With the NBA Draft combine this week, there are a few teams that are sweating the outcomes. Purdue with National Player of the Year Zach Edey and UCLA with its entire starting lineup in the process. Another team that has several starters in question is Kentucky Basketball, which has a trio of talented players in the draft waters as well.
The biggest name, of course, is Oscar Tshiebwe. He was the 2022 National Player of the Year and put up All-American numbers this past season. Another is Antonio Reeves, the team’s second-leading scorer and best shooter on the current roster. And the final is Chris Livingston, a former five-star prospect and starting power forward.
All three entered the NBA Draft after the conclusion of this past season. And originally, the expectation is that the Wildcats were going to lose all three. However, the odds for some have raised as of late and if you’re looking at the roster potential without them, it could look to get very dicey for the 2023-24 campaign.
Kentucky Basketball has the top incoming recruiting class, including five players ranked in the top 30 overall, as well as a couple in the top 10. However, the program has yet to land a transfer and even missed out on a couple of targets.
So in reality, Coach John Calipari and fans are going to need a couple of these guys to come back. But between them, who is most likely? Here’s a draft profile of all three prospects, as well as the odds of them returning to Kentucky for another season.