Where does Kentucky go from here?

As we mentioned earlier, it is being widely reported that five Kentucky Wildcat underclassmen -- freshmen John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, and junior Patrick Patterson -- have all declared for the draft (although KSR is reporting that Patterson still hasn't made a decision).

This may be the last time you see these four in a Kentucky uniform.
(photo credit: iSportsWeb)

All five are expected to be first round picks. John Wall is almost a lock to be the first pick. Chad Ford tweeted that he expects DeMarcus Cousins to go in the 3-5 range, Patterson and Orton to go in the 10-18 range, and Bledsoe to fall to somewhere between 12-20, but that his stock may rise with the lack of point guards in the draft. Draft Express has Cousins going third, Patterson 11th, Orton 26th, and Bledsoe 17th in 2011 (although that is sure to change with this announcement). NBADraft.net has them going fifth, ninth, and 24th, respectively, with Bledsoe slotted at 17th this year.

Whatever the case, the exodus of ability from the Kentucky roster is nothing short of incredible.

Five first round picks, with all five possibly going in the lottery? That is unheard of, literally. There have been four occasions where one team had four players go in the first round -- Duke in 1999 (Elton Brand, Corey Maggette, William Avery, Trajan Langdan), UNC in 2005 (Marvin Williams, Sean May, Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants), and UConn in 2006 (Rudy Gay, Hilton Armstrong, Josh Boone, Marcus Williams). UConn also had Denham Brown go in the second round, becoming the first team to have five players taken in a two-round draft. UNLV had six players drafted in eight rounds in 1977.

But this Kentucky team could have five players taken in the lottery. Most schools are lucky when they happen to have five lottery picks come through their program in a decade. Not a season.

The only issue with have this much talent get drafted is that the talent needs to be replaced.

Assuming they all decide to leave -- including Patterson, who probably should go (ask Da'Sean Butler) -- and factoring in Kentucky's three seniors, there are only five Wildcats left on the roster: Josh Harrellson, Jon Hood, Darius Miller, DeAndre Liggins, and Darnell Dodson, and Dodson may end up transferring.

All hope is not lost for the Wildcats. Enes Kanter, a five-star, 6'9" center from Turkey, is committed to UK while Stacey Poole, a 6'5", athletic small forward that is a consensus top 50 recruit, has already signed. Add those two to what Kentucky is already returning, and the Wildcats have a solid base.

That said, whether or not Kentucky can be a Final Four contender next season may be decided in the next 10 days or so. PG Brandon Knight, the No. 1 recruit in the country, is expected to announce his decision on where to attend college play basketball for a year on April 14th. The Wildcats are widely considered the favorite.

Brandon Knight is this year's John Wall.
(photo credit: SLAM)

Josh Selby, another point guard and a top 10 recruit out of Baltimore, will make his decision public on April 17th during the Jordan All-American game. There was some speculation that 6'9" CJ Leslie, a top 25 recruit and former HS teammate of John Wall, would also announce on the 17th, but he has since scheduled a visit with UConn after the game.

The Wildcats are also still in the mix for Cory Joseph and Doron Lamb, both point guards.

If Kentucky can land Leslie, Selby, and Knight, don't be surprised to see them right back in the preseason top 10.