Kentucky's Dirty Little Secret: Its 'Roster Full of NBA Talent' Is an Illusion

Could Kentucky beat the Philadelphia 76ers?

That was the (dumb) question posed after Kentucky's 72-40 demolition of then-No. 5 Kansas and was bolstered by the fact that the Sixers started their season losing 17 straight games and fielded a roster full of probably imaginary players. 

The argument, as it were, was that Kentucky was basically an NBA team itself. It has nine players in the top 80 of NBADraft.net's big board. Duke, the only team in history that could match Kentucky's nine McDonald's All-Americans, only has four on that big board. 

It's true, Kentucky's cup of talent runneth over. But it has a secret, one that head coach John Calipari knows, which is why he responded to the whole Kentucky vs. Sixers debate like so:

And that secret is only three or four of the players on this Kentucky team will ever play meaningful minutes in the NBA. Karl Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein are the only sure things. Then depending on how they develop, Trey Lyles or Devin Booker might have a future. Maybe both, who knows?

But everyone else? Great college players, not NBA players. The Harrison twins have the size but not the explosiveness, quickness or shooting ability to hang with NBA-level talent. Alex Poythress has NBA-level athleticism, but that's about it. He's not skilled enough offensively to play at the next level. Marcus Lee is a terrific leaper and has great athleticism for someone his height, but like Poythress, his offensive game is just too limited. Dakari Johnson has great post moves and rebounding ability, but even though he has improved his athleticism, I still don't see him being able to match up in the NBA.

Hold on, hold on, hold on. Put away your pitchforks and torches. Hear me out.

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

Kentucky had the same kind of situation in 2012. Anthony Davis, Michael-Kidd Gilchrist and Terrence Jones were the only real NBA players on that team. Yes, Marquis Teague, Doron Lamb and Darius Miller got drafted, but two years later, not one of them is employed by an NBA team. And that's OK. They may not have been legit NBA talents, but they were exactly what Kentucky needed them to be that year.

This year's squad has guys like that; it just happens to have more of them. That's still a huge advantage at the college level. That's a ton of top-tier college talent the Wildcats can throw at people. But to point at this team and go, "that's a team full of NBA players," is just wrong and is creating unrealistic expectations. That was exposed a little bit against Texas.

The guards couldn't shoot the ball, and the big men went up against other really talented big men. That's what happens when two really good college teams play each other. That was not a team full of NBA players going up against a totally overmatched college team. Yes, Kentucky has better players, but it was a lot closer than people might have realized going into that game. 

When you have this much college talent, it can create an illusion that you have a bunch of NBA talent. It's the cheerleader effect, essentially.

So what does this mean? Well, it means that Kentucky isn't going to run away with the national championship as easily as everyone thinks. And—brace yourselves—it also means that there will probably be a loss or two.

Teams like Texas, Duke, Louisville and North Carolina may not have the sheer volume of talent that Kentucky does, but their amount of NBA-level talent is actually pretty comparable. And those teams will be tough to beat, like Texas showed.

But also, like the Texas game showed, Kentucky is still the better team, and opponents are going to really have to bring it to get a win against the Wildcats.

Is Kentucky still the best team in the country? Yes. Will it win the national title? Probably. Is it a team full of NBA players who just happen to be in college right now? No. It's not that good.

So now that we really see the Wildcats for what they are, the question becomes: Are they good enough? I still say yes, but only March will say for sure.

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