The Annual Who Goes & Who Stays Thread (UPDATE: Everyone to Enter the Draft)

[SBCatMan]

Cal says 4 or 5 declare for the draft.

Thoughts?

[KCKUKFan]

Goners For Sure:
Tyrese Maxey
Nick Richards
Nate Sestina

Probably A Goner:
Immanuel Quickley

Decisions To Make:
Ashton Hagans
EJ Montgomery

Returning:
Dontai Allen
Johnny Juzang
Keion Brooks

Welcome New Cats:
Lance Ware
Cam'ron Fletcher
Terrence Clarke
B.J. Boston
Isaiah Jackson
Devin Askew

[JFCats22]

Goners For Sure:
Tyrese Maxey
Nick Richards
Nate Sestina

Probably A Goner:
Immanuel Quickley

Decisions To Make:
Ashton Hagans
EJ Montgomery

Returning:
Dontai Allen
Johnny Juzang
Keion Brooks

Welcome New Cats:
Lance Ware
Cam'ron Fletcher
Terrence Clarke
B.J. Boston
Isaiah Jackson
Devin Askew

i am so bummed out about what’s going on right now I don’t really want to think about next year yet.

I’ll just say that if Askew is the one and only PG option we are in trouble.

[KCKUKFan]

i am so bummed out about what’s going on right now I don’t really want to think about next year yet.

I’ll just say that if Askew is the one and only PG option we are in trouble.

Be it Hagans, the grad transfer from Harvard, or another option, Cal isn't going to leave us in the lurch at PG. I'm not concerned about that position, especially.

I am concerned about the center position.

[JFCats22]

Be it Hagans, the grad transfer from Harvard, or another option, Cal isn't going to leave us in the lurch at PG. I'm not concerned about that position, especially.

I am concerned about the center position.

Good point, I agree. Boston and Clarke are (likely) major contributors from day one. The other guys are not.

[KCKUKFan]

Good point, I agree. Boston and Clarke are (likely) major contributors from day one. The other guys are not.

I've had the opportunity to see Isaiah Jackson play a number of times, and I think he will be a very solid contributor from the start. His stock has really risen in the past six months. He needs to get stronger, though, if he's going to play on the front line. Boston and Clarke are ready-made starters. Those guys can flat out play.

Fletcher, Ware, and Askew are going to take some time, though.

[justford]

Allen may be sleeper/wildcard for next years team.

[justford]

Will the way the season ended have any influence on who stays or goes? Maybe borderline players needed a good tournament to improve draft stock??

[Joneslab]

Good point, I agree. Boston and Clarke are (likely) major contributors from day one. The other guys are not.

How could you possibly know this? By reading recruiting rankings? Were we going to make predictions that way, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would probably be making a decision on his junior year at UK about now.

I personally think Cam'Ron Fletcher and Isaiah Jackson could both contribute. Something I really like about Fletcher from what I've seen.

[Joneslab]

I imagine what happened late in the season will really hurt Hagans, but he got a perverse break because of this virus. He'll have a chance to sort of remake his reputation once things get started back up again.

I'm sure NBA teams are going to hold that against him though. To be benched by Cal, traditionally one of the more player-friendly and lenient coaches in America, especially that late in the season, is not a good look. And for Cal to mention the pressure getting to Hagans is a double whammy. NBA teams will absolutely bristle at that.

Of course, we know he didn't have a great year. His dad was very frustrated at the end of the year. He was suspended. He struggled to put much of anything together offensively for the final month and half. Just a real struggle.

Would he return to UK given all that? Seems to me that if the family got any hint that he could be drafted, even very late, they'll probably take it.

[Dwight Schrute]

I just can't see Hagans returning unless there is no draft or something next year.

[KCKUKFan]

I just can't see Hagans returning unless there is no draft or something next year.

I'm not sure he has a choice unless he just wants to play in the D league.

I think he would've been drafted based on defense alone (lots of scouts still loved him, according to Matt Jones), but I think the end of the year might've screwed that all up for him.

[Dwight Schrute]

@KyleTucker_ATH
I'll have more on this in the season obit, but early thoughts after conversations yesterday: Think Hagans, Maxey and Richards are all gone. Quickley is the coin flip. And Montgomery, Brooks, Juzang all return (plus a healthy Dontaie Allen). EJ can be a Junior Nick repeat.

Obviously no real information, but Tucker at least talked to people.

I think the only way Quickley returns is if he wants to play PG some, because that's probably his best shot at an NBA career.

[JFCats22]

How could you possibly know this? By reading recruiting rankings? Were we going to make predictions that way, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander would probably be making a decision on his junior year at UK about now.

I personally think Cam'Ron Fletcher and Isaiah Jackson could both contribute. Something I really like about Fletcher from what I've seen.

Shai and Herro are outliers, not the norm. And, no it's not from simply seeing recruiting rankings. I have seen some of these guys play and talked to other people who have seen them play.

Fletcher lives about 15 minutes from me and I have seen him play 6-7 times. I like him as a long-term guy but I would be shocked if he plays more than a handful of minutes per game next year.

[Dwight Schrute]

It kinda sucks for Brooks, I think, who was starting to play better. If he had a good post season, he might have been in the conversation to leave.