All five — Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones, Marquis Teague and Doron Lamb — are headed to the NBA Draft, as is senior Darius Miller.
Davis is the presumptive No. 1 pick, while Kidd-Gilchrist, the freshman out of Somerdale, N.J., and Jones, a sophomore, are likely lottery picks.
Teague is projected to go in the first round and Lamb, a Queens, N.Y., native, could go late-first or early-second.
“During the season, it’s about our team,†Calipari said. “When the season is over, it’s about moments like this.â€
This was a special team, a special group at Kentucky, a group that sacrificed of themselves for greater team goals.
Now the question is, Will something like this ever happen again?
“I think it’s possible…at Kentucky again.,†one veteran NBA scout told SNY.tv. “Although I don’t know how probable it is. It could happen because John demonstrated he’s a special recruiter.â€
Kentucky’s incoming recruiting class is already ranked No. 1 by several national outlets and features four players in Nerlens Noel, Archie Goodwin, Willie Cauley and Alex Poythress.
Kentucky missed out on wing Shabazz Muhammad, who may turn into the best wing scorer in college basketball next year, but remains involved with forwards Anthony Bennett and Amile Jefferson.
The 6-foot-10 Noel is the most heralded of the group, and is projected to slot right into Davis’s slot as the shot-blocking big man at Kentucky.
“Coming out there with Kentucky on my chest, I think that’s going to be big expectations to come out and perform every day,†Noel told FiveStarBasketball.com. “I love it. I live for the pressure, I live for the game.â€
Noel and his fellow newcomers will join sophomore Kyle Wiltjer, the lone returning Wildcat, and N.C. State transfer Ryan Harrow.
They will have huge shoes to fill after what this special Kentucky group accomplished.
“They played great defense, they played very unselfishly,†the NBA scout said. “They all gave up of themselves so they could win. They sacrificed individual stuff for the greater glory.â€
Though there was some thought that Teague and Lamb might remain in college, their stock will likely never be higher than it is right now and the NBA scout said he doesn’t think any of them are making a mistake by coming out now.
“I feel that Teague will be a first-round pick because of his upside, his athleticism, he comes from a basketball family,†the scout said, referring to Marquis’ older brother, Jeff, of the Atlanta Hawks. “He accepted and really thrived with good coaching. He allowed himself to be coached and he improved tremendously as the season progressed.
“He’s a jet. He has the NBA body. He has the NBA physical tools. It comes with the family.â€
As for Lamb, a 6-4 combo guard, Calipari said, “When his motor’s running, there is no better guard in the country.â€
“Doron did a great job,†the NBA scout said. “He’s the best shooter on Kentucky. A good backup point guard can score, can pass. Understands just what the coach wants. He’s really a very underrated player.
“He loves the bright lights. The bigger the game, the bigger the night. On another team, he would’ve got 18 to 20 points on a lesser team.â€
Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist (who’s just 18) and Jones are all no-brainers, the scout said.
“What more can be said,†the scout said of DAvis. “The draft begins at 2 because Anthony Davis is a lock at 1. All the awards, all the accoladaes are well deserved.â€
He added: “Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is I think anywhere from 3 to 8. And Terrence Jones is I think probably 10 to 16.â€
All in all, this was a special team.
Even the John Wall/DeMarcus Cousins team, with all its talent, wasn’t cohesive enough to win a title.
But this team, with all its talent, sacrificed to get Calipari his first championship.
And now the pressure will fall to next year’s group.
Can it happen again?
Time will tell, but Calipari is likely the only coach who could ever make it happen.
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
And like ZAGS on Facebook
April 15th, 2012 at 7:04 pm first
April 15th, 2012 at 7:11 pm ^attaboy
April 15th, 2012 at 7:12 pm I believe many share this same sentiment. UK fans and media need to forget the comparisons, and just let Noels be Noels. He will be good, but, it will take some time for him to gain his offensive game. Next year will be fun, but do not have crazy expectations. UK is losing a lot of talent, and experience. They these kids build their own legacies!
Go Cats!
April 15th, 2012 at 7:15 pm This 60 Minutes tribute to Mike Wallace is pretty interesting. One thing that is for certain is that Wallace like just every single person who was ever a member of the media, had a HUGE ego.
April 15th, 2012 at 7:16 pm 3). Noels?
