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Big Blue Exodus

By: Brett Blevins

Eric Bledsoe has been everywhere from #12-#22 in recent mock drafts.

Daniel Orton has already declared, and his father says he may drop out of school to workout.  The latter part of the decision will hurt UK's academic graduation rate and could cost them a scholarship.

Darnell Dodson is said to not be returning, and it isn't because he wants to enter the NBA draft, even if that is what he ends up doing.

Do the math and that is 4, possibly only 3 returning players: Josh Harrellson, Darius Miller, Deandre Liggins, and Hood.

Who will fill the void for Calipari and the Wildcats:

Committed

 Enes Kanter 6’10 PF

Enes is a bit of a mystery, outside of the known fact that he is extremely talented.  If the NCAA rules in favor, of relaxing some rules to allow for foreign players to play in college, the Cats will have a big, physical, aggressive forward at their disposal right away.  Enes rebounds very well and that translates to any level.

Brandon Knight 6’4 PG

All signs point to the nation’s top uncommitted Sr. signing with the Cats on April 14^th.  Any other decision would be a huge shock to the entire recruiting community.  Despite a so-so showing as a Burger boy, Mr. Knight did hit the game winning 3-pointer for his West squad last night.  Syracuse, Kansas, and Connecticut are still in the fold. 

Josh Selby 6’3 PG

Dave Telep from Scout.com, one of the absolute best in the business, says Kansas leads for Mr. Selby’s services at this point.  He is however on record talking about the possibility of being Wall/Bledsoe II with Brandon Knight.  He now becomes a major target and getting him on campus this weekend will be extremely important.  His announcement will come at halftime of the Brand Jordan game.

C.J. Leslie 6’8 WF

Leslie has been extremely tight with his recruitment for the most part.  It is speculated that it is either N.C. State or Kentucky.  Leslie is an electric athlete; maybe the best in the class.  He plays way above the rim, just ask Tobias Harris about McDonald’s AA practice. 

Terrence Jones 6’9 WF

Jones plays more in the mold of a point forward.  The smooth lefty can go inside or outside.  Kentucky is in the mix with Washington, Oregon, UCLA, and Oklahoma.  He would be a perfect fit for the Dribble Drive Motion.

Doron Lamb 6’4 SG

Lamb is another kid who would flourish in the Dribble Drive.  He is a crafty scorer that can shoot it.  I saw him during July on his unofficial to Lexington, and by all accounts he enjoyed his time.  Connecticut, Kansas, and West Virginia remain in the mix to land the smooth shooting guard.

Elisha Justice 5’9 PG

Matt Jones posted today on KSR that UK may offer KY Mr. Basketball Elisha Justice a scholarship but that they will definitely recruit him as a walk-on.  I spoke with Justice today and he said that UK has not been in contact as of yet and he doesn’t know if they will be.  Justice says he wasn’t sure what he’d do if UK offered a walk-on spot, but he doubts it would change his situation with UofL.  Elisha hopes that UofL might still offer a scholarship.  He also didn’t know what would happen if UK offered a scholarship.  Personally, I think the latter is a no-brainer, you accept the scholly. 

JUCO players ???

This is purely guessing on my part, but with the amount of scholarships that will be open (6-9 depending upon things like Hood transferring, Orton dropping out and UK losing one, Kanter not being eligible etc.) UK may look to get a mature body from the JUCO level.  Many of the uncommitted HS prospects need to add a significant amount of strength to contribute at the next level right away.  Calipari has shown he will go the JUCO route and may need to add a little muscle to a group that will be younger than the 2010 version of the Wildcats.