The Big Blue Lowdown

So now that Kentucky has returned from the muddle of mediocrity and landed back on top of the college basketball world, the work for 2009-2010 is done and we can shift focus to next year’s team…

Ok, we’re only kidding. But it is true that with the runaway success of Calipari’s first Kentucky squad, there has been surprisingly little ink given to any speculation or discussion of what his second UK edition might look like. Moreover, given the hype and hoopla surrounding this year’s on-court Wildcats, the recruiting trail has been ominously devoid of major news and rumors.

And so we thought we’d take a moment to offer a ridiculously premature look at what Cat fans might be able to expect for next year.

What the Cats Lose
First, it must be said that the roster Kentucky is currently suiting up looks more and more like a once in a generation collection of talent. Regardless of how these Cats finish, it would not be fair to expect this level of overall ability every year, or even every 10.

Next year’s roster will probably play out a lot more like the bulk of Cal’s very solid Memphis teams. That is to say that it will feature good overall talent and depth, veteran leadership and a slew of long, rangy combo guard-forwards well-suited for the dribble drive motion.

At this point, the BBL is highly confident that Kentucky will see four players selected in the first round of the 2010 NBA draft. Add to that the loss of three seniors, and there is going to be some significant turnover.

Next Year’s Nucleus
The nucleus of the team will lie with three juniors, Darnell Dodson, Darius Miller and DeAndre Liggins (we can already envision the “3D” label being applied as the season gets going), each of whom is a potential star when not sharing the ball with an NBA-laden roster. We expect these three to receive the bulk of the minutes at the 2 and 3 positions, with Liggins potentially logging some minutes at the 1, as well.

The Cats will also expect a huge step up from freshman Daniel Orton, who has the physical tools to be a future lottery pick in his own right. Josh Harrellson will add size and experience, and if Jon Hood gains strength and improves his long distance shooting touch, he could be a standout performer in the SEC.

Despite the heavy personnel losses and substantial drop in talent that Kentucky is likely to experience next season, these six players alone would constitute a legit top 25 worthy contender. But they’ll have help, too.

Another Huge Class?
One of the givens about Coach Cal is his ability to attract blue chip talent and next year should be no exception. Unfortunately, due to the uncertain nature of having multiple potential early entries, the Cats haven’t exactly loaded up on signees to this point, with only 6-5 wing Stacey Poole having committed thus far.

With that said, we expect the Cats to sign at least two more, and possibly three, immediate impact players for next year and probably another two or three project players. Pretty much all of Kentucky’s top targets fit the bill of the 6-4 to 6-8 long athlete who can defend and play more than one position.

The latest rumors seem to indicate that the nation’s top scholastic player, 6-3 Brandon Knight, will hold off on announcing his choice until March or April. If that’s the case, this will strongly favor Kentucky, as Bledsoe and Wall’s fates will have been decided by then, opening the door for another big time PG.

Our prediction is that UK will land at least one of Brandon Knight and PG stud Josh Selby, to go along with three forwards, led by C.J. Leslie, who was John Wall’s teammate in high school and is said to love it in Lexington.

BBL Take
All in all, we think the Cats will suit up another top 10 team with Final Four potential, but once again will have to depend on youth in key positions. A rotation of Liggins, Dodson, Hood and Knight/Selby in the backcourt, to go along with Miller, Poole, Hood, Orton, Harrellson and Leslie in the frontcourt would certainly contend for an SEC championship and high NCAA seed.