Davis, MKG lead off UKs big NBA Draft night
NEWARK, N.J. - Kentucky doesn't just make waves at the NBA Draft. It makes history.
The Wildcats' Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist were the first and second players selected Thursday night at the Prudential Center, becoming the first teammates in college basketball history to go 1-2 in the NBA Draft.
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Davis was selected first by the New Orleans Hornets. The Bobcats took Kidd-Gilchrist with the No. 2 pick.
"It's crazy," Davis said. "Michael is a great player. We have two down and four more to go."
Terrence Jones was the next to come off the board, selected 18th by the Houston Rockets.
Marquis Teague went 29th to the Chicago Bulls to give the Cats four first-round picks.
In the second round, Doron Lamb went to the Milwaukee Bucks with the 42nd pick and Darius Miller went 46th to the Hornets.
That would be the most players ever selected in a two-round NBA Draft from a single school. But Kentucky was assured of history the moment NBA Commissioner David Stern announced that the Bobcats had chosen Kidd-Gilchrist.
"Ant and me," Kidd-Gilchrist said. "Wow."
The evening is expected to be the continuation of remarkable draft success under coach John Calipari who by the end of the night should have 15 total draft picks in three years at Kentucky. That's as many as the Wildcats had in the 15 seasons before Calipari took over as head coach.
"I'm just going to be happy when this day is over," Calipari said. "Right now, I've still got calls to make, trying to figure out what's what. We still have four players in the draft."
This story will be updated throughout the night.