ESPN Men's Basketball

Answering a fan's question on Twitter, Kentucky incoming freshman Terrence Jones wrote today that of all the things he's most looking forward to about being a Wildcat, it's playing in coach John Calipari's dribble-drive motion offense.

Players generally like the idea of seeing their play-making abilities accentuated in this attacking offense as do recruits, so they'll all be happy to hear what Calipari has in store for next season.

Calipari, speaking on a Lexy audio post yesterday, mentioned that due to the change in personnel on the team, the Big Blue Nation can expect to see even more of the dribble-drive and possibly a more extreme version of it.

"Right now, I'm spending my time trying to come up with ways that we're going to play the dribble-drive more than we did a year ago, but with this group. We got a left-hander on the team in Terrence Jones. How do we now put him in the right spots so he can do his best? How 'bout this is a team maybe we go with five-out...so that we have the true strength of our team?

"Where last year with DeMarcus [Cousins] and Patrick [Patterson] and Daniel [Orton], we had terrific players around the goal. We had to play that way. Now we do have some strong guys that are bigger players but maybe a little more perimeter-oriented, so I've got to figure that out. My time's got to be spent doing that."

The SEC and the rest of the nation can't say it wasn't warned, and in fact, anyone with a passport can get a glimpse of Kentucky's top recruiting class test-driving the dribble-drive.

Calipari, after all, has the benefit of extra practice days to implement the system after organizing a Canadian tour for the team next month.

Yours truly spent a fair amount of time this offseason discussing the gap between college production and NBA drool, the way NBA scouts routinely -- and understandably -- gloss over this little thing called "How good was he in college?" in favor of "How high can he jump?" and "How long are his arms?" The gap makes sense, but it's still occasionally baffling.

Nowhere in the 2010 NBA draft was this more true than with Kentucky forward Daniel Orton. Orton was drafted in the first round of the NBA draft last Thursday despite playing a mere 13 minutes per game for Kentucky in 2009-10. NBA scouts have long fawned over Orton, and there's no doubt he has potential. Nor is one bad day reason to start doubting Orton's pro future. But if you had to gauge Orton's NBA chances based on his first summer league game, well, things are not exactly encouraging.

Orton's summer league debut was, quite simply, a disaster. Orton went 1-for-8 from the field, scored three points, had five fouls (four of them offensive, and three of which came in the Magic's first five possessions) four turnovers, two rebounds and, in the coup de grace, was ejected for fighting with Josh McRoberts after a brief rebound tussle under the rim. It was about as bad a game as you could have imagined.

To Orton's credit, he's staying positive. The forward tweeted that he had a "terrible day," that he needed to "slow down" and "gather himself," and that he couldn't "believe he got ejected for fighting." The big man gets it. Orton could have a long and productive NBA career, and no one will remember a dumb summer league game in his first appearance as a pro. This could be nothing more than a mere blip on Orton's pro trajectory.

If anything, Orton's decision was probably validated by his first game, at least from a personal standpoint; it's a player's prerogative to get his guaranteed NBA money whenever possible, and if an NBA general manager is willing to give you a guaranteed contract based on little more than potential, why wouldn't you take it? What if Orton had stayed in school and been exposed? Maybe he made the right call after all. But if college types were looking for yet another example of why sometimes potential alone shouldn't decide a player's future, they got it with Orton. He's not ready yet, mentally or physically. Let's hope Orton's NBA path ends well. It certainly didn't begin that way.

From a college basketball perspective, there was one big winner at Thursday night's NBA draft: the University of Kentucky men's basketball program.

As if John Calipari needed to boost his NBA-friendly reputation any more. And yet he did: Calipari's first season at Kentucky produced the No. 1 overall pick in the draft (John Wall), the No. 5 pick (DeMarcus Cousins), a third lottery pick at No. 14 (Patrick Patterson), and two more first-round picks in point guard Eric Bledsoe and forward Daniel Orton. That's -- count 'em -- five first-round picks. Um, wow.

