Decision on Kentucky’s Knox entering NBA Draft ‘imminent’

Kentucky fans will not have to wait long to learn if, as expected, Kevin Knox enters his name in this year’s NBA Draft.

“The decision is definitely imminent,” the player’s father, also named Kevin, said Monday. “We should have an answer sooner rather than later.”

The wait for an announcement of a decision by Knox “won’t last until Thursday,” his father said.

After the loss to Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament, the elder Knox said his son wanted time to weigh the good experience he had at Kentucky in deciding whether to enter the draft.

“I don’t think we should rush into this type of decision,” Kevin Knox Sr., said last week. “I think we should take our time and weigh everything. If it’s the NBA, then we’ll go in that direction. If at that point, it’s coming back, then hopefully the BBN will have us back.”

On Monday, the elder Knox said he wanted to speak with UK Coach John Calipari and his staff. Calipari is at the Final Four and not expected back in Lexington before Tuesday.

On his final radio show last Monday, Calipari seemed to try to prepare fans for UK players entering their names in this year’s NBA Draft en masse.

“My expectation is just about every one of them will put their name in the draft to figure out where that (NBA) committee sees them going,” Calipari said.

The deadline to enter the draft is April 22 at 11:59 p.m.

After players enter the NBA Draft, the next telltale sign will be in the form of an invitation to the NBA Combine in Chicago in May. No invitation to participate in the NBA Combine more than likely means a player will not be drafted, Calipari said. Invitations will be sent April 27.

Six UK players are mentioned in at least one of the mock drafts or top 100 prospects lists compiled by NBADraft.net, ESPN and New Arena. In addition to Knox, the other five are Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Hamidou Diallo, Jarred Vanderbilt, PJ Washington and Nick Richards.

Knox and Gilgeous-Alexander are projected as lottery picks by all three entities.

Only New Arena includes other UK players as first-round picks: Vanderbilt at No. 16 and Diallo at No. 17.

NBADraft.net and ESPN do not have Vanderbilt and Diallo, as well as Richards and Washington being drafted.

Knox and Gilgeous-Alexander were the most highly decorated of the UK freshmen this season.

Knox led the Cats in scoring (15.6 ppg) and three-point field goals (57).

The Southeastern Conference coaches named Knox co-Freshman of the Year in the league. He was also named to the league’s All-Freshman and All-SEC teams.

Gilgeous-Alexander made a memorable transformation during the season. He only started two of the first 15 games. But by season’s end, Calipari considered him a key indicator of how Kentucky would fare.

Gilgeous-Alexander led a Kentucky resurgence in the postseason. His assist-to-turnover ratio in the SEC and NCAA tournaments was 38-to-15.

Gilgeous-Alexander was named Most Valuable Player of the SEC Tournament after averaging 21 points, five rebounds and 6.7 assists in three games.

Wynyard to transfer

Tai Wynyard has decided to transfer and been granted a full release, UK said Monday.

In a news release, Wynyard expressed gratitude for his time at UK and said transferring was not an easy decision.

“I’ve had the privilege of playing with and against some of the best talent in the country at Kentucky,” he said. “And my hope is to one day follow in their footsteps.”

Wynyard, a redshirt sophomore forward from New Zealand, played sparingly for UK. His career averages include 0.8 points, 1.2 rebounds and 4.2 minutes.

“We haven’t had a lot of players transfer, but when a player comes to me and asks for a fresh start, I will always support them,” Calipari said in the news release. “We talk all the time about this being a new experience for our players. But I believe it was even tougher for Tai because of where he came from. To come to a new country in the middle of the season, and try to carve out a role was difficult. But I’m proud of Tai for the person he’s grown into.”

This story was originally published April 2, 2018 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Decision on Kentucky’s Knox entering NBA Draft ‘imminent’."