Five Kentucky Wildcats Declare for NBA Draft
Excerpt from the Kentucky Kernel:
Junior forward Patrick Patterson, freshman guards John Wall and Eric Bledsoe, and freshman forwards DeMarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton all will enter their names into this year’s NBA Draft.
“I’ve spoken with all five guys concerning the NBA and have encouraged them to put their names in the draft,” said UK head coach John Calipari in a press release. “They’ve all met individually with our compliance office to make sure they have a full understanding of eligibility rules and academic responsibilities. I’m so proud of these five young men, with everything they did for us on the court and the way they represented us off of it.”
It was not specified by UK athletics as to whether the five players will sign with agents or not.
“I want to thank the fans who have supported me all three years,” Patterson said. “I also want to thank the coaches for putting me in a position to showcase other parts of my game as well as my versatility. Lexington and UK will always be a special place to me.”
“I’m not the same player as when I arrived at UK,” Wall said. “I believe I’m ready for the next challenge as Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans were the last two years under Coach Cal. I want to thank my teammates and the fans for all their support this year. I love them.”
“I never thought I’d be in this position after one year,” Bledsoe said. “Coach Cal pushed us all to be the best we could be and he believes I’m prepared to take my game to the next level. I want to thank the fans for all their support this year."
“Coach challenged me to grow on and off the court this season,” Cousins said. “I believe my game expanded along with my maturity. This year was the most fun I’ve ever had playing basketball and a lot of it had to do with the support I got from our fans.”
“Being at Kentucky allowed me to play with some of the most talented players in the country,” Orton said. “Battling with DeMarcus (Cousins) and Patrick (Patterson) every day helped improve my game. I want to thank the coaching staff for helping put me in a position to be drafted this year."
