With the end of the college basketball season quickly approaching, many Kentucky Basketball fans are going to speculate on who will be staying or leaving from this year’s team.
At this time, John Calipari does not know what players will be leaving for the NBA Draft, but he recently joined John Wall’s podcast, “Point Game,” to discuss that some players may leave even if he feels like they aren’t ready.
“I’ve got a couple of guys on this year’s team that probably could use another year, but you know I’m going to support whatever their decision is,” Calipari stated. “But I’ll tell them, ‘Are you sure?’ Because there are two things you have to be. NBA: No Boys Allowed. Are you mentally ready, and are you physically ready?”
Even though Calipari may not know who is leaving currently, we can take a look at the latest 2024 NBA Draft rankings at ESPN.
- No. 3 Rob Dillingham
- No. 5 Reed Sheppard
- No. 34 DJ Wagner
- No. 43 Justin Edwards
- No. 51 Ugonna Onyenso
- No. 60 Zvonimir Ivisic
- No. 67 Antonio Reeves.
- No. 71 Tre Mitchell
- No. 72 Aaron Bradshaw
From the latest list, it looks like six players are currently supposed to be drafted, with Bradshaw not expected to get drafted at this time.
At this time, it is a no-brainer for Dillingham and Sheppard to leave if they are projected in the top five. As for the others, based on where they are currently projected, it could be useful to come back for another year. Calipari believes NIL can help to make a player return for another year, but he believes that it can cause problems too.
“Now, with NIL, it’s all ego,” he said. “Sometimes it can be family ego. Sometimes.. ‘Well, I’m mad because he played (more than my son)...‘ He should have played more. He was better than your son. But your son is fine. It may take him a little more time. That’s the thing that I worry about, that some kids may leave when now there is no reason to. No reason to if you want to stay, and you need to stay.”
Calipari also believes with players leaving, other players feel pressured to leave with them to the NBA Draft due to them feeling like they don’t have another option.
In another month, Kentucky fans should know who should be leaving or staying, but at this time, fans should just enjoy the rest of the season and see how far this team can go.
Be sure to listen to Calipari’s full remarks below.
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