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The Kentucky Wildcats are off to a frustrating start sitting at 1-6 on the year as they are set to begin SEC play on Saturday with a trip to Starkville to face the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
A big issue for the fanbase is the fact that we are seeing this team struggle and at the end of the year they’ll be off to the NBA.
The general belief was that BJ Boston and Terrence Clarke would be likely lottery picks.
However, Jonathan Wasserman is the lead NBA scout/draft writer for Bleacher Report, and he took to Twitter to note that the pressure is officially on for Kentucky’s draft hopefuls.
Wasserman reported that scouts are starting to question Boston and his NBA comparison could be more similar to Jeremy Lamb rather than Brandon Ingram.
As for Clarke, Wasserman noted that some scouts don’t see him as a first-round draft pick at all.
Still limited sample size of games for Kentucky prospects, but the pressure is officially on. Scouts are starting to question Boston. Idea his NBA comp could look closer to Lamb's than Ingram's. Some don't see Clarke as a first-rounder.
— Jonathan Wasserman (@NBADraftWass) December 26, 2020
Boston is averaging 14 points a game, but he is only shooting 36% from the field and 15% from three. The one place that Boston has been consistent is the free throw line as he is shooting 80.8%.
Clarke is averaging 10.7 points on 43% shooting from the field, 22% from three, and 47% from the free throw line.
With that being said, there is still a lot of time for these guys to turn the season around and revive their draft stock as conference play is just now getting started.
Unless Boston and Clarke do turn this around, both are slipping in draft boards and could result in them being in Lexington for a sophomore season.