The Kentucky Wildcats announced that blue chip prospect Archie Goodwin is leaving big blue early for the NBA draft while Willie Cauley-Stein and Kyle Wiltjer (yet another McDonald’s All-American) will return to the Kentucky Wildcats next season. Coach John Calipari announced their decisions Monday.
So we’ll have to update our 2013 NBA Draft early entries list. And this announcement will send shock waves throughout NBA Mock Drafts everywhere. (of course, ours is the most accurate two years running)
In the Calipari era, Kentucky Wildcats past and future have dominated two events- the McDonald’s All American game and the NBA Draft. Kentucky has always had a presence in both, but Coach Cal has taken it up a notch. The 2012 NBA Draft first round was owned by Kentucky Wildcats, and the 2013 McDonald’s All-American game will set a new record with five players destined for Lexington.
Goodwin averaged a team-best 14 points for the Wildcats. They followed up their 2012 national championship by losing to Robert Morris in the first round of the NIT. That’s very rare for a college basketball team to do- NCAA to NIT, but once Nerlens Noel went down a bubble team fell apart completely.
Cauley-Stein averaged 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds as a freshman while blocking 59 shots. Wiltjer was the Southeastern Conference’s sixth man of the year after averaging 10.4 points as a sophomore and making 90 career 3-pointers.
The Kentucky Wildcats program says it will announce other players’ decisions at a later date.
By the way, it seems the most famous Kentucky Wildcats fan of all, Ashley Judd, isn’t running for office after all. And you’ll want to look at our gallery of Kentucky Wildcats cheerleaders and dance team members. Trust me, you will.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an author and regular contributor to MSN, Fox Sports , Chicago Now, Walter Football.com and Yardbarker. Banks has appeared on Comcast SportsNet and the History Channel, as well as Clear Channel, ESPN and CBS radio all over the world.
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