Attention: Kentucky will have an upper-classman playing significant minutes next season.
Center Willie Cauley-Stein, who many believed was headed to the 2014
NBA draft after his sophomore season with the Wildcats, announced on
Twitter he intends to return to Lexington:
I'm proud to say I'm coming back for my
junior year. I still have an empty spot to fulfill and in no rush to
leave the best fans in the USA!
This is huge news for the Wildcats, as well as the landscape of next year's college basketball campaign.
Cauley-Stein, who would become the first ever scholarship recruit in the John Calipari era to stay through his junior season, per 247Sports' Jon Hale, was widely projected as a first-round pick. Not many were expecting this particular news, and Wildcats great Rex Chapman applauded what must have been a difficult decision:Very nicely done Willie Cauley-Stein! Big-boy decision
A 7-footer with impressive mobility for a player his size (he played wide receiver in high school), Cauley-Stein protects the rim better than almost anyone in the country. He averaged 2.9 blocks in just 23.8 minutes per contest last season, finishing 12th in block percentage, per kenpom.com (subscription required).
He isn't a primary option on the offensive end, but his length makes him a force on pick-and-rolls and on the glass.
As DraftExpress' Jonathan Givony noted, Cauley-Stein's return adds to an already stacked frontcourt for the 'Cats: Another surprise in Willie Cauley-Stein announcing he's staying for his junior season. Kentucky's frontcourt will be very crowded next year.Julius Randle, although yet to make his official decision, is widely expected to move on to the NBA, but Dakari Johnson, Alex Poythress and Marcus Lee may all join a recruiting class that includes 5-stars Trey Lyles and Karl Towns Jr. (per 247Sports' composite rankings), arguably the best power forward and center recruits in the nation, respectively.
Cauley-Stein, who would become the first ever scholarship recruit in the John Calipari era to stay through his junior season, per 247Sports' Jon Hale, was widely projected as a first-round pick. Not many were expecting this particular news, and Wildcats great Rex Chapman applauded what must have been a difficult decision:Very nicely done Willie Cauley-Stein! Big-boy decision
A 7-footer with impressive mobility for a player his size (he played wide receiver in high school), Cauley-Stein protects the rim better than almost anyone in the country. He averaged 2.9 blocks in just 23.8 minutes per contest last season, finishing 12th in block percentage, per kenpom.com (subscription required).
He isn't a primary option on the offensive end, but his length makes him a force on pick-and-rolls and on the glass.
As DraftExpress' Jonathan Givony noted, Cauley-Stein's return adds to an already stacked frontcourt for the 'Cats: Another surprise in Willie Cauley-Stein announcing he's staying for his junior season. Kentucky's frontcourt will be very crowded next year.Julius Randle, although yet to make his official decision, is widely expected to move on to the NBA, but Dakari Johnson, Alex Poythress and Marcus Lee may all join a recruiting class that includes 5-stars Trey Lyles and Karl Towns Jr. (per 247Sports' composite rankings), arguably the best power forward and center recruits in the nation, respectively.
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