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Fresh Off Silver Medal in Pan Am Games, Jamal Murray Skyrockets to No. 6 in 2016 Mock Draft

preacher_tom

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Fresh off leading Canada to a silver medal in the Pan American Games, incoming Kentucky point guard Jamal Murray has skyrocketed to No. 6 in the DraftExpress.com 2016 mock draft.

The 6-foot-5 Murray had recently been No. 16 and before that was No. 21.

The top five players ahead of Murray include fellow Kentucky pledge Skal Labissiere at No. 1; LSU freshman Ben Simmons at No. 2; Cal wing Jaylen Brown at No. 3; Duke small forward Brandon Ingram at No. 4; and European big man Dragan Bender at No. 5.

Incoming Kentucky guard Isaiah Briscoe is No. 19, meaning Kentucky has three of the top 19 projected picks, plus Marcus Lee at No. 30 and Alex Poythress at No. 57.

Murray scored 12 points on Saturday when Canada lost to Brazil in the gold-medal game. He was coming off a monster game in the semifinals against the United States where he scored all of his 22 points between the fourth quarter and overtime.
 
Yes this kid is going to really shine. Just wish that somehow the draft projections would equal national titles but they don't.
 
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Yes this kid is going to really shine. Just wish that somehow the draft projections would equal national titles but they don't.
I don't know what he will end up being drafted but I am pretty sure he will be the best player in college basketball next year!
 
Not surprised to see him climb in the racking's. Kid is going to be special at UK.
 
Playing against pros at Pan Am should really toughen him up. It will be hard to keep him off the floor because he is a bonafide big scorer and can play descent D. But... the big interesting question for me next season is about how we play our three guard offense and who slots where. Murray beat the USA nearly single handed running the point with the ball in his hands in the 4th quarter. I bet Cal will default to Murray running the point when a tight game is on the line.
 
So 5 of top 6 are projected to be true freshmen, college ball is gonna be way down next season
 
Just think we're all brainwashed. We follow draft projections these days like they're the most important thing in the world.


So you are saying that the draft really has no true bearing as to what team will win the national championship?
 
I cant wait for the season to start. Just a little over a month until NFL starts then by that time basketball will be right around the corner. Murray's gonna be special this year. He's the real deal son. He'll be one of the best players in the country and hopefully lead us to 9. This is gonna be a fun team to watch too. And whoever said college basketball was gonna be down this year I don't agree with you bro. They'll be about 6 dominate teams, then a handful of really good teams. Its gonna be a fun year.
 
Not surprised to see him climb in the racking's.
He'd better stay away from those rackings! We need him!

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Just think we're all brainwashed. We follow draft projections these days like they're the most important thing in the world.


I mean we've gone to 4 final fours in the last 5 years versus going to zero in the previous 10 years, so obviously its working. We've also won the most ever games in college basketball history in a single season - 38 - twice. We've also won a national championship. Its a single elimination tournament. That's pretty decent.
 
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I hope to hell he turns out to be the guy we want to see, but mark my words the minute he has a bad game or does something unpopular he will be public enemy number 1. Like many of you, I hope(not expect) this team will reach the pinnacle of its potential.

On a side note, with all due respect to Marcus lee, how is he still projected preseason first round? I know going back to Michigan he showed skills, but what is it that makes him a pre season first rounder? It's not a slam, I love all things UK just curious.
 
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Thanks for the update. He's clearly the best incoming guard in college basketball. Only Briscoe and Brunson are close IMO. (Haven't seen Thornton honestly)

We saw what Murray did to the supposed best returning PG in the land last week. So IMO the projection is justified and possibly a bit low.
 
Just think we're all brainwashed. We follow draft projections these days like they're the most important thing in the world.

Or maybe you've missed the part where you can't win a title unless you've actually made a Final Four. Cal is getting players who put UK in the Final Four almost yearly. From there, it's anyone's guess who will win it all.

You make it seem like UK is the only team with talent every year. Are you aware that there are other talented teams playing UK in a lose-and-go-home tournament scenario?
 
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Or maybe you've missed the part where you can't win a title unless you've actually made a Final Four. Cal is getting players who put UK in the Final Four almost yearly. From there, it's anyone's guess who will win it all.

You make it seem like UK is the only team with talent every year. Are you aware that there are other talented teams playing UK in a lose-and-go-home tournament scenario?


Only one team can have the number one recruiting class.
 
Just think we're all brainwashed. We follow draft projections these days like they're the most important thing in the world.

Nah, we followed them because they usually represent a pretty good indication of whether UK will have a real shot at a Final Four and a national championship. You've actually got it completely wrong.
 
What's crazy is once the regular season starts, IF we lose a regular season game it will be almost 2 years since our last regular season loss. That's crazy
 
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Thanks for the update. He's clearly the best incoming guard in college basketball. Only Briscoe and Brunson are close IMO. (Haven't seen Thornton honestly)

We saw what Murray did to the supposed best returning PG in the land last week. So IMO the projection is justified and possibly a bit low.
Depends on how you classify Alonzo Trier. He looks like a shooting guard to me, and he was very impressive offensively during the allstar circuit.
 
