University Of Kentucky Squad Enters 2010 Draft

John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins are among five Kentucky underclassmen who have declared themselves for the 2010 NBA Draft which is scheduled for June 24, the University of Kentucky announced Wednesday. Despite falling short in April, UK enjoyed a 35-3 year which culminated in winning the Southeastern conference in the regular season and conference tournament titles before being beaten 73-66 in by West Virginia in the NCCA tournament regional finals.




Now following their Elite Eight appearance in what was Kentucky's record 50th NCAA Tournament appearance, the core of the team will enter the 2010 Draft with the former Wildcats representing a premier quintet of players. ESPN analyst Chad Ford has all five players listed as top 20 prospects and NBA draft analyst Jonathan Givony at DraftExpress ranking them generally lower although both have John Hall in the #1 spot followed by Cousins (#4 ESPN, #3 DraftExpress), Patrick Patterson (#10, #14), Eric Bledsoe (#15, #36) and finally Daniel Orton (#18, #35).

Things are looking less bright for the players at NCAA champions Duke who don't have any of their team ranked above anyone at Kentucky; the nearest is freshman Mason Plumtree (#31, #36). In fact despite their historical college success, most recently under coach Mike Krzyzewski, only four Duke players from the past three decades have played in an All Star game and none have been a core player in a championship winning NBA team.


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