When the regular season ended, the conventional wisdom had Terrence Jones as a lock to leave for the NBA while Brandon Knight was probably leaning toward returning for a second season at UK.  And no one was even giving any consideration to an early exit for Deandre Liggins.  Boy, how things did change.

            Liggins' announcement last night did not come as a surprise.  He's 23-years old and he's a new father so trying to capitalize on a strong postseason can be understood.  It's doubtful that he'll be a first-round draft pick but that would most likely still be the case after another season with the Cats.  I don't see a lot of 6-foot-6 inch defensive specialists getting that guaranteed money.

            Liggins says Calipari counseled him to stay in college and I'm guessing that's because of the looming NBA lockout which could leave Liggins in limbo.  Guests that I've had on my radio show that are more familiar with the NBA situation than I am continually say a long lockout is a real possibility and if that happens, Cat fans can only hope Liggins finds a way to earn a check playing basketball until the NBA cranks back up.

            To me, Jones made the smart call.  There's much about his game that could improve with another season under Calipari and the UK staff.  That could mean he would move up 10 or more spots in the draft but more importantly, it could mean that he'll be in a better position to make an immediate impact in the pros and set himself for the key contract—the second one.

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