Connect with us

Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball NBA Mock Draft Round-Up

Published

on

UK Athletics

The halfway point of the college basketball season is almost here and that means one of John Calipari’s favorite days of the year is getting closer, NBA Draft day.

Coming into the season, several Kentucky Wildcats had hopes of getting drafted. However, there are currently just two Wildcats that are projected to be drafted, Oscar Tshiebwe and Cason Wallace.

Up to this point, Tshiebwe and Wallace have been Kentucky’s most valuable players, so it is no surprise to see they are projects to make their dreams a reality. Let’s take a look and see where they stand.

Advertisement

Cason Wallace

The Athletic: 8th
CBS Sports: 6th (Oklahoma City Thunder)
ESPN: 9th (Orlando Magic)
NBA.com: 11th (Indiana Pacers)
Yahoo Sports: 13th (Utah Jazz)

Coming in as a top-10 prospect and McDonald’s All-American, Cason Wallace was sure to make an impact. Yet, it is safe to say he has been better than advertised.

Through the first half of the season, Cason Wallace has arguably proved himself to be the best all-around freshman in the country and the stats prove it. Amongst freshmen, Wallace is the only one to be ranked in the top 20 in points (12.9), assists (3.9), and steals (2.3), while shooting 50% FG and 40% 3P.

Coming in, Wallace’s on-ball defense was heralded, and he has proven that he can be an NBA team’s best on-ball defender. What has impressed scouts the most is his three-point shooting ability and playmaking

Advertisement

For Wallace, the ceiling is very high and he could continue to move up draft boards as the season continues.

Oscar Tshiebwe

The Athletic: 58th
ESPN: 54th (Phoenix Suns)
NBA.com: 54th (Brooklyn Nets)

Despite sweeping all of the National Player of the Year awards last season, Oscar Tshiebwe was projected as a fringe first-round to mid-second-round pick. With his feedback from the NBA, Tshiebwe made the decision to return to Lexington.

Looking at a deeper 2023 draft, Tshiebwe is on the edge of the second round in almost all mock drafts. Tshiebwe did have minor knee surgery back in October and has only recently started to match last season’s numbers. With that said, there is still room to improve his draft stock.

Advertisement

Proven as an elite rebounder and with his improved footwork, an NBA team will draft Tshiebwe in the later half of the draft. To improve his draft stock, Tshiebwe must tighten up on defense and display some perimeter skills as the season progresses.


There are some notable absences from the draft projections, including Damion Collins, Chris Livingston, and Jacob Toppin.

Collins and Toppin have the physical tools to be drafted, but have just not consistently put it together. However, Toppin is coming off back-to-back 20+ point performances and looks to be turning the corner, and could play his way into the draft conversation.

Young freshman Chris Livingston is also on the outside looking in right now but is steadily improving every game, showing a lot of promise, and looking to rise in the ranks throughout the rest of the season.

Advertisement

With the five freshman coming in that will likely play a lot of minutes, several Wildcats will have tough decisions to make at the end of the season.

BB Recruiting

Kentucky Named a “Loser” of the Transfer Portal This Offseason, Frustration Grows

Published

on

© Jeff Faughender/Courier Journal and USA Today Network / USA TODAY NETWORK

One NCAA Tournament win over the last three seasons is far from acceptable by Kentucky basketball standards. For that reason, tension and expectations are high going into what many believe is a make-or-break season for John Calipari.

While the Wildcats do have the No. 1 recruiting class coming in – which includes five freshmen – they have only returned only two players that played at least five minutes per game last season – Adou Thiero and Ugonna Onyenso – and have lost at least four to the NBA Draft or to the portal.

As the roster stands, only eight scholarships of the thirteen the NCAA allows are taken. With the draft withdrawal deadline on May 31st, that number could change as Chris Livingston, Oscar Tshiebwe, and/or Antonio must make their final decisions. However, it is highly unlikely they all decide to return.

Advertisement

With that said, the staff has made their bed. They didn’t express a lot of interest in the transfer portal, but lost out on the two prospects they did want, Hunter Dickinson and Keshad Johnson. Now this late in the portal, there aren’t currently many options that can replace the production or level of player that Kentucky has lost and are expected to lose.

For these reasons, 247Sports’ Travis Branham named Kentucky one of the biggest losers of the transfer portal.

“They do have the No. 1 recruiting class in 2023 incoming but this is a team that has been at the mercy of Oscar Tshiebwe and Antonio Reeves. There is so much riding on these two and they have not landed a single transfer as of yet. Even if one of those guys opts to go to the draft and not return, that’s an extremely big hit to the Kentucky program, especially this late into the portal,” Branham said.

