Jarred Vanderbilt wagered that his raw talent was good enough to merit being drafted on Thursday despite playing only 14 games due to injuries at Kentucky.

He was right.

The 6-foot-9 forward was selected with the No. 41 pick in the second round of the 2108 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic. His rights were later traded to the Denver Nuggets, where he could possibly be united with former UK stars Jamal Murray and Trey Lyles.

Vanderbilt was limited this season because of a left foot injury that sidelined him the first 17 games of the season and then a left leg injury that kept him out of the postseason.

When the Houston native was on the floor, however, he was a major impact player for the Wildcats.

Despite playing only 17 minutes per game, he averaged an eye-popping 7.9 rebounds, one of the best per-minute played figures in the history of the program. That drew comparisons to a young Dennis Rodman, the NBA Hall of Famer who starred for the Detroit Pistons and Chicago Bulls as a dominant rebounder, by scouts and UK coach John Calipari alike.

Vanderbilt's offensive game is still a work in progress. He averaged 5.9 points per game as a freshman at UK.

He was the third UK player taken in the draft following Kevin Knox (9) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (11) in the first round.

Vanderbilt is the first one-and-done player during Calipari's time in Lexington who was not taken in the first round.