Mass Exodus at Kentucky

The University of Kentucky announced yesterday that five underclassmen have entered their name into the NBA Draft. These players include:

John Wall
Demarcus Cousins
Patrick Patterson
Daniel Orton
Eric Bledsoe

I think we all knew that Wall, Cousins, and Patterson were gone. Bledsoe and Orton kind of surprise me. But early projections have both of these players considered in the first round, which means Kentucky could have FIVE players drafted in the first round of the NBA draft.

With the graduating seniors Ramon Harris, Mark Krebs, and Perry Stevenson. That leaves the Kentucky roster pretty cut down. There have been some rumblings that Darnell Dodson may be leaving but those have all been unconfirmed. So as of right now this is what is left on the Kentucky roster for 2010/2011:

Darnell Dodson
Josh Harrellson
Jon Hood
DeAndre Liggins
Darius Miller

Add to that the already signed freshman:
C- Enes Kanter (5-Stars)
SF- Stacey Poole (4-Stars)

What does this mean for Kentucky next year? There is still some talent on this team with Dodson, Liggins, and Miller all playing significant minutes this season. It is still yet to be seen what Hood can bring to the table, and Harrellson can give you minutes as you need them. But what I think this really means for Kentucky is they will have a good shot at getting some top notch recruits because they can offer one thing, a lot of playing time. I don't think when Calipari put together this draft class he expected each of his stars to be one and done. But he has always stood by his players and if they are ready for the NBA and can get drafted in a high position he encourages them to go.