INDIANAPOLIS, IN - DECEMBER 01: Kentucky Wildcats guard Brandon Boston Jr. (3) checks back into the ... [+]
It’s no secret that John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats have struggled throughout the first half of the 2020-21 college basketball season. On the year, Kentucky has a 4-7 record, despite being the 10th-ranked team in the nation before play started.
Calipari has had bad years before. Only those ones still result in trips to the NIT, and that is no guarantee for this group at the moment. Still, like with any Calipari-led team, this roster is full of future NBA players. And while some of them have underperformed to start the year, that doesn’t mean it’s not worth keeping tabs on them. So, here’s a look at where some of the best Wildcats stand:
Brandon Boston Jr. (19, F, 6-7)
Boston was the seventh-ranked recruit in the 2020 ESPN 100, and a lot of people thought he was on track to be a top-five pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. However, Boston has struggled more than any top recruit in recent history, averaging 12.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on 35.6 percent shooting from the floor and 16.7 percent shooting from three.
Boston’s scoring was supposed to translate nicely to the college game, and you still get glimpses of his natural ability to get buckets. Boston clearly knows how to get himself to the rim, but he just hasn’t been able to make shots at anything close to an acceptable rate. The 19-year-old’s jumper was a question mark coming into the season, but it has been worse than anybody could have possibly imagined thus far. He also isn’t creating the same type of separation that he was in high school.
Boston is now showing up as a late first in early 2021 mocks, and it’s entirely possible that he ends up going there. But I think that’s a little harsh right now. Kentucky’s lack of outside shooting has really made things difficult on Boston, as the freshman has had no space to operate. I still believe in his ability to impact games as a scorer, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he does a lot better in the pros, where he’ll always be surrounded by a few capable shooters. And while his jumper has been a disaster to start the year, it’s not as bad as the percentages suggest. He’s shooting 79.5 percent from the line, which means he’s far from a lost cause.
If Boston ends up going in the 10-20 range, there’s a good chance he makes his team extremely happy. The upside is certainly there.
Terrence Clarke (19, G, 6-7)
Evaluating Clarke is a lot like evaluating Boston, as both have had similar difficulties in Lexington. Clarke is a ridiculous athlete, with ideal size for an off-ball guard, but he is shooting only 22.7 percent from the outside this year. And he’s only at 47.1 percent from the charity stripe, which is a bit more concerning. Also, Clarke doesn’t make good decisions on the floor, which is part of the reason he is sliding on draft boards.
Clarke was the 10th-ranked recruit in the 2020 ESPN 100, but he was actually a bit polarizing as an NBA prospect. A lot of people weren’t high on how his game would translate to the next level, and it has become easy to understand why.
There’s still some things to like about Clarke’s game, and his ability to defend the wing is one of them. I’ve seen some really impressive stuff from him as an on-ball defender and team defender, and that should allow him to be picked early in the second round, at the latest. But he needs to figure out the jumper in order to be a valuable player in the NBA. He occasionally flashes a smooth release, but he doesn’t shoot the same way every time. Slowing himself down a bit could make a big difference.
Isaiah Jackson (19, C, 6-10)
Jackson is arguably the one Kentucky prospect that has helped his case this season, as he was the 34th-ranked recruit in the 2020 class and is now viewed as a first-round pick in the 2021 NBA Draft.
When watching Jackson play, it isn’t hard to see how he might help an NBA team. His energy is extremely impressive, as there really aren’t a lot of guys with a motor quite like his. That helps when also factoring in his length and shot-blocking ability. Jackson is one of the best shot-blocking bigs to come out of the draft in the last decade. Seriously, it’s impressive watching him go up and swat shots. The only problem is that he often leaves his feet a little too often. But that’s genuinely because he believes he can block anything. In many ways, Jackson reminds me of Mitchell Robinson.
On the other end of the floor, Jackson isn’t more than a rim runner right now. He’ll finish plays at the basket, but there’s not much else he can do to help his team. That’s why he’s not a lottery guy. I still love the way he plays, though. And I think plenty of NBA teams will be eager to add a rim protector like him. However, it wouldn’t be too shocking if they had to wait. Like Nick Richards, Jackson might help himself a lot by sticking around another year or two.
