Kentucky Wildcats commit Skal Labissiere projected as top NBA pick

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South Bound & Down

For Kentucky Wildcats basketball fans, “reload” is more than a motto, it’s become a way of life.  Yesterday, John Calipari revised his estimate of players leaving for the NBA Draft from “5-7” to “6-7” and to be honest, Kentucky fans should just prepare for both Dakari Johnson and Devin Booker to depart as well.  If one stays, it is cause for celebration, but so far, “experts” have said both will probably leave so the rebuild and reload process begins.

For starters, Kentucky has a very nice core of players like Tyler Ulis, Alex Poythress, and Marcus Lee returning.  Add Dominique Hawkins and Derek Willis and it gets better.  Kentucky has three players already inked and will add at least two more, maybe three.  And one of those current commits, Skal Labissiere is blowing up.  If you were on Twitter yesterday, you saw nothing but praise about him and he has worked his way to the #1 NBA pick in 2016 on a few mock drafts.

"DraftExpress.com has moved Labissiere to the No. 1 spot in its 2016 NBA mock draft following Tuesday’s practice performance. The future Wildcat measured at 7-feet, 216 pounds Monday. He will represent the World Select Team in Saturday’s game. Other players of interest in the 2016 mock draft are Jaylen Brown (No. 2), Malik Newman (No. 5), Brandon Ingram (No. 7), Thon Maker (No. 12), Cheick Diallo (No. 14), Marcus Lee (No. 26) and Alex Poythress (No. 48)."

For me, the encouraging thing is that no one seems to be talking about the eligibility concern that seemed to dog Skal earlier.  IF he is eligible, this will be huge for next year.

It is rare to see John Calipari speechless, but apparently that is what happened when he learned that he was elected to the Hall of Fame.  It’s a fantastic honor for Calipari and it became official yesterday and he made the Hall on his first turn on the ballot.

"“This is going to be hard for people to understand, but I’m at a loss for words,” Calipari said in a statement. “I was overwhelmed when I heard the news and so grateful. I would imagine other recipients felt how I feel now: unworthy of such an honor, but appreciative. As a coach, this award means that many parents entrusted you with their sons and many players entrusted you with their careers. That’s why this award has happened for me, and I’m indebted to all of them, all of the staffs and all of the administrations that have helped me build these programs.” Considered one of the ultimate honors in the sport, Coach Cal enters the hall as part of the Class of 2015, which also included Dick Bavetta, Louis Dampier, Lindsay Gaze, Spencer Haywood, Tom Heinsohn, John Isaacs, Lisa Leslie, Dikembe Mutombo, George Raveling and Jo Jo White. The class will be enshrined in Springfield, Mass., on Sept. 10-11. Prior to Monday’s announcement, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame consisted of 325 inductees, including 95 coaches."

Former Kentucky Wildcat Louis Dampier was also elected to the Hall.  Here is video of the announcements and John Calipari’s press conference following.

If you listen to the hype, Malik Newman would be the most likely player to commit, especially if the rest of Kentucky’s guards depart. Evan Daniels seems to think so as well, although I think that Ben Howland at Mississippi State has a good shot as well.

"A: There might be a group of kids who are waiting to see who goes pro, but I’m not sure any of these players are 100 percent going to Kentucky if someone leaves. Usually you can point to a guy and say, ‘They’re going to get him.’ You can’t point to that guy in this group. Malik Newman is the guy with the best shot at it."