The NBA held its draft lottery last night and a gaggle of sites have posted mock drafts today as a result. We’ll not bother you with all of them, but to give you a basic idea of the SEC’s prospects, here’s how Sean Deveney of The Sporting News sees things playing out:
1. New Orleans Hornets — Anthony Davis, PF, Kentucky
3. Washington Wizards — Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF, Kentucky
6. Portland Trail Blazers — Bradley Beal, SG, Florida
16. Houston Rockets — Terrence Jones, SF, Kentucky
18. Minnesota Timberwolves — Arnett Moultrie, PF, Mississippi State
22. Boston Celtics — Festus Ezeli, C, Vanderbilt
25. Memphis Grizzlies — Marquis Teague, PG, Kentucky
28. Oklahoma City Thunder — Jeff Taylor, SF, Vanderbilt
That’s four first-rounders for Kentucky — less than the six John Calipari is hoping for — and two for Vanderbilt. A player apiece from Florida and Mississippi State bring the SEC’s total number of projected first-rounders to eight. Not bad for a football league.
And by official MrSEC.com estimations, at his current rate of production with one-and-doners, Calipari will have each NBA roster made up completely of ex-Wildcats by the year 2023. (First, that’s a joke, math heads. Second, that’s a compliment, Kentucky fans. Third, it’s a shame that I have to clarify things like that.)
