Kentucky Wildcats Quickies: Debating One and Done Edition

Good morning Big Blue Nation.

Kentucky Wildcats fans are debating the one and done method now more than ever. With the announcement yesterday that Jarred Vanderbilt will test the NBA Draft process but not hire an agent, many Kentucky fans were left wondering, what exactly is the standard for the NBA Draft?

UK fans are not alone in this debate. Fans of the Duke Blue Devils are debating the same question.

Both teams have been wildly successful under the one and done model, but I sense fatigue in regards to the fans.

I’m not saying I don’t like what John Calipari is doing with the program, but this year especially has me scratching my head with some of the early entries from last year’s team.

The good news is that Vanderbilt, PJ Washington, and Wenyen Gabriel all have the opportunity to return. The bad news is I don’t think they really want to and are looking for just one team to give them even the chance of taking them.

This still situation still has a long time to play out. The players have until May 30th to pull their names out of the draft and there is no guarantee that any of them will even be invited to the combine. I suspect Washington will. I’m not as confident in Gabriel or Vanderbilt.

All we have to do until that time is support our guys and wait.

Tweets of the Day

John Calipari has stated that he wants several players to come back next season. I think that’s an indication of where he thinks these guys stand as far as their NBA potential.

Packed house for the number one player in the class of 2019.

That would be fine with me.

Quickies

John Calipari is counting on Quade Green being a fighter | SEC Country- According to various scuttlebutt around the program, Cal has met with Green and expressed his desire to have him return and be a leader. Hopefully Quade sees the influx of point guards as a challenge worth fighting for.

UK coaching staff at Nike’s EYBL | Cat’s Pause- The entire basketball staff is in Dallas to check out some of the best high school players in the country. James Wiseman, UK commit DJ Jefferies, Vernon Carey, Jr., Tyrese Maxey, and Jalen Lecque are just a few of the guys that Calipari has his eye on for the weekend.

Mock draft shows benefit to some players returning | Lexington Herald Leader- PJ Washington is currently slated to be drafted number 50 if he decides to hire an agent but next year he jumps all the way up to the 18th prospect in the 2019 draft. While Vanderbilt is 64th in the 2018 draft, he’s 33rd in 2019. Hopefully both guys take it all into consideration.

Bat Cats lose series to No. 1 Florida | UK Athletics- The Gators came into Lexington and destroyed the Wildcats in the first two games of their series. Last night, the Cats rallied after being down big but still lost 9-4. The teams will wrap up the series today at 1:00 PM.

John Wall’s 28 points helps Wizards avoid sweep | ESPN- The Wiz looked dead in the water in Toronto but they have new life in DC. Wall looked more like the player we are used to scoring 28 and dishing out 14 assists.

Louisville basketball loses out on grad transfer | Courier-Journal- The Cards struck out on two grad transfers this week, the latest guard Joseph Chartouny chose Marquette over Louisville. FGCU grad transfer Zach Johnson picked Miami over Louisville earlier this week. The Chris Mack era isn’t exactly off with a bang.

Playoff Rondo as good as any guard in the NBA | WDRB- Rick Bozich writes that Rajon Rondo is one of the best guards in the NBA playoffs and he’s right. Regular Season Rondo appears to coast a bit. Numbers don’t lie: “Playoff Rondo numbers -- 12.7 points, 7.7 rebounds and 12.3 assists. Regular-Season Rondo averaged 8.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 8.2 apg over 65 games.”

No one really knows what makes Rondo tick as he is one of the more enigmatic players in the history of the NBA; but his basketball genius and his competitive nature in the playoffs will never be denied.

Eric Bledsoe gets the better of Terry Rozier in Milwaukee | ESPN- The war of words between the former Cat and the former Card has been getting national attention. Rozier has been winning the war on the court. But last night he was held to just nine points while Bledsoe had his best game of the series scoring 17 points in 8-13 from the field. Oh yeah and the Bucks won.

Pacers come back from 17 down to beat LeBron and the Cavs | Sporting News- LeBron James looked like a man possessed in game 2 and was coasting along in game 3 until Bojan Bogdanovic scored 30 points for the Pacers.

Top ten coaching hires of the offseason | CBS- There were plenty of college basketball jobs open and programs didn’t wait long to move once the season was over. Chris Mack to Louisville is seen as a slam dunk (I’m not sold) and Tom Crean to Georgia is seen as a quality hire.

Former Smallville actress arrested in sex trafficking sting | Washington Post- Allison Mack played Chloe Sullivan on WB’s Superman show Smallville for 10 seasons. She has been rumored to be a member of the sex cult NXIVM for years. Yesterday, the FBI busted Mack and cult leader Keith Raniere on charges of sex trafficking and conspiracy to commit forced labor. And that’s your “What in the hell is wrong with this planet” news of the day.