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[URL=”http://vaughtsviews.com/?p=21272″]Larry Vaught was able to get a few interesting quotes out of an NBA scout on Kentucky’s draft prospects[/URL].
The scout, who elected to stay anonymous because of the possibility of his team drafting a Kentucky player, said that Calipari’s system often makes players looks better than they actually are.
“The interesting thing, and its not a knock, but there is this Kentucky mystique that Calipari has done a great job creating and perpetuating. The best part about Kentucky’s system is that [it] can hide so many flaws at first glance.”
He cites examples of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist not being as great of a defender as advertised because of the presence of Anthony Davis in the middle, and Marquis Teague’s point guard skills being over-valued because of the constant threat of the lob.
Furthermore, the scout said he was not alone in this line of thinking.
“In reality, the Kentucky system is smoke and mirrors. I remember being out in Vegas for a Summer League and I was sitting and watching games with a long-time Director of Scouting in the league. He said he was stunned at how unprepared Kentucky players were for the NBA, and he had drafted one of them.”
Some very critical statements laid upon a program that will have put 15 players into the Association over the past three years by the end of this month.
I do, however, think the scout has a point. The “Kentucky Effect” is a real phenomenon. Once players put on that Kentucky jersey, they seem to get an instantaneous boost in their NBA draft stock—guys who would have been three or four-year players at other universities are suddenly one-and-done first rounders.
And the idea that Kentucky players are surprisingly unprepared for the NBA shouldn’t be all that surprising. I would contend that very few players who are only a year or two removed from high school are fully prepared to play professionally.
Even so, Calipari’s cats don’t seem to be doing too poorly as professionals. DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, Brandon Knight and even Josh Harrellson spring to mind as players who have played fairly up to par thus far in their NBA careers.
There will always be struggles and growing pains when you’re drafting 19 and 20-year-olds, but Kentucky draftees still seem to be holding their own.
What say you, Big Blue Nation?
You can read the rest of the article [URL=”http://vaughtsviews.com/?p=21272″]here[/URL].