“There’s not many more that we’re anticipating to go in there. Will still be a couple, but not many that can move the needle and they will be in line trying to advocate to get these kids on campus. As of today, there’s only seven scholarship players for the 2023-24 season for Kentucky and that can really be a big, big miss if Antonio Reeves and Oscar Tshiebwe opt to stay in the draft.”

Advertisement

Kentucky is recruiting all three players to stay, but realistically hoping for the return of Reeves and Tshiebwe. John Calipari is planning to visit Tshiebwe this weekend in Charlotte to gauge where he stands in his final decision.

At the start of the offseason, Reeves and Tshiebwe would have been two of Kentucky’s best options regardless of who was in the portal, therefore if Calipari is able to retain them, the outlook will become much more optimistic. While Livingston could have an All-SEC caliber ceiling as a sophomore, Calipari could find a capable wing player (i.e. David Jones) to fill that role.

Either way, the roster picture will become much clearer in just a matter of days, but depending on what those decisions are the panic meter will certainly rise for the Wildcats.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Men's Basketball

Is Oscar Tshiebwe Trending Towards a Return? It’s a “Toss-Up”, Per Report

Published

on

© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

May 31st is the most important upcoming date for the Kentucky basketball team, as that is the NBA Draft withdrawal deadline. The final stay/go decisions from Chris Livingston, Antonio Reeves, and Oscar Tshiebwe will be made, but as it stands, not one of those decisions is clear. Of them, Tshiebwe’s decision may be the most dynamic.

Going into last season, most assumed that it would be Oscar Tshiebwe’s last season at Kentucky, and as the offseason began, that expectation continued. However, the effect of NIL on his decision was initially underestimated.

Last season, Tshiebwe made an estimated $2 million in NIL, which far surpasses the valuation of a late second-round NBA Draft pick, which is near the minimum salary of just over $1 million. With a return, there is optimism that he would make a similar amount.

Advertisement

On the other hand, Tshiebwe is 23 years old and his professional prospects would not improve with a return. Instead, he would almost certainly be taking a reduced role – which he is okay with – as is expected with the talented freshman class coming in. To add, Tshiebwe helped his stock with his NBA Draft Combine performance last week.

With that said, Tshiebwe’s decision looks to be a “toss-up” and it is according to a live stream featuring Jack Pilgrim of Kentucky Sports Radio. Those hoping for a return include John Calipari, who has been recruiting him to come back for another season, and this weekend Calipari is expected to visit Tshiebwe in Charlotte.

This time next week, there will be a much clearer picture of what Kentucky’s roster will look like and what roles will need to be filled.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

BB Recruiting

Amidst Fan Frustration, Kentucky Contacts Top Transfer David Jones

Published

on

© Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky has had several players leave this offseason, with more expected to depart as they make their final decisions by the May 31st NBA Draft withdrawal deadline. However, they have yet to add anyone to the roster. With only eight scholarships taken, of the thirteen the NCAA allows, there are spots to be filled.

This has been greeted by plenty of fan frustration. With Kentucky’s freshmen anticipated to arrive on campus at the beginning of June, and the Wildcats set to play in GLBL Jam in Canada in mid-July, things must pick up soon.

With that said, on Wednesday, Kentucky reached out to St. John’s transfer David Jones, who is one of the better wing options remaining in the transfer portal. Other schools that have reached out include Arkansas (obviously), Memphis, UConn, and Xavier.

Advertisement

Despite being the second leading scorer for the Red Storm (13.2 ppg), Jones entered the portal following the news that Rick Pitino would be taking the head coaching job. Interestingly enough, this is not the first time that Jones has entered the portal or that Kentucky has expressed interest in Jones.

Prior to his time at St. John’s, Kentucky recruited Jones out of high school as a four-star recruit, even bringing him in for an unofficial visit to Lexington back in February 2020. However, Jones ultimately committed to Depaul, where he played for two seasons and averaged 12.5 points and 7.3 rebounds his last season there.

Then last April, Jones entered the portal for the first time and Kentucky again expressed early interest before deciding it wasn’t a fit given the significant roles that Oscar Tshiebwe, Jacob Toppin, Daimion Collins, and Chris Livingston were going to have.

As Kentucky reaches out this time, they do so with roles to be filled on the roster, and the Wildcats could certainly use a 6-foot-6, 210-pound wing with a career average of 12.6 points and 6.5 rebounds.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Trending