Among the teams with the greatest representation at the next NBA Draft Combine in 2024 is Kentucky. This is due to the fact that four former John Calipari wards have been invited to participate in the 78-man pool in Chicago, where each player hopes to hear their name called at the major NYC event.
During the Wildcats’ brief 2024 NCAA Tournament run, Reed Sheppard, Rob Dillingham, Justin Edwards, and Antonio Reeves all demonstrated their skill set. In light of the foregoing, let’s take a brief look at these four young men and ask analysts if they think they will be selected and develop into legitimate NBA players.
Sheppard Reed
New Hire The first player on this list is London, Kentucky’s Reed Sheppard, who spent just one season in Lexington but is well-known for his sweet shooting ability. During the previous season, he fired an absurdly high 52.1% from 3-point range, including a scorching 51.4% on catch-and-shoot attempts.
Robbie Dillingham
The OKC Thunder selected Rob Dillingham at pick number twelve in another mock draft (via The Ringer).He has averaged more than 15 points per game as a freshman for Kentucky, so this is a rather respectable position for him. As the second-best scorer for the Wildcats, behind only Antonio Reeves, he contributed to their third-best offensive unit in the country.Dillingham, who won the SEC Sixth Man of the Year award, established himself as a versatile guard with strong passing and scoring abilities. At six feet three, he has decent length for his position and the ability to generate his own shot when necessary.
Edwards Justin
Justin Edwards, another freshman from Lexington, won’t impress anyone with his Kentucky stats from the previous campaign.Despite his meager 32 game average of 8.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.9 assists, maybe NBA teams are willing to take a risk on him because of his physical attributes and overall upsides.
Reeves, Antonio
Antonio Reeves was John Calipari’s top scorer on that Kentucky team in 2023–2024, averaging a stellar 20.2 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Reeves, a former transfer from Illinois State, started all 33 games and was the Wildcats’ standout player the whole season.