Yes, it was a good night for the Big Blue, though perhaps not quite as good as Calipari thought. Early in the night, he told an ESPN reporter that this was the "biggest night in the history of Kentucky basketball." There are seven national championships hanging from Rupp Arena that might disagree with Coach Cal on that point.

Still, considering Calipari's most notable coaching talent -- recruiting -- you can understand his enthusiasm. The coach managed to get five players, three of whom were one-and-done freshmen, into the first round of the NBA draft. The last two picks are especially impressive: Bledsoe could have taken his point guard brilliance somewhere else once Wall committed to Kentucky, but Calipari convinced him to stay and play combo-guard, and Bledsoe's draft stock not only didn't fade but actually improved. Meanwhile, Daniel Orton played a measly 13.4 minutes per game in 2009-10, averaging 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. And still he was taken in the first round of the draft.

Which is, in the end, the biggest weapon in Calipari's recruiting arsenal: the NBA draft. Calipari already has a track record of producing NBA-friendly talent. Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans, the last two NBA rookie of the year winners, came from Calipari's Memphis program. With Rose and Wall, the coach has now nurtured two of the last three No. 1 overall picks. This is already paying off in recruiting -- top young point guards like Brandon Knight and Marquis Teague have already committed to Kentucky for the next two seasons, and Calipari's point guard production is the main reason why.

But when you extend the depth and breadth of Calipari's draft success -- when you can get your off-guard and a 13-minutes-per-game role player drafted in the first round -- every elite recruit under the sun is going to take notice. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. The most talented players will go to Kentucky to improve their NBA draft chances. Then they'll get drafted. Then a new cycle of players, observing the success of their predecessors, will repeat the process all over again.

You don't have to go to Kentucky to get drafted. At this point, though, it doesn't seem to hurt. That's an exciting prospect for Kentucky fans (so long as they're willing to deal with a slew of one-and-done players, and I'd assume they are) and a thoroughly scary one for everyone else.

College basketball nation blogger Eamonn Brennan takes a look at the difference between a fan's perception of top picks and actual NBA draft projections.

Al-Farouq Aminu at No. 5? Ed Davis at No. 7? Daniel Orton at No. 13? Really?

There's something funky about the NBA draft for college hoops people: The ordered talent on draft boards only occasionally resembles what we saw throughout a given college hoops season. This isn't hard to explain. NBA scouts and general managers factor in more than just college production when they're looking at prospects; scouts also look at what the team needs, how a player meshes with his teammates, the player's raw athleticism, and whether Joe X will be considerably better in five years than he was during his college days. This concept is called "potential." You may be vaguely familiar with it.

Brennan breaks down his "based solely on production" mock NBA draft -- the first 14 picks, anyway.

Kentucky head coach John Calipari said he never thought he would lose five players to the NBA draft when the season started, saying he only anticipated losing freshman point guard John Wall and junior forward Patrick Patterson.

"I thought Eric Bledsoe would stay,'' Calipari said. "I wasn't sure about Daniel Orton because of his knee injury and I wasn't sure DeMarcus Cousins would grow as a person and be ready to leave. Once the season ended, I knew I'd lose all five.''

Wall, Cousins and Patterson left no doubt in their cases once they declared with an agent by the initial April 25 deadline. Bledsoe and Orton left the window open slightly by not hiring agents, but then on Friday informed Calipari, as expected, that they too were staying in the draft. All five could go in the first round.

Calipari didn't plan in the early signing period to lose all five underclassmen. That's why once again he had to go through a furious spring to secure elite players. Expect incoming freshmen point Brandon Knight, guards Doron Lamb and Stacey Poole and center Enes Kanter to be in the rotation immediately. Knight and Lamb were late signees.

Calipari will also have wings Darius Miller, Darnell Dodson and DeAndre Liggins and forwards Josh Harrellson and Jon Hood in the rotation.

