PHILADELPHIA — Kentucky isn’t in the Sweet 16 and John Calipari is done coaching for the season — but that hasn’t stopped him from making headlines.
Calipari on Wednesday Tweeted that all of his eligible players — including walk-ons — would test the NBA Draft waters.
And why not? Tons of players are doing it and will continue to do so to get feedback from NBA personnel on where they stand.
Meantime, the coaches who are still coaching in the tournament had some fun with Calipari’s announcement.
“About Cal,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said on the podium when I asked his thoughts. “Cal’s funny. Cal is a buddy of mine, Jiminy Christmas, but he’s out in left field sometimes. Get ready, he may say something else this afternoon that’s going to shock everybody. But he’s entitled to a great opinion, and I don’t see that there’s anything wrong with that.
“People say he only recruits a certain guy. He recruits the same guys I do. He just gets them, that kind of thing….I will really start getting worried if John applies for the draft himself. So as long as he doesn’t do that, I’m okay.”
“Putting his whole team in?” Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said of Calipari. “Well, he’s not getting any pub here lately, because he’s not playing. So he’s doing anything to stay out there. They guy’s a master. He’s a master.”
Asked about the new rules — which allow players to work out for NBA teams or attend the Pre-Draft Combine and still return to campus if they don’t hire an agent — Brey had some more good stuff.
“I want to add to that, I’m going to put my name in, too. I’m going to go, too, and test the waters,” he said.
Notre Dame point guard Demetrius Jackson is currently projected as the No. 11 pick on DraftExpress.com, and Brey thinks the new rules help a guy like Jackson.
“It’s great for the young people,” he said. “I don’t want to hear about, it’s tough on coaches. One of my assistants started whining about it. I almost fired him last night. I said: Shut up. I think it will save some bad decisions that we’ve had that a kid can go, get the information and still have time to digest it.
“Certainly for Demetrius Jackson, it’s great. And I love how the NBA and the NCAA are really working more hand in hand lately. This is a great rule.”
North Carolina, meantime, has several players in the mix in 2016 and ’17. Senior power forward Brice Johnson is No. 33 in 2016, while senior point guard Marcus Paige is listed as the No. 16 top senior on DraftExpress.com.
In 2017, sophomore Justin Jackson is No. 25
“I’m not against guys leaving early, but I’m really in favor of them getting the best information they can possibly get,” Williams said. “And I think this will give them a better opportunity if we can get the NBA to be truthful with them and if we can get the kids, their family, their circle to believe the NBA as opposed to the agents. Because all of us have had guys say, well, you’re going to be a first round choice. That’s not always true with the information they’re getting.”
Indiana coach Tom Crean has four players projected on the DraftExpress.com Mocks for 2016 and ’17. Point guard Yogi Ferrell is listed at No. 56 in 2016, while freshman big man Thomas Bryant (No. 8), freshman small forward Ogugua Anunoby (No. 17) and junior small forward Troy Williams (No. 47) are all on the 2017 board.
“I think anything that allows them to make the best decision possible, to get the best level of exposure — but it still comes down to this: There’s still very little real, honest, truthful, unfiltered, non-agenda-driven feedback,” Crean said. “And the whole key is to get that feedback, because so many mistakes are made because people get into the other part of it. And there’s so many opinions and voices and everybody’s got an idea on it but there’s very, very few decision makers. And the trick is to really understand what the decision makers see, get your people to understand that — which we’ve been pretty fortunate with that at Indiana — and then build from there. But that’s the most important thing. And I do love the new rules. And hopefully they’re here to stay.”
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