By Annie Dunbar, CoachCal.comARLINGTON, Texas – The questions on their future were as predictable as this recent run has been improbable.Is it too early to start asking about declaring for the NBA Draft?”Yes,” Aaron Harrison said, leaving it at nothing more than that.But with Kentucky’s season over and the NBA early-entry deadline now looming, the Wildcats, still dealing with a disappointing loss to Connecticut in the national championship game, were hounded with questions on their basketball future nonetheless.All of the potential NBA players said they haven’t thought that far ahead. “I’m just focused on this game right now,” Andrew Harrison said. “I want to spend these last days with my teammates and stuff before we get back to Lexington.”After they get back and the dust settles from the season, John Calipari said he will sit down with each player and figure out what they want to do.”I’ll sit down with each young man individually, probably have their family either with us or on a speakerphone, and get them information and say, ‘If I can help you with anything, let me know. Tell me what you want to do, what do I need to do to help you?’ ” Calipari said. “I kind of stay out of the decision-making. I just get them information. So we’ll see. I have no idea because I haven’t talked to them and none of us have talked about that. We were playing to win the national championship.”A number of Wildcats were already predicted as potential NBA Draft picks as recently as a month ago, but the wild tournament run that brought Kentucky to the national championship game certainly boosted the draft stock for a number of players. Looking through the roster and NBA mock drafts, there are multiple players who will have the option of moving on to the next level should they choose to do so. Returning sophomores Willie Cauley-Stein and Alex Poythress are potential draft picks after staying through a second season to develop their game. Freshmen Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Julius Randle, James Young and Dakari Johnson are all high on NBA draft boards, especially after their performances in the NCAA Tournament.But in the immediate aftermath of the UConn loss, with eyes still puffy and tears still flowing, the Cats didn’t want to talk about their futures. Randle, who is predicted to go high in the first round, said thinking about the NBA is the farthest thing from his mind.”Right now it’s just hard to think about that,” Randle said. “It hurts. I haven’t really thought about it yet.”Cauley-Stein, who chose to stay another year after last season’s NIT appearance to compete for a national championship, said the decision comes down to more than just dollars and cents.”The best thing that’s probably ever happened to me is coming to Kentucky,” Cauley-Stein said. “That whole community, that whole fan base makes you feel like you’re a rock star. The kids look up to you. The old people, they look up to you. You got 40-year-old guys that you’re their role model because you’re 20 years old and you’re like, ‘How am I going to be a role model when you’re 20 years older than me?’ It’s just amazing to see. Those fans are so powerful.”The power of the fans and the community will make him think long and hard about his decision.”That will always being weighing in the back of your head when you’re trying to make a decision whether you want to stay until you can’t stay no more or you want to leave early,” Cauley-Stein said. “That’s kind of like how I am. Why not relish something for as long as you can until you’re forced to leave or make that jump. That’s the hardest thing.”One item that does not play a factor in Cauley-Stein’s case is his recent ankle injury.”It’s not serious enough what’s going to happen,” Cauley-Stein said. “But you just don’t know. Something might come up where you have to leave or something might come up where you need to stay. It’s just time, you know what I’m saying? You got weeks before you really have to make your decision.”As for Aaron Harrison, the biggest factor for him is his family, and even potentially playing without his twin brother, Andrew.”I really don’t want to think about that right now,” Aaron Harrison said. “I’ve been playing with him my whole life. It’s our dream, but taking away something that’s been there is taking away your oxygen.”Within the next couple of weeks, by April 27 to be exact, all of the Wildcats will be forced to decide between playing another season at UK or taking the leap to the next level by entering the NBA Draft. Calipari said that the decision ultimately comes down to what’s best for the individual player.”Now that the season’s over, it is about the players,” Calipari said. “It’s no longer about the program. It’s no longer about the team. It’s about each individual player on this team now. They sacrificed. They surrendered to each other now, for our team and our program and our school. Season’s over. Now it’s about them. And we’ll sit down with each of them and they will make decisions for themselves.”To bring you more expansive coverage, CoachCal.com and Cat Scratches
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