NCAA News Wire
Calipari meeting with players about draft
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Kentucky coach John Calipari has meetings set up this week with each of his remaining players who are possible early NBA draft entrants, ESPN.com reported Monday.
Calipari said he was scheduled to meet with freshman forward Julius Randle, who is reportedly announcing Tuesday that he is declaring for the draft. The coach, however, said he does not yet know Randle’s plans.
Calipari did say he was surprised that sophomore forward Willie Cauley-Stein is returning.
Calipari was also scheduled to meet with freshman forward Dakari Johnson and sophomore forward Alex Poythress Monday afternoon and freshmen guard twins Andrew and Aaron Harrison on Tuesday.
Freshman guard James Young previously announced he is declaring for the draft.
Calipari said he wants the NCAA to get rid of the early-entry deadline of a week after the NCAA Tournament ends since the only binding one is the official NBA deadline at the end of April. Players are no longer allowed to return to school if they officially declare for the draft and send in paperwork to the NBA, according to a new NCAA rule.
Also, Calipari would not confirm the hiring of University of Pittsburgh assistant coach Barry Rohrssen to replace Orlando Antigua, who left for the head coaching job South Florida. However, a decision could be made this week.
