Kentucky Wildcats and 2010 draft
John Wall will be the #1 pick in the 2010 draft. Wall will be the best point guard in college basketball. He has premium size, quickness, athleticism, & ball handling.
DeMarcus Cousins will be a late lottery to mid 1st round pick in the 2010 draft. Should be able to dominate the post in college. Patterson will teach him a thing or two. Cousins has more upside than Patterson and has better size.
Patrick Patterson is a solid player with a good head on his shoulders. Patterson will be a late lottery to mid 1st round pick in 2010. I expect Patterson to have a great year. He finally has some big help in the post. Plus with all the new talent surrounding him he should see way less double teams.
Daniel Orton has great size and looks very impressive. It looks like he has fully recovered from his knee injury. I expect him to be a major factor as a freshman in college, especially on the defensive end and rebounding. Needs to work on his post moves but playing along side Cousins & Patterson will help him a lot. I expect Orton to be a late 1st round pick in the 2011 draft.
Jon Hood will never get drafted but he will turn into a very solid college player eventually. I have seen Hood play in person and I wasn't really impressed. His vertical is lacking and he isn't very athletic. But he is tall, very smart, and can shoot pretty well. I don't see him being much of a factor as a freshman. But by the time he is a Junior he should be a very good player for Kentucky.
I have never seen Dodson play but he apparently was really good in junior college. At 6'8" playing the small forward position he offers tremendous size. I would think he will be better than Miller & Hood. Who knows..maybe Dodson has a shot to get drafted in 2011.
Bledsoe is small. I also have never seen him play but scouts think he is a highly rated PG. With Bledsoe and Wall playing together the Wildcats should have no problem running Calipari's dribble drive offense. I imagine Bledsoe will be around for at least 3 years. I predict he has a chance to get drafted in 2012...just a guess.
I expect the starting lineup for the Wildcats to look like this:
PG- Wall
SG- Bledsoe
SF- Dodson
PF- Patterson
C- Cousins
With Miller, Hood, Stevenson, Harris, Orton, Liggins coming off the bench. As you can see Kentucky has great depth.
I think John Wall and Patrick Patterson will both leave after this upcoming season. I'm on the fence with Demarcus Cousins leaving or staying but he should contribute next season for UK.
In the NBA draft, Wall is a lock for top 10 next year and I think Patterson could be in the 10-20 range. I think both should be productive NBA players.
Wow! Everything is nicely put. You gave me more info than I can find on the net. I have actually heard that Bledsoe has been a nice surprise in the summer scrimmages they had going on, which looks really good if he will start. Also, Patterson and Orton both are going to California to train with supposedly a trainer that is so tough not many people can make it all the way through with him..so they could be in the best shape of their lives for the season, which could help their play tremendously.
Yeah I heard Patterson & Orton were out west training. Thats good news for Kentucky fans.
I saw Wall, Orton, & Cousins play in the Jordan Classic Game on espn and they all looked like they can be major factors on the college level even as freshman. I'm telling you those three on the same team with Patterson and all that depth UK has is SCARY. I expect Kentucky to be a serious threat to win it all.
Calipari has been a breath of fresh air for most UK fans because of everything he has put together. If only Jodie Meeks stayed for his senior season...UK would have been even better in my opinion. If it is possible for them to be even better.But, Im happy to see Meeks on the draft boards..hes had a hard career at UK, with all the coaching changes and injuries hes had.
We have to wait. John Wall is not a lock for the 1st pick. What if a team thats draft a PG in this year's draft get the 1st pick?
John Wall will be a top 3 pick in the 2010 draft. I agree with GatorHeels everything he said except the 1st pick part.
DeMarcus Cousins will be a top 10 pick in the 2010 draft. He will be a solid player at UK and will show great talent and could even move up into the top 5.
Patterson will be a mid-late 1st rounder in 2010. He should have left this offseason. He will be good but he will slip because all the 2010 talent
Daniel Orton will be a late 1st- early 2nd rounder in 2010. I think he need a extra year.
I could see the Rondo comparison a little. From what I have read they seem to play the "same" game...but they said Bledsoe has an ok jumpshot. I dont know if that means he can hit it when open or if he'll just have the Rondo 'I pray to God it goes in' jumpshot. ;)
By the way I love Rondo and his shot is getting better, but he still looks ugly when he tries to shoot it.
From what others have said recently Wall is actually only 6'1 even though he is listed at 6'4". Also, and more to the point, he wouldnt be the first player who was thought to be the next Great One while in HS who never developed. Lets watch him play a few games against real competition first, ok?
I agree we wont really know how everything will play out until the season starts. But, I have heard that so far Wall has been everything he was supposed to be during the scrimmages and everything. Being the general, speeding through lanes, and giving a lot of players easy shots. Also, I know size does matter but even at 6'1 he is still decent height for a PG. But, once again we will have to wait and see.
Well, hes a supreme athlete to only be 6'1 -6'4; and to have the vertical that he has is amazing. He has top notch quickness and speed. He could get around a lot of players with just his athleticsm. His jump shot isnt the greatest, but his driving ability can make up for that. He can make amazing passes and can create easy shots for his teammates no matter where he is on the floor, although he does sometimes try to make a pass that just isnt there. He also has solid defense, where he can dissrupt the opposing PGs.
You may just need to find video on the net to see him. I know it wont be of his mess-ups, but it shows how great he can be.
