The Kentucky Wildcats Popped their Own NCAA Bubble Last Night with the Loss to the Vanderbilt Commodores

Apr 2, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Anthony Davis (23) celebrates with teammates after defeating the Kansas Jayhawks 67-59 in the finals of the 2012 NCAA men

And as we stand on the precipice of the thinnest of bubbles heading into Selection Sunday, one can’t help but think ahead to the 2013-2014 recruiting class we have coming in.  Unfortunately there are still decisions to be made by Julius Randle (3/20/2013), Andrew Wiggins, and Aaron Gordon, but while we wait, let’s take a look at Athlon Sports ranking of John Calipari’s Top 20 Freshmen.  Of course more than half (12) of the 20 suited up in the Blue and White with 9 currently in the NBA and the others still in school.

"1. Anthony Davis, Kentucky Season: 2011-12 Davis didn’t simply have one of the best freshman seasons in college basketball history — he had one of the best seasons of any player. If there was an award to be won or honor to receive, Davis earned it. He was the consensus national player of the year, a unanimous All-American, the national defensive player of the year and the Final Four Most Outstanding Player. After leading Kentucky to its eighth national title and first championship since 1998, Davis was the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft. The only other players to win the Naismith Award, the Final Four MOP and then be selected first overall in the draft all the in the same season were Kansas’ Danny Manning and. UCLA’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. With a 7-foot-four wingspan, Davis was a defensive force, setting an NCAA freshman record and Kentucky record with 186 blocks. 2. Derrick Rose, Memphis Season: 2007-08 Hard to believe as it is, Rose wasn’t the most decorated player on his own team as a freshman. That distinction went to All-American and Conference USA player of the year Chris Douglas-Roberts. Rose belongs on this list, though, as the point guard of a team that played for a national title before falling 75-68 in overtime to Kansas. Rose averaged 20.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6 assists per game in the NCAA tournament, but his missed free throws late in regulation of the title game sealed Memphis’ fate. Months later, Rose was the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. 3. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kentucky Season: 2011-12 It’s never bad when the team’s most competitive player and glue guy happens to also be the No. 2 player in the NBA Draft (behind only teammate Anthony Davis, the No. 1 overall pick). Kidd-Gilchrist’s intangibles were second-to-none, a trait that was absent on some of Calipari’s most talented teams. Kidd-Gilchrist averaged 11.9 points and 7.4 rebounds, earning Most Outstanding Player honors for the East regional as the Wildcats reached the Final Four and eventually won the national title. 4. John Wall, Kentucky Season: 2009-10 Calipari started at Kentucky the same way he finished his time at Memphis – with an elite one-and-done point guard. Wall followed in the footsteps of Rose and Tyreke Evans at Memphis and preceded Brandon Knight and Marquis Teague at Kentucky. In leading Kentucky to a 35-3 season, Wall was the National Freshman of the Year and the Associated Press and coaches’ pick for SEC Player of the Year (Oddly enough, teammate DeMarcus Cousins was the coaches’ pick for SEC freshman of the year). Wall was blocked for most national player of the year awards by Ohio State’s Evan Turner, but Wall did earn the Adolph Rupp Trophy. Go figure. 5. Brandon Knight, Kentucky Season: 2010-11 Knight was a McDonald’s All-American, but his arrival wasn’t as heralded as John Wall’s to Kentucky or Derrick Rose’s to Memphis. Still, he brought similar results. Knight wasn’t a collegiate All-American like Wall, but he took Kentucky deeper into the NCAA Tournament for the Wildcats first Final Four appearance since 1998. 6. Nerlens Noel, Kentucky Season: 2012-13 Before his devastating knee injury against Florida, Noel was having an award-worthy season even if his team paled in comparison to recent Calipari squads. When he did play, Noel was offensively limited but few were better on the defensive end of the floor. He could have challenged Davis’ blocked shots numbers and was a leading candidate for national defensive player and freshman of the year honors. The flat-topped center finished his season averaging 10.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.4 blocks and 2.1 steals per game. 7. Tyreke Evans, Memphis Season: 2008-09 After Calipari moved him to point guard, Evans had the unenviable task of stepping in for Rose, who had just led Memphis to the national championship game. Evans was a stat-sheet stuffer from the start with 17.1 points per game, 5.4 rebounds and 3.9 assists in his single season at Memphis. 8. Dajuan Wagner, Memphis Season: 2001-02 Before the deluge of one-and-dones followed Calipari to Memphis and Kentucky, he had Wagner with the Tigers. He averaged 42 points per game in high school before landing in Memphis, where he averaged 21.2 points for the Tigers. Calipari revoked Wagner’s sophomore scholarship to persuade him to enter the NBA Draft, where he became the No. 6 pick. However, health and injury issues derailed his promising career. 9. DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky Season: 2009-10 What could Cousins’ ceiling be if he were able to tackle his maturity issues? Kentucky fans may ask the same thing. He was dominant in his single season alongside Wall in 2009-10, averaging 15.1 points and 9.8 rebounds. His talent was undeniable, but so was his tendency to sulk on the sideline. Cousins and Wall went 35-3 in during the regular season before falling in the Elite Eight to West Virginia. 10. Marcus Camby, UMass Season: 1993-94 Camby would go on to bigger things as a junior when UMass reached the Final Four and earning National Player of the Year honors, but his rookie season in Amherst wasn’t too shabby. Despite starting only 12 games, Camby was the Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year after averaging 10.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game."

"Others of note: 11. Terrence Jones, Kentucky (2010-11)12. Eric Bledsoe, Kentucky (2009-10) 13. Sean Banks, Memphis (2003-04) 14. Jim McCoy, UMass (1988-89) 15. Marquis Teague, Kentucky (2011-12) 16. Darius Washington Jr., Memphis (2004-05) 17. Will Herndon, UMass (1989-90) 18. Doron Lamb, Kentucky (2010-11) 19. Alex Poythress, Kentucky (2012-13) 20. Archie Goodwin, Kentucky (2012-13)"