"We're going to be good, we're just going to be a different kind of team,'' Calipari said. "We do need a few more guys, maybe one more forward.''

Calipari said he will be studying how the New York Knicks play and is considering going with four guards and one forward or at times having five players out to use more of his dribble-drive-motion offense.

"We have enough good players,'' Calipari said. "I'll spend the next few months trying to figure it out. I'd like to have four perimeter guys who are 6-3 or taller and one big guy defensively, who can set ball-screens, trail and run to the post and elbow and play. Hopefully if we face a 1-3-1, we'll make more 3s."

Clearly, UK's woeful 4-of-32 performance from 3 in an Elite Eight loss to West Virginia hasn't strayed far from Calipari's mind.

NBA draft boards are safe.

Saturday’s NCAA-imposed deadline to withdraw from the NBA draft (international players still have until June 14) didn’t produce any last-minute decisions that will affect the first round, but that’s not the case for the preseason top 25 in men’s college basketball.

None of the players who were still mulling over decisions would have affected the first round of the NBA draft. On Friday night, the official decisions of Kentucky freshmen Daniel Orton and Eric Bledsoe put two more undecided early-entrants in the first round. But on Saturday, the most anticipated decision came out of West Lafayette, Ind., where JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore told coach Matt Painter they will return for their senior seasons. The Boilermakers, with the return of Robbie Hummel, will have what is likely the most experienced and productive trio returning of any power-six club.

Staying in the Big Ten, Illinois desperately needed Mike Davis and Demetri McCamey to come back to school after a season in which the Illini just missed out on the NCAA tournament. Losing one of their productive forwards and their most experienced guard would have crushed Bruce Weber's team, even though there is an influx of young talent there. Neither Davis nor McCamey were considered first-round draft picks.

With these decisions, the Big Ten likely will receive considerable hype as the nation's best conference for the second preseason in a row. Purdue could be a preseason No. 1, Michigan State will be right on its heels, and Ohio State (with its loaded recruiting class), Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois and Northwestern (which gets back Kevin Coble from a season-ending foot injury) are all capable of contending and making the NCAA tourney.

In the ACC, Virginia Tech’s Malcolm Delaney decided Friday night to return to school. It was a good move. He wasn't a first-round pick, but he’s certainly one of the top guards in the conference and gives the Hokies, who return nearly their entire team, a chance to be a top-25 team next season.

New Mexico figured it would lose leading scorer Darington Hobson, and it did, meaning the Lobos will have to start the season again having to prove themselves as a Mountain West title contender. Xavier figured it was going to go into next season without Jordan Crawford, and it will, meaning the Musketeers will need to find another headline act. But the Musketeers’ program hardly lacks for talent and it's never wise to overlook this team in the preseason.

Richmond received news that it can still be competitive in the A-10 with conference player of the year Kevin Anderson's return. The Spiders would have had to rebuild had they lost both Anderson and senior David Gonzalvez. Temple would have faced a similar situation had Lavoy Allen not come to his senses and returned to school.

Alex Tyus' father and uncle both told the local press recently that they felt Tyus was a natural small forward, that he was being underutilized at Florida and that he should declare -- even go overseas if he wasn't drafted. He apparently didn't listen. Tyus, who wasn’t a first-round pick and might not have been a second-round pick, will return as a solid role player for a team that will challenge for the SEC East title. Florida may not have cried if Tyus had left, but it would have taken another system player out of the mix. His return allows the Gators to go through the offseason without a distraction, unlike when Marreese Speights left early in 2008 and Nick Calathes bolted for Greece in 2009.

Meanwhile, Kenneth Faried’s decision to stay at Morehead State means one of the better talents in the country will shine more of a spotlight on the Ohio Valley next season. Faried had a shot to alter the draft board in the latter part of the first round, but is just one less name for NBA personnel to sweat over during the next six weeks.

