Calipari predicts where his Kentucky players will land in NBA draft
Kentucky coach John Calipari's stated goal this season was to get his best players into the NBA, and on Wednesday he offered loose predictions on where his seven eligible Wildcats will land in the June 25 draft.
First off, don't bother starting a Karl-Anthony Towns vs. Jahlil Okafor debate with Calipari. He's almost certain who the Minnesota Timberwolves are taking.
"(Towns) will be the number one pick, unless something crazy happens," he told Kentucky Sports Radio, adding that Towns's frontcourt partner, Willie Cauley-Stein, will likely stay in the top five. "Four, five, six. I don't think any later than six."
Related: Scouting Reports: Breaking down the top prospects in the 2015 NBA Draft
As for sharpshooter Devin Booker, Calipari doesn't think he'll drop below 13 - a good bet, as the current owner of that pick, the Phoenix Suns, could use a player like him. "As (high) as six, seven," the coach added. Many mocks currently have him going ninth to the Charlotte Hornets.
Calipari doesn't expect forward Trey Lyles to drop below 13 either. He compares the Canadian forward to Draymond Green, who, while himself a second-round pick in 2012, has suddenly emerged as an ideal NBA prototype at small-ball power forward.
"Now they’re looking at (Lyles) as a stretch four, and oh my god, he's 6-10!"
The coach envisions Dakari Johnson and Andrew Harrison between picks 23 and 32, and says he doesn't have a good second-round read on Andrew's twin brother, Aaron.
Calipari might have had eight players drafted this year, had forward Alex Poythress not suffered a torn ACL in December.