Kentucky is expecting close to 90 NBA personnel for its pro days on Sunday and Monday, a school spokesman said.
Freshmen Bam Adebayo (No. 10), De’Aaron Fox (12) and Malik Monk (18) are all projected one-and-done first-round picks in the latest DraftExpress.com mock for 2017.
“All 90 scouts are there to certainly see the development of Monk, Bam and Fox since arriving on campus,” one NBA scout said.
ESPNU will televise Kentucky’s practice on Sunday from 7-9 p.m.
Kentucky coach John Calipari says he talks regularly with his players about what the NBA is looking for.
“You come here, you’re on a mission, and it’s not about numbers,” he wrote on CoachCal.com. “It isn’t. It’s, ‘I want to be the best player. I want to be an efficient player. I want whatever I do to be able to transfer in that league.’ That’s what we talk about. The guys that don’t get that, I call them sometimes delusional.”
Meantime, Duke will host its pro days Oct. 19 and 25, as first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The second day for Duke coincides with the start of the NBA season.
The Blue Devils enter the season as one of the favorites to win their sixth national championship and third since 2010, but will be without freshman big man Harry Giles for six weeks after his third knee surgery.
Giles is projected at No. 5 by Draft Express, with teammate Jayson Tatum at No. 3, Marques Bolden at No. 8 and junior guard Grayson Allen at 25.
A slew of NBA scouts are also expected at the Champions Classic Nov. 15 at Madison Square Garden when Duke meets Kansas and Kentucky faces Michigan State.
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