John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, Daniel Orton and Eric Bledsoe declaring for the NBA draft today was no surprise, and coach John Calipari couldn't be more proud.

Calipari might be losing all of them to the pros, but he should have little trouble reloading now that he can sell a program that has recaptured rock-star status.

The Wildcats already signed small forward Stacey Poole Jr. and have a commitment from Turkish center Enes Kanter, who previously had pledged to Washington.

Also consider that Calipari is a guy who can even sell empty bourbon bottles with his face on it for charity at $49.99 apiece.

To get their hands one of the 24,000 commemorative bottles that actually had alcohol in them, some Kentucky fans camped out next to liquor stores.

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Greetings from Rupp Arena, where we're about an hour from tipoff of the regular-season finale between Kentucky and Florida. Some quick pregame thoughts:

• It's "Senior" Day for Kentucky, and I put that in quotes because all of the attention will be focused on underclassmen instead of actual seniors Perry Stevenson, Ramon Harris and Mark Krebs, who are all reserves. Junior Patrick Patterson will go through Senior Day ceremonies as he's likely headed to the NBA. And, of course, it's almost certainly the last home game for freshmen John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins and perhaps Eric Bledsoe.
• There's no question which team needs this game more. Kentucky has already wrapped up the SEC title and can be assured of a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Florida, meanwhile, is as bubble-icious as it comes in at 20-10 (9-6 SEC) and an RPI of 55. A road win over a top-5 team is exactly what the Gators need to impress the selection committee, especially after losing to Vanderbilt at home the last time out.
• Kentucky beat Florida 89-77 in Gainesville in the teams' first meeting, but that game was tied with 5:13 left before Bledsoe took over.
• Should be some fun matchups in the frontcourt. The Wildcats have a ton of size with Cousins, Patterson and Daniel Orton. But Florida can counter with the 6-foot-10 Vernon Macklin and 6-9 Chandler Parsons, both of whom have elevated their offensive games in recent weeks.

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Quick reactions from Kentucky's 85-75 victory over Mississippi in Rupp Arena:

• John Wall passed, shot, drove, defended -- and smiled. The freshman point guard, who said Saturday he wasn't having much fun lately, looked like his normal self against the Rebels. With Ole Miss unafraid to play a full-court game that suits Wall's strengths, he fluidly flew around Rupp while producing 17 points and seven assists.

"I'm happy again," Wall declared. "It feels good, hopefully (the mini-controversy) will go away now."

Wall said the lesson learned from the past couple days of dithering about his comments was "just keep your mouth shut." But he also acknowledged he was trying too hard to live up to his considerable hype.

• Coach John Calipari loved what he saw out of Wall Tuesday night.

"John Wall ran our team as well as he has all year," Calipari said.

• The Rebels went with conventional wisdom and zoned the Wildcats, figuring the only way to test them offensively was to clog the lane and challenge John Calipari's crew to make 3-pointers.

Challenge answered. Kentucky made 9 of 19 3s.

The past two games have showcased a developing weapon for Kentucky, shooting guard Darnell Dodson. With emphasis on shooting. Against Vanderbilt, Dodson got his first start since the season opener and responded with 16 points, hitting 4 of 8 3s. He started again tonight and was 4 of 5 from 3-point range, scoring 14 points in 16 minutes of playing time.

If Dodson keeps shooting this way, the junior college transfer will be the antidote to the zone strategy.

"Big," was Calipari's description of Dodson's contribution.

• First-year Wildcats Wall, Dodson, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe -- plus backup center Daniel Orton -- combined for 61 of UK's 85 points, 26 of its 38 rebounds and 16 of its 21 assists.

• Junior Patrick Patterson was the only starter who predates Calipari. He had some nice contributions, including a couple of excellent defensive possessions, but his offensive output continues to decline as the newcomers assert themselves. Patterson had 12 points and six rebounds. His scoring average has decreased six straight games (from 16.7 to 15.1) and his rebounding average has decreased five straight (from 8.1 to 7.6).

