Brandon Knight is '50-50' on returning to school

North Carolina shot up the preseason rankings for next season when John Henson, Tyler Zeller, and Harrison Barnes all decided to return to school for the 2011-2012 season.

With those three back in the fold for another year, the Tar Heels, who were as good as anyone in the country after Kendall Marshall took the point guard reins midway through the season, have as much talent on their roster as any team we've seen in the past four or five years.

There is still a chance, however, that North Carolina won't be the hands-down favorite to win next season's national title. Kentucky brings in a recruiting class that not only has three of the top ten recruits in the country and four of the top 25, but it may not be complete. Trevor Lacey and DeAndre Daniels are still uncommitted for next season and both have Kentucky on their short list of schools. Lacey is actually on campus as we, umm, blog.


That class alone would be enough to make the Wildcats a favorite to return to the 2012 Final Four.

But with three of their most important players from this past season still deciding on whether or not they will remain in the draft, the Wildcats still have a chance to get better.

Junior DeAndre Liggins and freshmen Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight all declared for the NBA Draft. Liggins, without a first-round guarantee, seems like a likely candidate to return to school. Jones and Knight, however, are bigger question marks. Jones will likely be a late lottery-to-mid-first round pick should be leave. Knight, on the other hand, seems to be close to a lock to go in the top ten, possibly even the top five.

But according to Knight, he's still undecided on whether he will return to school.

"I'm still 50-50. I haven't really made a decision yet," Knight said on Thursday afternoon.

Most believe that it would be in Knight's best interest to return to school. It is tough to turn down being picked as high as Knight will be picked. Throw in the fact that Knight will likely be forced to, at the least, share the point guard duties with incoming freshman Marquis Teague, and there is no guarantee that Knight's stock will ever be this high again.

Knight also said something that should be worrisome to UK fans hoping that he will return to school.

"I'm always going to listen to coach (Calipari)," he said. "I'm just doing whatever is best for me. I'm listening to the people around me and talking to coach (Calipari). He’s been in the situation millions of times, so I'm going to trust him."

Its no secret that Coach Cal is a player's coach. Its no secret that he pushes his players to enter the draft if it is in their best interest. And if Knight is listening to Coach Cal, it seems pretty likely that the advice he is receiving is to go pro.