The University of Kentucky is losing another underclassman to the NBA Draft.
Marcus Lee, a 6-foot-9 junior forward who saw steady rotation minutes for the first time last season, told ESPN’s Jeff Goodman that he is leaving Lexington for the NBA. Lee will not hire an agent, but he indicated he does not plan to return for his senior season.
“I haven’t hired an agent,” Lee told Goodman. “Because I want to keep my eligibility just in case I decide to come back, but my plan is to go to the NBA. That’s the only goal.”
On March 23, Kentucky coach John Calipari announced via Twitter that all of his draft-eligible players, walk-ons included, will submit their names for the June 23 NBA Draft. Since then, Jamal Murray, Skal Labissiere and reigning SEC Player of the Year Tyler Ulis announced they are hiring agents, thus ending their college careers.
Murray (No.6) and Labissiere (No.10), both freshman, and Ulis (No. 20), a sophomore, are all projected to be selected in the first round according to DraftExpress. Lee, who averaged 6.4 points and 6.0 rebounds in 21.8 minutes per game last season, does not appear on the 2016 or 2017 mock draft on DraftExpress.
A new rule in place beginning this year states that any underclassman can enter the draft and attend the NBA Draft Combine while still maintaining his eligibility as long as he does not retain an agent. In order to remain eligible, players have to withdraw from the draft within 10 days of the combine, which runs May 11-15.
“I’ve gotten a lot of feedback, and people are saying I was hesitant and didn’t have confidence in my offensive game,” Lee said. “But I do have an offensive skill set that was prominent in high school and in AAU. I am just working on getting that back again now and looking forward to showing this to NBA teams.”
“In my mind, I can be a dominant player on that end of the court. I just want a chance to show that.”
The lone remaining NBA Draft question mark for Kentucky is former Roselle Catholic Isaiah Briscoe. Should he return to school for his sophomore year, it would create an interesting dynamic in Calipari’s backcourt with the five-star tandem of De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk set to come in.
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