April 15th, 2012 at 7:20 pm Nice write.I had the opportunity to see tye “Jordan Band Classic”live last night,and was lucky enough to sit 10 rows behind the East bench.So i got a chance to see Nerlens up close.Things that stood out,he is extremly thin,is very quick to the ball,is capable of blocking any shot within reach,runs the floor exceptionally well,has very quick gands,and ahd the officials let him play would have been a huge factor in the game.
I hope UK fans judge him on who he is and not compare him to Anthony.Nerlens will be an outstanding player in his own right,and we should sit back,let Cal weave his magic and enjoy the ride.
April 15th, 2012 at 7:23 pm I don’t see Noel being anywhere near as effective as Davis initially. He may develop if he listens to Cal and his Staff.
But in the early part of the season, he’ll be a defensive presence for certain. Just not as dominant and game changing as was Davis.
Hopefully, he practices and allows himself to be coached up to the extent that he has a Davis like season near the end.
That said, there simply aren’t a whole lot of guys with the talent and motivation, instincts, intelligence and athleticism of AD.
April 15th, 2012 at 7:26 pm I think comparisons with Wall and Knight hurt Teague. I didn’t see the stats for the end of the year, but Teague had very similar stats to Wall all season, the only difference is he didn’t have the highlight reel plays of Wall. I hope we don’t do that to Noel.
April 15th, 2012 at 7:33 pm Teague did a great job for us this year. His early struggles were no worse than Wall or Knight. We just happen to have a lot of fans who don’t know what they’re watching, but are capable of typing sentences on the internet. Deadly combo when the two are put together.
April 15th, 2012 at 7:47 pm #8 I was gonna say the same thing. Why is it so unfair to compare Davis/Noel? but thats all ya heard with Knight/Wall
April 15th, 2012 at 7:58 pm i hope bbn let’s nerlens grow and develop without suffocating comparisons to davis. just like teague, he’s going to make some freshman mistakes. but, let’s all be patient, and let this kid develop into the dominant shot blocking machine he’s capable of being at the top of the college level.
go cats! come on bennett!
April 15th, 2012 at 7:59 pm 10- tdogg, just wait there will be some definite morons that will use “NN isn’t AD” when NN has his first bad game as a college player. I swear I hate humans. Well 95% of them anyway.
April 15th, 2012 at 8:14 pm Sorry 5, Noel. It is an easy mistake.
April 15th, 2012 at 8:18 pm Can we let the national writers make these comparisons? Two different people, two different games. Lets let Noel carve his own big blue path. He just commited and already your saying he cant be as great as AD, who the hell knows at this point. The kids a baller, let him do his own thing. Its like saying I like my 3 year old better than my 9 year old. They are my kids, regardless.
April 15th, 2012 at 8:21 pm Relax, the Flat-Top Feller will be a beast.
April 15th, 2012 at 8:23 pm The funny thing is, the media will feed the Noel is not AD saga, while blaming it on UK fans. It is like Cal told the reporter before the National Championship game, “UK fans do not expect a championship every year! All they want is to be relevant.” There are a lot of misguided expectations by many fans, but they are amplified by the media.
April 15th, 2012 at 8:31 pm One name I’m not seeing in all these replies is that of Coach Calipari. If anyone knows the kind of kid that can handle comparisons to former players, it’s Cal. He has guided players through it the last four seasons at point guard: Rose to Evans, Evans to Wall, Wall to Knight, Knight to Teague. He has guided each of those terrific players through the mindless commentary and pressure that goes with replacing a great player. Noel is up to the task, especially with Coach Cal by his side. And to listen to the early comments of Poythress and Goodwin, it’s clear they already understand the “Kentucky”-first orientation that Cal demands; they’ll help the big guy, too. Noel also spent significant time with Davis in New Orleans during the Final Four (NN was there for a high school all star event), and heard first-hand what will be demanded of him and what the benefits will be. He’s going to be terrific. Let’s let this play out, the way Coach Cal orchestrates.
April 15th, 2012 at 8:36 pm We should keep in mind that college basketball next season will be on a level similar to 2010-2011 when no team was dominant. We don’t have to be as good as last year to win it all.
The overall athleticism could actually be better next year, but it’s really hard to imagine a team being better than the 2012 champs. Getting that level of intensity will be extraordinarily difficult.
April 15th, 2012 at 8:41 pm Noel is correct, they are different players and he just needs to be him and not attempt to copy another style.
