5 Kentucky Wildcats invited to NBA Draft Combine

The Kentucky Wildcats will be well represented at the 2018 NBA Draft Combine.

Last Friday, invites to the event went out, and now we know a host of Cats will be heading to Chicago to work out for NBA teams.

According to Yahoo Sports, that list includes Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kevin Knox, Hamidou Diallo, PJ Washington and Jarred Vanderbilt. Wenyen Gabriel was not invited.

Gilgeous-Alexander is coming off a surprising freshman season in which he averaged 14.4 points, 5.1 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game, despite not winning the starting point guard spot until midway through the season.

The Canadian star was also the only player on the team to shoot 40 percent or better from 3-point range. He was the third-most efficient shooter, shooting at a clip of 48.5 percent from the field. He’s widely projected as a lottery pick in this year’s draft.

Knox led the team in points per game with 15.6. He also led the team in 3-pointers made, and finished second on the team in total rebounds. He was named the SEC’s Freshman of the Year, and landed on the first-team all-conference list. He too is projected as a lottery pick.

Diallo, who was a redshirt freshman this past season, averaged 10 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He shot 43 percent from the field and 34 percent from 3-point range. He’s projected as an early second-round pick.

Washington averaged 10.8 points on 51.9 percent shooting, and also put up 5.7 rebounds per game. He’s projected as a late second round pick that could easily go undrafted, but a good showing at the combine could lock up a spot in Round 2.

Vanderbilt didn’t spend much time on the floor as a freshman at UK. He missed the first 17 games with a foot injury, not playing his first game until January 16. He then missed the last six games of the year as well with a sprained ankle. In his time on the floor, Vanderbilt averaged 5.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and one assist per game. He totaled just 238 minutes.

The combine will be held May 16-20 in Chicago. Here’s the full list of players invited:

1. Rawle Alkins
2. Grayson Allen
3. Kostas Antetokounmpo
4. Udoka Azubuike
5. Marvin Bagley III
6. Mohamed Bamba
7. Jaylen Barford
8. Keita Bates-Diop
9. Tyus Battle
10. Brian Bowen II
11. Mikal Bridges
12. Miles Bridges
13. Bruce Brown Jr.
14. Troy Brown Jr.
15. Jalen Brunson
16. Tony Carr
17. Jevon Carter
18. Wendell Carter
19. Hamidou Diallo
20. Donte DiVincenzo
21. Trevon Duval
22. Jacob Evans
23. Bruno Fernando
24. Melvin Frazier Jr.
25. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
26. Devonte Graham
27. Devon Hall
28. Jaylen Hands
29. Kevin Hervey
30. Aaron Holiday
31. Kevin Huerter
32. Chandler Hutchison
33. Jaren Jackson Jr.
34. Justin Jackson
35. Alize Johnson
36. George King
37. Kevin Knox
38. Sagaba Konate
39. Caleb Martin
40. Cody Martin
41. Yante Maten
42. Brandon McCoy
43. De’Anthony Melton
44. Chimezie Metu
45. Shake Milton
46. Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk
47. Malik Newman
48. Josh Okogie
49. Jontay Porter
50. Michael Porter Jr.
51. Billy Preston
52. Jerome Robinson
53. Mitchell Robinson
54. Collin Sexton
55. Landry Shamet
56. Anfernee Simons
57. Zhaire Smith
58. Omari Spellman
59. Khyri Thomas
60. Gary Trent Jr.
61. Allonzo Trier
62. Jarred Vanderbilt
63. Moritz Wagner
64. Lonnie Walker
65. PJ Washington
66. Austin Wiley
67. Kris Wilkes
68. Kenrich Williams
69. Trae Young