger and the other players probably headed to the NBA, Jones can still improve on his draft position with a solid season at Kentucky, so it’s not the same as with Knight where he could not possibly improve his draft position.

Josh Harrellson thinks that Jones could be a top five pick next year, which I tend to agree with. I would say that if Jones gets feelers that he is in the top ten, he is likely gone. If his stock stays where it is now, I would hope he realizes the benefits of returning. In my mind, I think he is gone, but it’s close. Let’s say that it’s 51/49 on Jones leaving right now.

DeAndre Liggins – not listed – I realize that NBADraft.net is just one mock draft, but DeAndre Liggins is not listed . It’s sad to see as Liggins is starting a family and if he stas in the draft, I’d love to see him taken in the first round. However with players like Josh Selby (34th) and Jacob Pullen (57th) firmly entrenched in the second round, I don’t see Liggins getting picked in say the first 40 picks … and that, in my opinion, is not worth leaving school for.

Even Dick Vitale has weighed in on Liggins, saying:

“But Liggins needs to return to Kentucky. I don’t understand why you would want to leave if there is a chance you might not be drafted or would be taken late in the second round and not receive a guaranteed contract. His final season at Kentucky has a chance to be really special for him and he can improve on his weaknesses and move up in the draft.”

I could not agree more and I think that Liggins is a smart kid and will make the right decision for him. Let’s put the odds on Liggins returning at 80% with a Daniel Orton like 20% chance of staying in the draft. For now, let’s hope that Liggins returns to school.

Elsewhere, Enes Kanter is still in the third spot and Josh Harrellson is in the same boat with Liggins in hopes of securing an NBA contract. Difference being that Harrellson does not have the luxury of returning. But Harrellson has the potential to be a serviceable backup in the NBA. And he can be a reasonably priced one at that.

Lastly, the Kentucky Combine ended day one and there has been very little talk as of yet. Assuming things go as they probably will, I expect Cal to have comments for everyone after it’s conclusion. Let’s hope the Cats knock this one out of the park for all their career hopes.

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