NBA teams
Chad Ford, ESPN Senior Writer 9y

Scouting UK's 10 pro prospects

NBA, NBA Draft

CHICAGO -- More than 100 NBA scouts and GMs descended on Chicago on Saturday to watch Kentucky thrash yet another opponent. This time the unlucky team was UCLA, as Kentucky was as dominating as ever.

The Wildcats opened the game with a 24-0 run and went into halftime leading 41-7. No, folks, this wasn't a football game. And anyone who watched the massacre unfold would tell you that it wasn't even really that close.

UK went on to win 83-44. The team is now 12-0 on the season with resounding victories over Kansas (32 points), Texas (12 points), Providence (20 points), North Carolina (14 points) and UCLA (39 points).

I spent the game sitting in the stands surrounded by NBA scouts and management. After speaking with a variety of them before, during and after the game, several themes emerged.

First, this is the greatest college basketball team many of them have witnessed. That's saying something from a veteran crew of former elite college basketball players, former NBA players and veterans of the scouting business who have been watching the sport for several decades.

"I've never seen anything like this ever," said a veteran GM with more than 20 years of experience. "[John] Calipari has done such a great job managing all of these kids. He has them playing so hard. They don't just beat you. They chew you up and spit you out. UCLA came out and they were afraid. They should be. If Kentucky is hitting 3s, no one can beat them. Even if they're not, I still think they're likely to go undefeated."

Second, this team is loaded with future NBA players. However, not all of UK's players are equal in the eyes of NBA scouts. While as many as 10 players on this roster could be drafted, right now it seems that only two, possibly three, players on the roster will be lottery picks, and maybe four or five of the 10 would be first-rounders.

I asked a number of NBA scouts and GMs at the game on Saturday to talk about the draft stock of all 10 of Kentucky's prospects. Everyone I spoke with had scouted Kentucky in person at least twice. Most of them have seen the Wildcats in person three or four times this season.

Here's their take on all 10 prospects, ranked in order of likely draft position, followed by prospect notes on UCLA, Ohio State and North Carolina.

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