The mass NBA exodus everyone was expecting from the Kentucky Wildcats has happened. Kentucky is losing its top seven scorers from a team that started the season 38-0 before losing to Wisconsin in the Final Four, the program has announced. The list of players declaring for the 2015 NBA Draft includes three freshmen, three sophomores and one junior.
More than half of Kentucky’s team declares for the 2015 NBA Draft
Seven of Kentucky’s 13 scholarship players will leave early for the 2015 NBA Draft.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Here’s a full list of names entering the draft, sorted by projected draft position.
PF/C Karl-Anthony Towns, Fr.: Towns has a chance to be selected No. 1 overall after spending a single year in Lexington. At 7', 250 pounds, he has the size to play center and the athleticism and skill to play power forward. He's considered a dynamic two-way player, capable of blocking shots at one end and stretching the floor with his jump shot at the other.
Towns finished the year averaging 10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game in his 21.1 minutes of playing time per contest. He also shot an impressive 81.3 percent from the foul line and 56.6 percent from the field.
Towns is projected to be a top-three pick.
C Willie Cauley-Stein, Jr.: Cauley-Stein could have been a first-round pick last year, but he decided to return to school after a foot injury cost him a chance to play in the NCAA Tournament. He only helped his stock this year, combining with Towns to form the biggest and most athletic front line college basketball has seen in many years.
Cauley-Stein is an athletic rim protector, the type of player some NBA scouts believe can anchor a defense. He doesn’t have the most polished offensive game in the world, but his world-class athleticism makes him ideal for diving to the basket after setting a pick.
Cauley-Stein averaged 8.9 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks per game in 25.9 minutes per contest this year. He’s projected to go in the top 10.
All seven players and Calipari at the table pic.twitter.com/z5PTEHbylC
— Tyler Thompson (@MrsTylerKSR) April 9, 2015 PF/SF Trey Lyles, Fr.: Lyles measured at 6’10, 235 pounds at Kentucky’s pro day this summer, but played out of position all season to accommodate Towns and Cauley-Stein in the front court. While Lyles is likely a power forward in the NBA, he spent this season on the wing, where he had a major size advantage over every opponent.
Lyles averaged 8.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game in 23.0 minutes per contest this year. He’s projected to go in the top 10. He could go as early as the lottery. He’s a likely top-20 pick and a player sure to be drafted in the first round.
SG Devin Booker, Fr: There were times this season when it felt like Booker was the most vital member on Kentucky’s roster. The Wildcats had great size in the front court and athleticism all over the court, but one thing they were missing was shooting. Shooting is what Booker brought to the table.
The 6’6, 205-pound off-guard averaged 10.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game this season. He shot 47.0 percent from the field and 41.1 percent from the three-point line on 3.7 attempts per game. He is a lock to go in the first round and could get drafted at the end of the lottery.
C Dakari Johnson, Soph.: Need size late in the first round? Johnson is a great option. The 7', 255-pound center will be one of the biggest players in the draft. He came off the bench for Kentucky during his two years in school, but entered college basketball as a top-10 recruit and McDonald's All-American out of the class of 2013.
Johnson isn’t the most fluid athlete in the world, but he has soft hands and a nice touch around the rim. He averaged 6.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in 16.3 minutes of playing time this year while shooting 50.6 percent from the floor. His biggest improvement came in free throw shooting, where he went from 44.7 percent as a freshman to 62.5 percent as a sophomore.
Johnson is projected to go late first or early second round.
PG Andrew Harrison, Soph.: There might not be another point guard in the 2015 draft as big as Harrison. The 6’6, 210-pound lead guard came to Kentucky with his twin brother, Aaron, as a top-10 recruit in the class of 2013, but never developed into the lottery pick most expected him to go. He still exits Kentucky as one of the winningest players in recent college hoops history.
Harrison averaged 9.3 points, 3.6 assists and 2.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore. He improved to become a 38.3 percent three-point shooter this year, which will be key to his development in the NBA. Harrison could go late in the first round or undrafted.
SG Aaron Harrison, Soph.: Few players have had a more dramatic college career than Aaron Harrison. While he may have never fully lived up to the recruiting hype he entered Lexington with, he hit clutch shots in three straight games as a freshman during Kentucky’s run to the national title game.
At 6’6, 212 pounds, Harrison has nice size for the shooting guard position. His biggest focus will be rediscovering his outside shooting stroke, since his three-point percentage dropped to 31.6 percent this year. He could go in the late first round or not get selected at all, just like his brother.
So, who's left? Sophomore (to be) point guard Tyler Ulis, junior power forward Marcus Lee and senior wing Alex Poythress will be the leaders of the team. Incoming freshmen guard Isaiah Briscoe, center Skal Labissiere and wing Charles Matthews will also be around. With eight top players in the class of 2015 still uncommitted, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Kentucky add young talent.
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