As promised from earlier, here are a collection of stories from around the nation regarding the NBA Draft and the Kentucky players in it:
– DeMarcus Cousins, who has been the most talked about player of the 2010 NBA Draft not named John Wall, tells Brett Dawson of The Courier-Journal that he thinks his stock may be slumping. In the story, Cousins is quoted as saying that he won’t ever forget if a team passes on him.
– In a similar story from the USA Today, Nicole Auerbach reports that Cousins is trying to shed labels as he tries to boost his stock. Former NBA All-Star and current ESPN analyst Jalen Rose is quoted in the story as saying Cousins is the best big man in the draft. “The sky is the limit,” Rose said.
– In defense of Cousins, Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com writes that it would be crazy for the teams with the top four picks if they did not pick Cousins. Parrish acknowledges that the former UK forward has some potential character questions but points out that his talent is too hard to pass up.
– To that effect, Mike DeCourcy from The Sporting News also writes that teams that pass on Cousins will regret it. DeCourcy poses the question as to why teams should draft Cousins. “Why?” he writes. “Because Cousins has greatness in him. It may be hidden by a few extra pounds, but it’s in there.”
– If Cousins indeed falls out of the top four, the Sacramento Kings will select him with the fifth overall pick in the draft, according to a report by Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. According to the story, the Kings feel like Cousins is just too talented for a 6-foot-11 forward to pass up on.
– The Yahoo! Sports story also reports that fellow UK forward Daniel Orton’s stock might be falling so fast that he could fall out of the first round all together. Would hate to see that happen to the young man, but some doubts about how he handled the pre-draft process have made for a perfect storm, according to the report, for him to fall.
– If Orton does fall, one report from CSNEE.com suggests that the Boston Celtics will pick him up with the No. 19 pick.
– Jerry Tipton from the Lexington Herald-Leader writes that the top Cats won’t reveal what they’re wearing to the draft.
– Brian Mahoney sums up the draft pretty well in the Associated Press story by writing that Wall at No. 1 is really the only sure bet in the draft. Once it gets to pick No. 3, there are a ton of questions, Mahoney says.
– Washington Post columnist Mike Wise says that not all top NBA draft picks work out, but it’s hard to argue with the Washington Wizards taking John Wall.
– Wall introduced his new Reebok shoes Wednesday, according to Zina Kumok from the AP. The Reebok commercial with Wall will air Thursday during the draft.
– ESPN hosted a live chat Wednesday to discuss the NBA Draft. As you would guess, it’s chock-full of Kentucky conversation, especially when it comes to Cousins.
– And of course, the last-minute NBA Draft projections from the most reputable draft websites: DraftExpress.com, ESPN.com, MyNBADraft.com, SportsIllustrated.com, InsideHoops.com, Yahoo.com and NBADraft.net.
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