Tuesday Headlines: Anonymous Scouts on Kentucky Prospects Edition

With the NBA Draft coming up on us, draft talk is heating up with the annual event scheduled for Thursday.

That means anonymous scouts are sharing their thoughts on a number of prospects, and The Athletic’s Seth Davis shared thoughts on several prospects, including three Kentucky Wildcats prospects in Cason Wallace, Chris Livingston, and Oscar Tshiebwe.

The anonymous scouts were most complimentary of Cason Wallace, noting that Wallace might be “the safest pick in the draft.”

“He’s one of the safest picks in the draft. Nothing sexy about him, but he can play the point, he can shoot, he can score in the midrange, he’s got solid athleticism. Doesn’t really have a burst. He never got rattled when Calipari would yell at him. Needs to develop his point guard skills. Still needs to develop his pick-and-roll game. He’s a high-level defender who can guard ones and twos.”

These comments about Chris Livingston were... well, not ideal.

“What does he do? He’s not a high-level 3-point shooter, he’s not a high-level creator off the bounce. He can rebound a little. Never did find himself this year at Kentucky. He’s not a consistent jump shooter. He’s just not very skilled. He has good competitiveness, love his character. Later in the season he started to realize who he is, which is a tough, slashing athlete. He’s not a shooter, but he can make shots. He has first-round talent, but he didn’t have a great year.”

And Oscar Tshiebwe is expected to “destroy the G-League” by this scout, which isn’t a great endorsement.

“He has to improve his shooting but he knows how to go get the ball. He did a workout in Chicago where he shot really well from 15 to 17 feet, and he even made some 3s. More of an offensive rebounder than a defensive rebounder. He’ll struggle to guard stretch fours and fives. He doesn’t have a skill set that’s elite. I don’t know how teams will use him on offense. His hands are just OK, but he’s got a motor and he’s tough and he can rebound the heck out of the ball. I think he would destroy the G League.”

As of now, the belief is that Wallace will be a mid-late lottery pick, and Livingston likely has a guarantee from a team. Tsbiebwe could be a second-round pick, but very well could go undrafted. However, things can change quickly between now and draft night.

Tweet of the Day

A day later, but this is one of my favorite UK Football clips in recent years.

Headlines

‘What does he do?’ NBA Draft scouts offer brutally candid views on 50 top 2023 prospects - The Athletic

We know these guys are good — that’s why they are on this list. The value in this exercise is to lean into why they might not make it.

This year’s UK-UL Football game carries unusually high stakes - Herald Leader

A lot riding on this year’s game.

Coach talks about uniqueness of Somto Cyril - KSR

High praise for the UK target.

UK Baseball adds WKU transfer - Cats Pause

Mingione is back at it in the portal.

Are the Reds America’s Team? - Yahoo

They’ve been a fun group to watch.

Nick Saban is still mad Bama didn’t make the playoffs last year - CBS

Does he have an argument?

Draymond Green is hitting the open market - ESPN

Could he find the same success outside Golden State?

A look at the latest buzz around the NBA Draft - Bleacher Report

It’s definitely rumor season.

NASA Unveils an X-Plane They Hope Will Save Earth - GNN

NASA and Boeing have unveiled plans for the experimental plane X-66A, which they hope will save the Earth, by cutting aviation emissions.