Kentucky Wildcats Basketball: Top Players at Each Position in the John Calipari Era

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Nov 27, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein (00) dunks the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the third quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The The Timberwolves won 101-91. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

#3 Willie Cauley-Stein

Rating the top five centers since John Calipari made his way to Lexington has proven to be a difficult task. At first, I thought it would be pretty easy, but that just isn’t the case. Calipari is known as a point guards coach, but he has drastically changed since he arrived in Lexington.

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Since Calipari stepped foot into the offices at the University of Kentucky in 2009, he has produced three #1 overall picks in the NBA Draft, two of them have been centers, and many reports of the 2016 NBA Mock Draft have another Kentucky center being picked #1 overall next year. So rating them is almost impossible.

I’m going to be honest, #2 is going to be a tie, I thought this guy could be #2 as well, but I had to choose, so here we go.

Willie Cauley-Stein. I know, you want to throw a shoe at me, he deserves to be higher. I know. He was recently picked #6 overall to the Sacramento Kings in the 2015 NBA Draft. He gave the Wildcats three strong years, so he is more than just a fan favorite, he is family, as they all are, but Big Blue Nation got to know Willie Cauley-Stein more so than many others.

The Olathe, Kansas native who played wide receiver and was passed up on by even his home state school of the University of Kansas made himself a legend. His love for the game was always in questions, but Big Blue Nation knew he loved the game, he wouldn’t have come to Kentucky if not. His eclectic personality and loving nature made him even more lovable. He played a vital role in getting the Wildcats to two Final Fours and a huge role in the 38-1 historic season for the Wildcats.

Next: It's a Tie

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