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Patrick Patterson

Attempting to guesstimate what Coach Calipari will choose to do with his starting lineup in November can be just that…guessing, but I’ll give it a shot and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments of the article! First, all Kentucky fans now know that star shooting guard,

Jodie Meeks has declared for the 2009 NBA draft. We predicted that he would likely go in the first round prior to today in the College Hoops Video 2009 NBA Mock draft, but his decision did surprise a number of fans. We also know that Coach John Calipari has landed one of the greatest NCAA basketball recruiting classes of all time with his 2009 recruiting class. So, now that Jodie Meeks will not be returning for the 2009-10 season, who are the favorites for the starting positions for the Wildcats heading into the summer pickup games?Jodie Meeks has declared for the 2009 NBA draft. We predicted that he would likely go in the first round prior to today in the College Hoops Video 2009 NBA Mock draft, but his decision did surprise a number of fans. We also know that Coach John Calipari has landed one of the greatest NCAA basketball recruiting classes of all time with his 2009 recruiting class. So, now that Jodie Meeks will not be returning for the 2009-10 season, who are the favorites for the starting positions for the Wildcats heading into the summer pickup games?

 

2009 Kentucky Wildcats Projected Starter – Point Guard

Most fans have anointed John Wall as the Kentucky Wildcat’s starting point guard for the 2009-10 season. With star point guard Eric Bledsoe also coming in to the Wildcat’s program, there’s going to be some competition for the starting role. Coach Cal likely will have John Wall starting as the Wildcat’s point guard.

2009 Kentucky Wildcats Projected Starter – Power Forward

This one is a no-brainer, Patrick Patterson. We’re going to see him playing out on the wing in the dribble drive more often than he did last season which will help him work on his ball handling and skills away from the basket in preparation for the 2010 NBA draft.

2009 Kentucky Wildcats Projected Starter – Center

I expect that we’re going to see Demarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton battling it out for the starting role in the paint. Based off of assessed performance at the high school and AAU league play, Cousins has the nod heading in to the summer, however, the starting role in the paint is not going to be a gift. Depending on who ultimately wins the starting role, we could likely see the other player trade-off between the PF and Center position depending on how Coach Cal tweaks the offense to match the talent on next season’s team.

2009 Kentucky Wildcats Projected Starter – Small Forward

This is a tough call. In my mind Darnell Dodson and Deandre Liggins are the leading two candidates for the position. Dodson gets the nod based on his experience and track record playing last season at Miami Dade Community College. Liggins is mentioned across the Internet as being seen as a Wing Player under Coach Cal vice the point guard role that he found himself thrust into last season at times. We could see Liggins play a “Point Forward” role when he’s in the game on the wing as well.

2009 Kentucky Wildcats Projected Starter – Shooting Guard

If you read 10 articles on the 2009-10 Kentucky Basketball roster, you’ll likely see 10 different choices picked for the shooting guard role for next season now that Jodie Meeks is remaining in the 2009 NBA draft. My pick is Darius Miller. He showed a lot of promise last season, and with a year under his belt and a coach that lets you make mistakes, he may just surprise folks next year. Jon Hood, Eric Bledsoe, and DeAndre Liggins all get mentioned when looking at the 2 guard spot for next season, and Coach Calipari is on record for saying he’d like to have Wall and Bledsoe on the court at the same time, so we may just have to wait and see how he tailors the line-up for next season.

Projected 2009-10 Kentucky Wildcats Starting Line-Up:

PG: John Wall

SG: Darius Miller

SF: Darnell Dodson

PF: Patrick Patterson

C: DeMarcus Cousins
Haven’t seen John Wall play? Here’s a video of him in action from High School.

Refs:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/150146-kentucky-basketball-recruitingroster-update-current-roster, http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/dawson/2009/06/meeks-stays-in-draft-surprised.html, http://www.courier-journal.com/blogs/dawson/2009/06/meeks-stays-in-draft-surprised.html, http://www.collegehoopsvideo.com/2009/06/2009-kentucky-basketball-recruiting-demarcus-cousins/, http://www.collegehoopsvideo.com/2009/06/2009-kentucky-recruiting-darnell-dodson/,

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This entry was posted on Monday, June 15th, 2009 at 5:21 pm and is filed under 2009 NCAA Recruiting, Kentucky Wildcats, ncaa basketball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.