So was Kentucky's pro day a success?

Kentucky's 'combine' or 'pro-day' or whatever you want to refer to is as was a success.

And it wasn't.

Huh?

According to Mike DeCourcy of the Sporting News, at least one NBA scout felt that the two-day session that Wildcat head coach John Calipari had scheduled for his players currently eligible for the NBA Draft was a worthwhile experience. The scout, George Felton from the San Antonio Spurs, said that more than two-thirds of the league's teams were likely to attend at least one day of the combine.

"I thought it was a tremendous concept that Coach Cal came up with," Felton said. "To have an opportunity to get another look at these young men, and also to have an opportunity to interview them — I would love to see more universities do this."


Jonathon Givony of Draft Express received much different feedback, however. According to him, the combine was a disappointment for a lot of the NBA folks. While they got a chance to see Brandon Knight, Terrence Jones, DeAndre Liggins, and Josh Harrellson work out, it was nothing more than a workout. The players ran through a series of drills without any competitive, 1-on-1 or 2-on-2 action. Givony had one tweet that quoted a GM as saying they watched "lay-up lines".

If the NBA folks were, in fact, disappointed in the kind of action that took place, that can be adjusted in the future. But what is clear is that Calipari is once again setting the trend.

That said, don't be surprised if this doesn't catch on.

Having a pro-day in which NBA scouts flock to a campus to evaluate a prospect only makes sense if that prospect is "testing the waters" of the NBA Draft. It avoids anything -- flights paid for, workouts paid for, housing in Vegas or Chicago or New York covered, etc. -- that could conceivably render the athlete ineligible or be considered an illegal benefit.

But testing the waters will be gone next season. With the new rule that the NCAA instituted, college players will be forced to decide on their NBA Draft status a week after the Final Four ends, and that decision will be final. For the players that do put their names in the draft, NBA teams will be able to pay for travel expenses to get the players they want to see matchup come in and workout.

That eliminates the need for on-campus group workouts.

But it doesn't change the fact that Calipari is the best marketer in all of college basketball.