Calipari praised Patterson but is still seeking more assertiveness from his most veteran player.

"He's still not there yet," Calipari said. "You'll see it in another week to 10 days, two weeks, and you'll say, 'This is him.'

"He helped himself today, but let me say this: He's still 30 percent better than he played today."

• Cousins continues to amaze. He swallowed up seven rebounds in the first six minutes and 15 seconds, and finished with his 13th double-double of the season (18 points and 13 rebounds). And although the freshman was slow getting back on defense several times, he also stepped in and took three charges. If he's not blocking your shot, he's stopping your drive with his body.

Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy was asked to compare Cousins to someone from his playing days and came up with Chris Washburn -- a great college talent at North Carolina State.

• Despite all the impressive performances and spectacular plays, Kentucky played another ebb-and-flow game. The Wildcats hit Ole Miss with a 12-2 run to start -- then relaxed. The next run was 15-0 -- then the Cats relaxed and Ole Miss crept back within three. Kentucky led by 18 in the first half and 17 in the second half but never threw the knockout punch. That's been a recurring theme this season for this young, 21-1 team but it hasn't derailed anything yet.

• Mississippi sophomore Terrico White showed off a bit for the two-dozen NBA scouts in attendance, scoring 19 points and grabbing seven rebounds. But he was shut out in the last 14 minutes.

If you scroll to images 14 and 28 at the Lexington Herald-Leader's photo gallery from the Arkansas game, Kentucky's DeMarcus Cousins has a toothy grin despite getting two of his teeth chipped in the 101-70 win.

Cousins wasn't available for comment, but he's probably glad that the teeth were apparently fake, having had them knocked out before, according to teammate Daniel Orton.

"I told him later [in the game] I didn't mean to and it was all just fun and games," Arkansas' Courtney Fortson, whose elbow caused the damage, told reporters.

Another reason Cousins might be smiling? Knowing you're No. 1 must hurt so good.

The Morning After is our semi-daily recap post. Try not to make it awkward.

Ohio State 70, No. 6 Purdue 66: Evan Turner does bad things. You know this already. He did such things before the ugly back injury (which he suffered doing something awesome; players like Turner don't get injured in normal or unexciting ways, apparently), and he's done such things since returning from that injury. He's, um, really good. But the Buckeyes' accomplishment Tuesday night -- winning a road game over an efficient, brutal defensive team like Purdue -- is truly remarkable: Road wins like this simply don't happen all that often in basketball.

How did Ohio State do it? It was almost flawless where it counts most: The Buckeyes shot well, they rebounded their misses, and they didn't allow Purdue to get to the line, surrendering free throws on a mere 12 percent of the Boilermakers' possessions. Purdue will be disappointed with that number; the Boilermakers must find a way to balance their perimeter strengths with more touches for JaJuan Johnson, who shot only five times Tuesday night. Make no mistake, though: This win belongs to the Buckeyes, who got a legendary performance from their star and did more than enough around the margins to complement him. If the Buckeyes go on to stir things up at the top of college hoops this season, they will have learned their formula on Jan. 12.

No. 2 Kentucky 89, Florida 77: It's almost unfair. After all, John Calipari already has the best point guard and arguably best player (I'm adding in the "possibly" because did you see Turner last night?) in the nation in John Wall. It's easy to forget that Eric Bledsoe was almost as highly touted as Wall as a high schooler; Bledsoe was considered the third-best point guard in that class and among the top 20 or 30 players entering the 2009 class. But for all the John Wall love, Bledsoe is showing Kentucky fans they have no reason to worry about 2010 and beyond -- while not as versatile and athletic, Bledsoe is nearly as quick as Wall and has a much better shooting touch, which he displayed last night in his 25-point, 10-of-13 performance at Florida.