What's crazy is once the regular season starts, IF we lose a regular season game it will be almost 2 years since our last regular season loss. That's crazy
Our last regular season loss was to Florida on March 8, 2014. That would be incredible if we get close to that date without a loss.
 
So 5 of top 6 are projected to be true freshmen, college ball is gonna be way down next season

College ball is way down every year precisely for that reason.

Unless Brandon Ingram is the second coming of George Gervin or Kevin Durant, I think it's honestly a joke that he would get taken 4th overall after his freshman year. I mean he's a nice-looking prospect and all, but come on. It's a joke. And unless Ingram struggles mightily, he's basically guaranteed to be a 1-and-done lottery pick just by having hype and going to Duke.

It's just "the thing to do" now, for NBA teams to draft the top handful of freshmen every year. That doesn't mean that there's always at least a handful of 1-and-done players ready to make a legit impact in the NBA, because there usually isn't.

The 2015 class is not good when compared to 2014 and especially 2016 and 2017. It has a few nice-looking prospects but there's really not hardly any that have the look of a truly special player. People will convince themselves of anything so I know y'all think Murray is the 2nd coming of some all-time guard, but he's really not. After Simmons and maybe Labissiere, I don't think there's like a slam dunk NBA instant-impact guy.
 
So are we supposed to recruit players who project lower on the draft boards then?? I'm not trying to bash, but seriously don't just say something like: I wish draft projections correlated with national titles without a viable alternative. I think it's well known by now that Cal is the best recruiter in the land, but not the best "coach" (and he's still stop 3-5 in that category as well). So how does compensate for his weakness? By drowning BBN with his strength: recruiting the nation's top talent.

So far his strategy has been pretty effective, and the older Cal grows the more he too will learn about coaching. What we as fans have to realize that Cal isn't used to getting Final Fours nearly every year (yes, he had been there before but not at the rate that he has at KY), so he too has learning to do (he is, after all, human).

But by bringing in the best talent that he can year in and year out he will always have us in the conversation, and he will continuously learn what it takes to be the nations top coach as well as its top recruiter.
 
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Having NBA-caliber talent won't guarantee you will win the national title. But not having NBA-caliber talent will guarantee you won't. All three of the teams with a legitimate chance to win the title this year, Duke, Kentucky and Wisconsin, had MULTIPLE first round NBA selections. Of the first 24 picks, UK had four, Duke had 3 and Wisconsin had 2 (and Nigel Hayes was projected by some to go 1st round if he declared.)

Nothing guarantees you a title.

Put the best team in the floor that you possibly can and see what happens.
 
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I guess Brown is rated highly because of his size, but there isn't one thing Brown does on the court better than Murray. Seriously, he doesn't have a single aspect other than size over Murray.
 
Put IT on ignore guys. It is so hilarious I can tell who it is without even looking at the ignored ccontent. That guy is such a fake UK fan.
 
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I guess Brown is rated highly because of his size, but there isn't one thing Brown does on the court better than Murray. Seriously, he doesn't have a single aspect other than size over Murray.

Defense, rebounding, and transition. It's a push in driving/slashing, except Brown is in a much bigger frame. His athleticism is better, and size+athleticism means his potential is higher. If Brown shoots it like Murray, he's a superstar. Murray can't learn some of the things Brown does better. Now, whether Brown ever does is another story.
 
Put IT on ignore guys. It is so hilarious I can tell who it is without even looking at the ignored ccontent. That guy is such a fake UK fan.
Ditto.

I started reading this thread, saw some posts that clearly were in response to someone I have on ignore. Guessed who it was, and BINGO, nailed it without looking.

He has one song, and it's all he ever sings, over and over and over and over again. "Cal can't coach, nothing counts but a national title". Repeat, endlessly. If he was more honest, that's what he would type every single time he posts, because that's really all he ever has to say.
 
Ditto.

I started reading this thread, saw some posts that clearly were in response to someone I have on ignore. Guessed who it was, and BINGO, nailed it without looking.

He has one song, and it's all he ever sings, over and over and over and over again. "Cal can't coach, nothing counts but a national title". Repeat, endlessly. If he was more honest, that's what he would type every single time he posts, because that's really all he ever has to say.


I mean I don't think its an outlandish thing to say that Cal has probably underachieved (in regard to national titles) given the talent he has had between Memphis and UK. His only title required the #1 and #2 overall picks, one of which is becoming a transcendent star in the NBA. Yes I question Cal's ability in big games when he is the favorite with everything on the line. I don't care anymore. Guess I will wait until he proves me wrong. Was absolutely loaded last year and blew it. He flat out blew it. I won't sugar coat it anymore. I don't think he has what it takes to win another one. He can get the players, but he gets too tight.
 
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