Kentucky basketball players drop considerably in latest NBA Draft rankings
Both of the Kentucky basketball players projected to be top-end NBA picks in the preseason have dropped considerably in the latest draft rankings. Meanwhile, another Wildcat has seen his NBA stock rise over this tumultuous season.
ESPN released its latest mock draft Tuesday morning, and freshman Brandon Boston — projected as the No. 3 overall pick in the website’s preseason mock draft a little more than two months ago — has fallen all the way to the No. 26 spot, barely remaining inside the first round.
The update was even worse for fellow freshman Terrence Clarke, who was No. 15 in ESPN’s preseason draft and is now in the middle of the second round at No. 44 overall.
Boston, a top-five national recruit who was expected to be one of the best freshmen in the country, has struggled this season, though he has played better in recent games and leads the Wildcats with 12.1 points per game this season. (He’s shooting just 36.4 percent from the field and 18.0 percent from three-point range).
Clarke has been sidelined since late December and has missed the entire Southeastern Conference schedule with an ankle injury. He, too, was struggling — relative to his top-10 national recruiting ranking — prior to that injury.
Despite their drops in the rankings, there’s no indication that Boston or Clarke is expected to return to UK for a second season.
Moving up in ESPN’s rankings is Kentucky freshman Isaiah Jackson, who is now on the cusp of lottery range at No. 15 overall. That’s a rise of 10 spots from the preseason mock draft. Jackson is averaging 6.5 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds, despite playing just 19.9 minutes per game. His 2.9 blocked shots per game ranks among the best in the country.
No other Kentucky players were listed in ESPN’s 60-player mock draft, yet another sign that several Wildcats could return for next season, a rare occurrence in UK’s program over the past few years.
Transfers Olivier Sarr and Davion Mintz are likely to be finished with their college careers after this season, but this UK team features six other scholarship players — Devin Askew, Dontaie Allen, Keion Brooks, Cam’Ron Fletcher, Jacob Toppin and Lance Ware — and it appears that most of those players could be back for another run at Kentucky next season.
UK also added transfer center Oscar Tshiebwe to the team last month. He arrived on campus Monday and will be eligible to play for the Cats next season.
Whoever returns from this UK team will join three incoming freshman — power forward Daimion Collins, point guard Nolan Hickman and small forward Bryce Hopkins — along with any other players John Calipari adds to the program between now and the start of next season.
This story was originally published February 2, 2021 at 9:31 AM.