April 15th, 2012 at 8:42 pm Anthony Davis is an unusual talent. And he arrived to an incedible environment. He had excellent freshmen teammates, solid experienced talent with Jones and Lamb and the glue, Darius Miller. They were coachable, unselfish, and blossomed. Very unusual accomplishment. Cal coaching should be greatly appreciated.
Even if they sign Bennett, it will be difficult to get back to final four if all starters go NBA. Even though incoming class is superb, maturing to the point where they compete for National title is a very challenging task.
If UK wins it back to back under these circumstances, then the NCAA will probably impose some rule regarding one and dones. Call it the Calipari clause.
April 15th, 2012 at 8:52 pm ad was a guard who hit a crazy growth spurt, he kept his stroke, though … ad had been a pg, he put on some strength and became more and more comfortable being a big guy … but, he always had a good stroke, jumpers, free throws and ultimately was allowed to step out and drill some 3s … noel cannot shoot, he just can’t … i love the kid, but you cannot compare anybody to anthony davis … nn comes across like a really hard worker, so i’m sure he’ll improve the shot, but it’s not gonna be pretty in the beginning
April 15th, 2012 at 8:57 pm If all 6 players leave:
Harrow
Poythress
Goodwin
Noel
Wiltjer
Who are we going to practice against?
Cauley-Stein,Hood,Polson,Beckham,Long,Malone
I’m sure Cal has a plan,Bennett or whoever, but we need about 3 or 4 bodies to practice against and hopefully a couple will be big bodies.
April 15th, 2012 at 8:58 pm hey, we all knew Ant D was a freak of nature, but i dont think any of us thought he would be the consistent dominating POY player that we became, so lets just let Cal do his thing with Noel and he will be awesome.
April 15th, 2012 at 9:26 pm We need more players. Anthony Bennett would help (or Jefferson if Bennett is stupid enough to go to FLA. But we need for Lamb to stay. I think his role is the one we don’t have covered with new players for next year. Harrow shot 22% for 3 pt and Goodwin didn’t show me anything on his shooting last night.
April 15th, 2012 at 10:19 pm FYI-Davis was 13 for 15 with 11 rebounds and 4 blocks last year in this game. It is easy to fall into the trap of comparing the two. Point is that Davis was a very special player.
April 15th, 2012 at 10:27 pm I think with Lamb it’s 50/50. This year, he’ll go late 1st Round.
If he comes back, he’ll get a year under his belt to shine as a Junior and in Cal’s system, he’ll be able to shine. I believe that will improve his stock.
It’s really win win for Lamb. Go and start his NBA career path. Stay and get a higher slot in the next draft.
I’ve read a few places that next years draft will be weaker at his position. That can only help, if true.
His decision, though.
Would be awesome if Teague and Lamb both returned and brought home #9 in a repeat.
Teague would benefit himself in the next draft if he stayed for his Soph campaign as well.
We’ll see.
April 15th, 2012 at 11:12 pm Of course NN isn’t AD. But even though he isn’t going to be the same caliber player as AD, come next march and he will be a beast.
April 16th, 2012 at 12:20 am Davis is going to be the next Sam Bowie. His body is too small to make an impact in the NBA and he won’t be playing against Transy and all the other SEC schools to inflate his stats. I bet he will be out of the league in five years!
April 16th, 2012 at 12:50 am 28: Are you serious or playing Not Jerry Tipton? Sam Bowie broke his leg when he got undercut going up for a layup against Vandy. It took two years to heal. As I recall, foot problems finally put him out of the league. Is Greg Oden’s body too small? what’s he done?
April 16th, 2012 at 2:02 am I think Cal has an offensive monster in Poythress. The kid is wicked good around the rim and if Cal exploits the Godwin, Poythress combination with Wiltjer on the three point line it could be lob city for Noel. Maybe he wil play Noel as a forward with Cauley at center. That’s a lot of length in the post on the defensive end. I would like to see us get Bennett and Jefferson, or at least one of the two. And who knows, after we pick up another top player maybe Lamb and Teague will announce they are staying. I’m hoping it’s not a coincidence they are holding out on committing to the draft. Maybe they don’t want to scare away any possible signees by saying they are staying. My fingers are crossed.
April 16th, 2012 at 6:15 am I think the undersell in this message on Nerlens is that Cal and his staff will be molding his talents within the Kentucky effect of Team Building. Coach Cal gets it like lil Ricky never did. Coach Rupp’s legacy is there for us all to see and Coach Cal understands that and thinks always of the Big Blue Nation.
The Catholic fellow keeps his religion quiet but performs like we all should want to.