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It looks more and more like Skal Labissiere will be drafted very high in the 2016 NBA Draft.
Despite an underwhelming one season with the Kentucky Wildcats, Skal has been lighting up the draft workouts he's taken part in, including Sunday's workout in front of all 30 NBA teams.
Skal Labissière (@OneBigHaitian) was extremely impressive today and he has workouts/meetings scheduled with nearly every team in the top 10.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) June 5, 2016
Skal Labissière (@OneBigHaitian) is really making an effort to show off the NBA range in this workout. pic.twitter.com/K9mcKhuRFz
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) June 5, 2016
ESPN's most recent mock has Skal now going 11th overall to the Orlando Magic, who also met with Skal following Sunday's workout. It's starting to look like that may be the latest the big Haitian may go, and we shouldn't be surprised to see him go higher into the top 10 when it's all said and done.
Because Skal has been doing great in pre-draft workouts, the talk of UK and john Calipari using him incorrectly has continued to grow. Even though it would be extremely easy for Skal to agree with it and say that's why he didn't play well, he defended UK and disputed those claims during an interview with Basketball Insiders:
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"Kentucky really helped me a lot," Skal said of his time at UK. "Coach Cal did a really good job at pushing me every single day at practice. At games, I had to learn a lot at Kentucky, so I definitely think that will help me at the next level."
Even though Skal and the Cats had a down year, you can't help but root for him as he's been as nice and charismatic as any player Calipari has brought to Lexington.