WALL----is imo the fastest player with the ball i have seen,he is ambidexterous as hell ,he finishes great with both hands but loves his left on crazy dunks and layups(jumps out the gym literally0, he is extremely flashy and he seems to be a very good leader, buthe reall has to improve his jumper and mechanics
He has freakish speed,athleticism, and length. Has more than decent point guard skills and can direct traffic, but he could be better. Has cat-like body control and quickness. Could become a lockdown defender. He isnt a good shooter, but could get better. He has all the tools to be a Hall-of-Fame NBA point, whether he will is up 2 him
Wall is very fast with the ball in his hands. I would say he will be the fastest PG in the nba along with Rose. Walls' strength is his ability to penetrate. No one in college will be able to defend him. He will be a handful for elite defenders in the nba to guard as well. I think he is taller than 6'1. Watching him play he looked about 6'3 to me. He can jump and pass well above average. I guess the only knock on him would be his jumpshot.
I dont wanna sound like a hater...or a non-believer but how many guys have we seen in HS and say...WOW?
I wanna be the voice of reason. I like John Wall. I seen him play but im asking can we slow down? I admit, Im excited to see him play but we need to CALM DOWN. NBA Hall of Famer? Whoa. The last guy i seen get all of this hype is Greg Oden. I think it's ok we call him a future top 3 pick in the 2010 draft but All of us need to slow down.
For the Record...I like John Wall, He may have dissed my Dukies but i want him to be sucessful
The only thing UK is missing is perimeter shooting. Meeks would have been a huge help. If Meeks stayed I would have put money on them winning it all. Hood is a good shooter but I don't see him getting a lot of playing time. Maybe Dodson can shoot??? Shooting is going to be what kills Kentucky. But really I don't guess you have to shoot much when Wall & Bledsoe can penetrate at will. Then you have Patterson, Cousins, & Orton dominating the post and grabbing all the rebounds.
Cleveland might take him with the 30th pick. More than likely Meeks goes in the mid 2nd round. Minnesota at pick 45 could be his landing spot. The TWolves need shooters. I would say that is a good range for Meeks...being drafted somewhere between picks 30 to 45.
I read on kentuckysportsradio.com that he supposedly has 4 assured contracts by two teams in the 1st round and two in the 2nd round. The 1st round teams are thought to be Chicago and Minnesota...but there is always going to be alot of random talk around draft time whether it is legit or not.
Wow I haven't heard any of that. Minnesota or Chicago would be great fits for Meeks.
Calipari still has one open scholarship....Rumor has it that Xavier Henry wanted to go to Kentucky. He still hasn't officially signed with Kansas. His mom wanted him to go to Kansas. He could reconsider and choose UK even though that is probably a longshot. But still Calipari must have another recruit in mind because he let Galloway go which freed up that extra scholarship. Can anyone say LANCE STEPHENSON?
If Stephenson wants to go to a team that has an excellent chance to make a run, a chance to start as a freshmen, and to play with a Wall,Patterson,Cousins,etc.. he would def go to UK. I heard he took a trip to Florida to meet with Isiah Thomas, and whatever team hes coaching now...I dont have a clue of what could help his play and draft stock by going there.
my saying that meeks has an assured contract for the first round was wrong...ill admit it. :)
heres the article:
"As we get ready for a new week around these parts, I talked to a couple of people close to Jodie Meeks this weekend and both said that Meeks has been given assurances that he will get a guaranteed deal next season. That can of course come in one of two different ways, either by a first round selection (by rule) or an early second round pick with a guaranteed deal given by the team. According to both people, Meeks believes he will be taken by one of two teams at the end of the first round (Bulls and Timberwolves look to be the favorites) and has two teams in the second round that have told him if picked, he will get a contract. Both of these sources are solid, and I think that if true, this helps explain a lot of Jodie’s ultimate decision."
-kentuckysportsradio.com
almost all the schools that stephenson was being heavily recruited by have walked away from the scholarshipss that they offered him. The likes of Maryland, Kansas, St. John's, Arizona, and Kentucky. Apparently as of now the two schools he has to choose from are, Memphis and Florida International..
I think you are all over looking Darius Miller too. He just made the U19 national team and beat out Boyton (Florida) to do it. During the 2nd half of the year last year, he really found his groove and started to really get confident. Rumor is that Cal recruited him to go to Memphis and after the first Cal practice at UK, Cal was floored by how Miller took it to the rim. If Miller can knock down the open shot and knock down a 3 or so a game, I think he could be the 3rd leading scorer on this team (behind wall and patterson). Plus, he can really play some defense.
I am not saying that he will jump onto the national scene like Meeks did, but he will make some noise during the season.
I agree, I think out of all of the returning players from last year's squad, Miller fits this offense better than any of them. From the games I watched in person and the ones I watched on TV, Miller seemed like he was holding back a little bit last year. I don't know if it was because he was a freshman and didn't have any confidence yet or if it was Billy G. But, now having made the U-19 squad, I would say he has confidence in his own abilities. And of course, playing in the dribble drive offense will insist upon players being aggressive and making plays near the hoop.
I agree with morgatil when he says that Miller could be the 3rd leading scorer next year.
With the 2009 recruiting class coming in for UK... tell me who you think will stay or go, where they could go in the draft (round &/or postion), and if you think they could help a team...also give your thoughts on Patrick Patterson in the draft. I realize that the college season hasnt started yet, but Id just be interested in hearing your thoughts.