Zero Wildcats on 2022 NBA Mock Draft, but there is one Kentucky native

In the midst of a miserable start to the 2020-21 Kentucky basketball season, many fans are coping by looking ahead. According to NBA Draft prognosticators, there’s not much talent to get UK basketball fans excited.

This morning ESPN’s Jonathan Givony released a mock draft not for this summer, but the following year in 2022. The nation’s top-ranked recruit, Chet Holmgren, is No. 1, followed by former UK target and Duke commit Paolo Banchero. In the entire two-round mock draft you will not find one Kentucky Wildcat, excluding UK recruit Jaden Hardy, a prospect many believe will not attend college. You will however find one Kentucky kid just outside of the lottery.

Auburn point guard Justin Powell debuts in ESPN’s 2022 mock draft as the 16th overall pick to the Denver Nuggets. A product of North Oldham High School that missed most of his senior season to injury, the true freshman leads Auburn in scoring (13.9 ppg.), rebounding (6.4 per game) and assists (4.5 per game). Bittersweet is a word one Kentucky fan might use to describe his rapid development.

Obviously, a mock draft looking this far into the future is flawed. Isaiah Jackson did not sniff any of these projections until he arrived at UK and now he is a lottery pick. Daimion Collins will likely share a similar trajectory on his way to the first round. Even so, it’s tough to find any good Kentucky basketball news anywhere right now.

[ESPN]