In the meantime, the tandem of Patrick Patterson and DeMarcus Cousins (and even Daniel Orton) is proving impossible for teams to stop. The Wildcats scored 1.25 points per possession last night -- an insane rate for any team -- without shooting particularly well from beyond the arc. Kentucky was just that good (65.2 percent for the game) on their twos. If the Wildcats can score at this rate even when they don't shoot well from the perimeter (and when Wall bricks 3 after 3, which he's prone to do), then we were all wrong: The Cats aren't vulnerable. They're just scary.

Colorado 78-No. 24 Baylor 71; No. 12 Kansas State 88, Texas A&M 65: Who else is trying -- and failing -- to figure out the middle portions of the Big 12? Eamonn confused: Baylor beats Oklahoma by 31 and goes to Colorado and loses to a frisky-but-let's-be-real-here-still-pretty-bad Buffs team. Meanwhile, Texas A&M looks like a tough matchup for a K-State team that lost its first Big 12 game to Missouri. Instead, the Aggies build themselves a tower of bricks (how tall? 38.2 percent FG% tall, is how tall) while K-State scores almost 1.2 points per possession. Road difficulties? Weird night? Who knows? The Pac-10 is this year's most wide-open conference -- which is a nice way of saying there are no good teams -- but the Big 12 might be the most fun to figure out in the next two months.

NC State 88, No. 25 Florida State 81: Florida State will have some 'splaining to do. How do you lose to the hapless Wolfpack at home? Well, here's how: Freshman Scott Wood made 7-of-11 3-pointers and scored a career high (duh) 31 points on the way to a Wolfpack win. Add that to NC State's generally hot shooting and efficiency on offense -- it went to the line on 66 percent of its possessions and scored 1.2 points per trip -- and you have a recipe for a freaky loss at home to an inferior team. Not that this is the upset of the century, but still.

Everywhere else: Maryland-Wake Forest played a classic that few around the country saw, trading baskets in overtime on the way to a two-point Wake win; Al-Farouq Aminu had 24 and 13 and a key defensive play in the victory. ... Northern Iowa tied a school record with its 14th straight win, but a two-point win over Bradley at home was probably not the win the UNI folks had in mind. ... TCU edged Wyoming out West. ... Illinois needed some last-second drama to top Penn State at home, but escaped with 54-53 the win all the same. ... Iowa got its sixth win, a five-point home win over Tennessee State.

Circle Jan. 12 on Kentucky’s calendar. That may be the next and first time the Wildcats lose this season.

The Wildcats will be at Florida for that Super Tuesday affair on ESPN.

Sorry, but I don’t see a defeat in the next six: home games against Austin Peay, Drexel, Long Beach State, Hartford, Louisville, and the SEC opener with Georgia.

Florida is fully capable of knocking off Kentucky in Gainesville. By then, the weight of being 16-0 could be a bit heavy for this crew.

As expected on Saturday, Indiana gave the Wildcats a solid 20 minutes before Kentucky ran off an 18-0 run, UK's largest of the season (although that 28-2 run against UNC was breathtaking at times).

John Calipari has also started to settle on a rotation. He went with the same starting five for the ninth straight game with guards John Wall and Eric Bledsoe and forwards DeMarcus Cousins, Darius Miller and Patrick Patterson, with big man Daniel Orton as the first substitute off the bench.

Kentucky wasn’t rattled by the rockin’ Assembly Hall crowd, the team's first true road game of the season. And what was even more important for the Wildcats was that they didn't have to rely so much on Wall. He was 4-of-12 for 11 points (although those eight assists and zero turnovers sure were helpful) with his backcourt mate Bledsoe scoring a game-high 23. Patterson, who will and continues to be the anchor of this team, had 19 points and 11 rebounds.

There is such a clear advantage of talent when Kentucky steps on the court against teams like Indiana and those it will play in the coming weeks.

This isn't exactly a bold statement, but it's obvious that UK is one of the dozen teams that can make it to Indy and win the national title.