Kentucky fans are looking forward to watching the NBA Draft more than most...

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from CollegeHoops.Net

With the influx of talent into the league, as well as the development of some returning players, the SEC should be much better represented this year. With the season approximately halfway over, here's a look at some of the top NBA prospects.

John Wall, Kentucky
Key stats: 17. 1 points, 6.9 assists
Draft prediction: Top pick

Barring a major surprise, Wall will be the top pick in the 2010 draft. Although just a freshman, he has the speed, athleticism and poise to become an instant impact player, and there's no reason he shouldn't become a star in the league. Wall has great size for the point, and he's virtually unstoppable in transition. Look for him to fill up NBA highlight reels for years to come.

DeMarcus Cousins, Kentucky
Key stats: 15.3 points, 9.3 rebounds
Draft prediction: Lottery

Cousins is overshadowed by Wall at times, but he is a tremendous talent in his own right. He has great size, solid ball skills and an NBA-ready body. The only thing holding Cousins back is his attitude. He's known to have a quick fuse, and can sometimes lose focus on the floor. However, if he's able to continue to keep his composure and help lead UK on a deep tournament run, he could find himself shaking David Stern's hand not long after Wall.

Patrick Patterson
Key stats: 16.9 points, 7.9 rebounds
Draft prediction: Late lottery – mid first round

Patterson is no longer having to shoulder such a large load for the Cats this year, and as a result, his game has expanded. Patterson has been able to showcase more of a perimeter game, having made 10 three-pointers this season after making zero in his first two years. With good size, good athleticism and a high basketball IQ, Patterson is likely to become a solid NBA player for the next 10-12 years.

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Here's a look at some of the local players taken in Thursday's NBA draft and where they landed...

Terrence Williams (6-6, 213) - SG - Louisville
Rd. 1 - 11th pick - New Jersey
Analysis: With the Nets trading Vince Carter, they are starting over. Williams is one of the best athletes in the draft, has a ton of skills and can really defend. He's an eccentric dude and he doesn't always come to play, but when he does, wow. It will be fun to watch Devin Harris, Courtney Lee, Williams, Yi Jianlian and Brook Lopez grow up together. They'll lose a lot of games, but there's a lot of potential there.

Earl Clark (6-10, 226) - SF
Rd. 1 - 14th pick - Phoenix
Analysis: The Suns have clearly decided to rebuild, and with Clark, they get one of the five top talents of the draft. Clark can do everything -- he's long and athletic and he can play multiple positions, including point forward. His effort was inconsistent at Louisville, but he's got as much upside as anyone in the draft. If they trade away Amare Stoudemire to Golden State, they'll have a nice young core with Andris Biedrins, Brandan Wright, Clark, Robin Lopez and (if they got the 7th pick) Stephen Curry. If that happens, the Suns won't be all that great from the get-go, but they'll be fun. The question is, will Steve Nash stay around to lead them?

Derrick Brown (6-9 225) - PF - Xavier
Rd. 2 - 10th pick (40th overall) - Charlotte
Analysis: I love this pick for the Bobcats. I think Brown, had he stayed in school another year, would've been a surefire first-round pick. He's an excellent athlete; he can play the 3 and the 4; and he still has lots of upside.

Jodie Meeks (6-4 211) - SG - Kentucky
Rd. 2. 11th pcik (41st overall) - Milwaukee
Analysis: Meeks can provide some big-time scoring off the bench. Nice pick here, although I worry about his lack of athleticism.

*Analysis by ESPN's Chad Ford - COMPLETE TAKES

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from the Oklahoman: 

Blake Griffin knows all about their poor history. The Oklahoma City native has been asked about it every time he’s done an interview since the night of the draft lottery.

He’s been asked about it so much that he goes on audio autopilot when asked about anything having to do with the Clippers’ past.

During an interview earlier this week: "I am not worried about anything that has happened in the past. I wasn’t a part of that, and a lot of the guys that are there now weren’t a part of it.”

Sounds a little like Griffin is trying to convince himself of that. Who can blame him? Since the franchise first moved to Southern California in 1976, the Clippers have never won their division but have finished last 15 times. Their winning percentage during that span has been .353.

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As we did last year, I'll be liveblogging the NBA Draft tomorrow night, starting about 7:00.  The draft doesn't start until 7:30, but there's going to be a ton of movement to discuss before then.  For an idea of what to expect, check out last year's liveblog.

I haven't much more than a faint clue of how things are going to fall out tomorrow night.  There's already been some significant trades, with more likely to come over the next several hours.  Plus, this draft class just isn't very good, so there could be a lot of teams trying to trade out of picks if their guy doesn't fall to them.

That said, here's my last best guess at how the lottery will go:

1. LA Clippers - Blake Griffin, Oklahoma

2. Memphis -  Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut

3. Oklahoma City - Ricky Rubio, Spain

4. Sacramento - Tyreke Evans, Memphis

5. Minnesota (from Washington) - James Harden, Arizona State

6. Minnesota - DeMar Derozan, USC

7. Golden State - Stephen Curry, Davidson

8. New York - Jrue Holiday, UCLA

9. Toronto - Gerald Henderson, Duke

10. Milwaukee - Brandon Jennings, Italy

11. New Jersey - Jordan Hill, Arizona

12. Charlotte - Earl Clark, Louisville

13. Indiana - Jeff Teague, Wake Forest

14. Phoenix - James Johnson, Wake Forest

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(via Rush the Court)

Maybe this has slipped through the media cracks, but WKYT dropped what I'd consider to be a bombshell last week regarding the potential status of Jodie Meeks.

