Postseason Roundtable: Who returns to UK for another season?
It has become an annual ritual. As soon as Kentucky loses a game in the NCAA Tournament the speculation begins: Who will return to Lexington for another season? Who will leave for the NBA? Who might transfer or explore other options?
The Cats Illustrated staff is discussing that very topic today.
Jeff Drummond: I think you could possibly see everyone with the exception of PJ Washington return. No one else is ready to make that jump. Of course, players rarely are, and we see them jump anyway, so it's kind of hard to predict. Keldon Johnson may have the most difficult decision, but I see John Calipari having a similar discussion with him that he had with Washington last spring. His game is not ready for the NBA. It will be one of these days, but the timing is wrong. I wouldn't write off the possibility of a transfer (or two) either. What are guys like Nick Richards and EJ Montgomery thinking after sitting and watching almost the entire game against Auburn?
David Sisk: I expect Nick Richards, EJ Montgomery, Immanuel Quickley, and Jemarl Baker to return. Ashton Hagans is up in the air. Jonathan Givony is the Bible in regards to draft projections. He has Hagans No. 61. That means no guaranteed money if he does happen to slip in the back end of the second round. P.J. Washington is 15. Tyler Herro has climbed up all the way to 17th, and Keldon Johnson is No. 19. I expect those three to be in the NBA next season.
Warren Taylor: This is all complete guesswork on my part. I think Washington, Johnson and Herro all declare and stay in the draft. Hagans will declare but won't hire an agent at first. I'm not sure what he'll do though and am 50/50 on whether he stays or returns. Other than that the Cats will return a favorable bit of their roster going into next season and will have a solid corp to go with another talented recruiting class.
Travis Graf: I think there will be some surprise returnees, such as there was in 2014. Nobody outside of PJ Washington has reached their highest potential as a prospect. Tyler Herro has been written off for awhile, but you could easily see him back again for a sophomore campaign. Keldon Johnson has an NBA body but his finishing ability and constant disappearing acts raise a lot of red flags with scouts. Washington has the same problem last year, where you didn’t even realize he was on the court. Johnson could have a similar jump in productivity in year two. As far as Ashton Hagans, I don’t think anyone would touch him in the first 40 picks of the draft. He’s a late second round prospect, if that. There’s a lot of holes in his game, namely shooting and finishing. He has to make strides in the mental part of his game as well.
Justin Rowland: I'm very confident PJ Washington is gone and if I had to guess I'd say Kentucky will lose Keldon Johnson and Tyler Herro as well. This is Kentucky, and if you're on the fence about what someone will do it's best to assume they probably don't return. Herro has room to improve but he's already such a polished offensive player, he's big enough to be a two guard in the NBA, and he answered a lot of questions about his defense this year. As for Keldon Johnson, I think there will be a team that's enamored with his long-term shooting potential, his aggressiveness and the way he attacks the boards. Of course a transfer is possible. I'm not sure Kentucky is bringing in a big man that would run EJ Montgomery or Nick Richards off. The two players I will be most interested in watching this offseason will be Immanuel Quickley and Ashton Hagans because as some have said, they might not want to be caught in a Quade Green type of situation.