Adam Zagoria covers basketball at all levels. He is the author of two books and an award-winning journalist whose articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Sports Illustrated, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide.
Kentucky Now Has 7 Guys in 2015 Mock Draft; Duke, Arizona, Kansas, Wisconsin Also Promiment
If the NBA Draft were held today, Kentucky could have all seven of its eligible players drafted, according to DraftExpress.com.
That would break the record of six, set by Kentucky in 2012.
Aaron Harrison had previously not been on the mock draft, but with guys like Jakob Poeltl of Utah, Kris Dunn of Providence and Caris LeVert of Michigan opting not to declare, Harrison is now listed at No. 60 — or Mr. Irrelevant — in the 2015 Draft.
“When someone withdraws from the draft, everyone behind that person moves up a spot,” Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com told SNY.tv. “There were around 15-20 guys who almost certainly would have had a strong chance to get drafted who elected not to enter this draft, which caused a lot of guys to move up. There will be a few international players who will withdraw at the deadline on June 15th that will move up some guys even further.”
Kentucky’s picks now look like this:
No. 1 – Karl-Anthony Towns
No. 6 – Willie Cauley-Stein
No. 15 – Devin Booker
No. 17 – Trey Lyles
No. 34 – Dakari Johnson
No. 47 – Andrew Harrison
No. 60 – Aaron Harrison
Meantime, Duke would have three players selected in the first round, while Kansas, Arizona and Wisconsin would each have two.
DUKE
No. 2 – Jahlil Okafor
No. 5 – Justise Winslow
No. 19 – Tyus Jones
KANSAS
No. 12 – Kelly Oubre
No. 27 – Cliff Alexander
ARIZONA
No. 9 – Stanley Johnson
No. 22 – Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
WISCONSIN
No. 10 – Frank Kaminsky
No. 13 – Sam Dekker
Adam Zagoria is a Basketball Insider who covers basketball at all levels. A contributor to The New York Times and SportsNet New York (SNY), he is also the author of two books and is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker. His articles have appeared in ESPN The Magazine, SLAM, Sheridan Hoops, Basketball Times and in newspapers nationwide. He also won an Emmy award for his work on the SNY mini-documentary on Syracuse guard Tyus Battle.
A veteran Ultimate Frisbee player, he has competed in numerous National and World Championships and, perhaps more importantly, his teams won the Westchester Summer League (WSL) championships in 2011 and 2013.
He lives in Manhattan with his wife and children.