Meeks has not signed with an agent as yet.  So, if he is not selected in the NBA draft tomorrow night (and that is looking like a realistic possibility), he could invoke the Randolph Morris loophole and return to Lexington.  According to the UK atheltics department, Meeks has not done anything to jeopardize his amateur status, so this looms as an option.

On talent alone, Meeks probably should get picked.  However, just about every team is in some sort of financial bind (I've heard as many as 27 teams were unprofitable in 2008-09).  They could easily decide to, rather than take a college player that would sit on their roster, select a foreign player that can sit overseas for the upcoming season, and just hold the rights to him until several months down the road and not have to pay him right now.  It's a small cost savings, but it's a savings nonetheless.

If this happens, UK is so far and away the preseason #1 next year it'll be scary.

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Dan Wetzel, Yahoo.com breaks down Thursday's NBA Draft:

WINNER

CHICAGO
The Bulls took hometown star Derrick Rose with the No. 1 pick. Yes, they have a glut of backcourt players but none as good as the Simeon High product. He’s a monster talent, a winner (he led Memphis to the NCAA title game) and while not a vocal leader he is the kind of player guys love playing with.

At the end of the day when a franchise can get the best player in the draft, who is a franchise point guard that is already popular in town, it’s a good night.


LOSER

MINNESOTA and MEMPHIS
Two of the most puzzling front offices in the NBA were cited for creating the NBA Finals this year. Minnesota gave Boston Kevin Garnett while Memphis handed over Pau Gasol to Los Angeles.

So when they make a trade, let alone a late-night, draft-night, eight-player swap, oh the potential humanity. Can there really be a winner?

Generally the team that gets the best player wins a deal and Memphis got that, even if they may not have needed him. What do you expect from a trade between these two?

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With the NBA draft less than 24 hours away teams are heating up the phones, working deals, and trying to figure out who they want to take. Most of the hype leading up to the draft was which player would go first, Memphis' guard Derrick Rose or the do-it-all Kansas State big man Michael Beasley. However, at the clock gets ready to strike 12, USC and former North College Hill guard O.J. Mayo is entering the discussion.

With the Chicago Bulls expected to take Memphis guard Derrick Rose in Thursday's NBA Draft, the Heat have been sending mixed messages, telling one NBA official that they planned to take and keep Kansas State forward Michael Beasley but telling another NBA official that they are concerned about his maturity and are interested in USC guard O.J. Mayo, the Miami Herald reports.

Mayo averaged 20.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.3 assists during his one college season, leading Southern California to a 21-12 record and an NCAA tournament berth.

The Heat worked out Mayo and guard Jerryd Bayless Tuesday in Miami, and ESPN reports the team is seriously considering taking Mayo second overall. Mayo's off-season has been tainted with a recruiting  scandal, but it's not his or the team that drafts him problem, rather USC that will have to deal with it.

"He is the most NBA-ready of the guards in the draft, and I think is a really good prospect," ESPN's Jay Bilas said of Mayo. "The idea that somehow he's tainted. ... First of all, if it's true, he's certainly not alone. He's just one of the guys that it's surfaced on. And second, it's hardly anything that the NBA would concern itself with."

Both the Seattle SuperSonics and Memphis Grizzlies have made offers to Miami for the No. 2 pick, an NBA GM tells the Herald.

Its hard to imagine that Beasley would fall down to the No. 3 spot. The 6-foot-8 forward led NCAA Division I in rebounding (12.4) and was third in scoring (26.2) as a freshman. The Timberwolves, who sitting behind the Heat with the draft's thrid pick on sure hoping he does.

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To comply with federal regulations that every sports blog must have a liveblog of the NBA Draft, I'll be liveblogging on this site starting close to 7:00, when ESPN coverage begins.  I'm not sure what time the actual draft starts, but we'll play that one by ear.  There should be an interface for some Q&A or live commenting as well.

And with that, I should probably give my predictions of at least the lottery picks for tomorrow night's draft.  I can't remember a draft with more teams looking to move out of their slot; just in the lottery, I've heard Miami, Seattle, Memphis, the Clippers, and Portland all are interested in switching positions, so all of this is predicated on picks not being traded around.

1. Chicago - Derrick Rose, SG, Memphis
2. Miami - O.J. Mayo, SG, USC (if they keep the pick I think they'll go this way, but my guess is that it's dealt to either Seattle or the Clips, and Beasley will get the nod)
3. Minnesota - Michael Beasley, PF, Kansas State
4. Seattle - Jerryd Bayless, PG, Arizona (and if he slips to #11, I won't be shocked either - this draft is that nutty)
5. Memphis - Kevin Love, C, UCLA
6. New York - Danilo Gallinardi, SF, Italy (D'Antoni knows the European game so this makes sense)
7. Clippers - Eric Gordon, SG, Indiana
8. Milwaukee - Joe Alexander, PF, West Virginia
9. Charlotte - Brook Lopez, C, Stanford
10. New Jersey - Anthony Randolph, PF, LSU
11. Indiana - Russell Westbrook, PG, UCLA (just like Bayless, he could go seven spots higher and I won't be surprised)
12. Sacramento - D.J. Augustin, PG, Texas
13. Portland - Brandon Rush, SG, Kansas
14. Golden State - Mario Chalmers, PG, Kansas

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