Kentucky Loses Seven Underclassmen to NBA

April 9, 2015
by Gabe Akins

(Tyler Thompson)

NBA Draft 2015:
Kentucky Loses Seven Underclassmen to NBA



     Today, the Kentucky Wildcats lost more than half of their team and their top seven scorers from this past season. The two "no brainers" were the Wildcats two stars, Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein. Towns is a lock to be picked in the top 2 of the draft and could very well be the first overall pick after a great showing during the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Cauley-Stein is projected to fall a little bit after Towns as most analysts have him as a guaranteed top 10 pick. After spending three years in Lexington, Cauley-Stein has improved his skills greatly which have increased his appeal to many NBA teams. Another decision that was expected was the departure of freshman forward Trey Lyles. Lyles' ability to shoot and dribble at 6-10 intrigues many teams as he is regarded to be a first round pick as well.
     Twins Aaron and Andrew Harrison decided to forgo the rest of their college careers and enter the draft as well. These two were regarded by many to be top 10 picks out of high school but have seen their draft stocks decline dramatically despite leading the Wildcats to two straight Final Four appearances. However, with their NBA size and leadership qualities, the twins should be able to find new homes in the NBA.

(ESPN)

     The two most surprising departures of the day were made by freshman Devin Booker and sophomore Dakari Johnson. Even though Booker is a sure first round pick, some expected the knockdown shooter to come back for another year as he would be the star of the team. Projected
 to go as high as late in the lottery (picks 10-14), Booker could still benefit from another year at Kentucky as he could improve on his rebounding and passing. Dakari Johnson was surprising in a different way because most analysts think that he is not "NBA ready". A talented 7 footer, Johnson still needs to work on his strength and low post moves as he will be going up against guys his size night in and night out in the NBA. With his size, Johnson should not be worried about getting picked, but could have benefitted greatly from another year at Kentucky.
     Even though all of these players are guaranteed to be picked somewhere in the draft, it has to be frustrating to Kentucky fans that all of them decided to leave. Some will question the players leaving the program right after they failed to deliver a national championship and undefeated season. Some would have loved to see Kentucky try to come back next year like the "Fab Five" of Michigan in the 1990s. But times have changed. Players have gotten more greedy as all they see is the money that the NBA has to offer. If the college adapted to the new times and gave these players what they want, money, they might be more prone to staying. This would improve the college game as there would be more upperclassmen and it would translate to the NBA game as there would be more players with first round talent and skills to succeed in the NBA.