2015 NBA Draft: Twitter Reacts as Karl-Anthony Towns and Kentucky Stars Declare

The mass exodus of talent all of Lexington feared is here.

Seven players from Kentucky's 38-1 outfit—Karl-Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein, Andrew Harrison, Aaron Harrison, Dakari Johnson, Trey Lyles and Devin Booker—announced their intentions to enter the 2015 NBA draft at a Thursday press conference.

While that's a large swath of talent, the moves were largely expected. Evan Daniels of Scout.com reported each of the players would be declaring early on Thursday, a move Kentucky coach John Calipari foreshadowed earlier this week. 

"There's not going to be any brainwashing, forcing, pushing either in or out. I want each kid to make a decision for themselves," Calipari, who insinuated at least five players would declare, said, via Kyle Tucker of USA Today. "I did tell a couple of the kids that it's a man's league; it's not a child's league. If you're not ready for a man's league, you need to come back."

Cauley-Stein said each of the seven feel he's done enough to prove he's ready for the pro game, per Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv:

Art Stapleton of The Record noted Calipari shouldn't have much trouble finding the next group of stars:

The press conference comes less than a week after the Wildcats' quest for an undefeated season fell short in the Final Four against Wisconsin. Kentucky was the wire-to-wire No. 1 team in the country during the regular season and reeled off 38 straight victories, a single-season NCAA record.

Despite the palpable disappointment seen on the faces of players following the loss, it's been clear from day one that a majority of these players were destined for NBA millions.

Towns, a wildly gifted center who defends well and can stretch beyond the collegiate three-point arc, is in consideration for the No. 1 overall selection. He and Duke's Jahlil Okafor have reached a consensus at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, with the result of the draft lottery being the lone variable that can alter that trajectory.

Viewed as being rawer than Okafor, Towns came alive in the biggest games of Kentucky's season, scoring 41 points in the Elite Eight and Final Four combined.

Chris Herring of The Wall Street Journal would "guess" the Knicks, who are an NBA-worst 15-63, would select Towns if they won the lottery:

His father told Tucker his son's lone season in Lexington was a "blur":

Beyond Towns, four of the other six appear to have a good shot at going in the first round. Cauley-Stein is the only other lottery lock, a long, athletic big man built in the Tyson Chandler mold. Cauley-Stein is a constant worker on both ends of the floor, using his length and athleticism to swat shots and throw down dunks.

"He's just our energizer," forward Trey Lyles said, via Chris Dortch of NBA.com. "Offensively and defensively. We feed off of him, because he plays with so much energy on both ends. If we don't play like that, it's gonna show up on the film, and coach requires that from all of us."

ESPN Insider Chad Ford noted Cauley-Stein's ability to defend all five positions:

Lyles and Booker are also solid picks in the first round, but where they land will ultimately depend on how they perform in workouts. At this point, Lyles is a man without a perfect NBA skill. He's a minus defender despite a 6'10" build and decent athleticism, and his 13.8 percent shooting rate from three-point range calls into question his future as a stretch 4.

Booker was the most consistent shooter in Kentucky's rotation, knocking down 41.1 percent from distance and flashing a smooth, fundamentally sound stroke. His other plus skills are a bit more questionable, but he doesn't turn 19 until October, making him an intriguing prospect for potential-hungry NBA scouts.

Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv passed along a quote from a scout assessing the non-lottery locks:

The biggest question marks are Johnson and the Harrison twins. Johnson, a highly touted 7-footer, was limited to a backup role in each of his two seasons. He recorded just two double-doubles in his collegiate career and will be drafted more on his size and potential than previous production.

Jay Williams of ESPN said all three will have trouble securing first-round status:

The Harrisons were on the floor far more than Johnson over their two seasons in Lexington, but that wasn't necessarily a great thing for their draft stock. Viewed as potential lottery picks coming out of high school, both will now need excellent workouts to have any chance of guaranteed NBA cash.

Both are below-average shooters with questionable decision making; DraftExpress' rankings have both as being only borderline draftable.

Basketball writer Jonathan Tjarks commented on their decision to enter the draft:

"

Kind of crazy in this stats based age that players with the Harrisons efficiency numbers would declare for the draft.

— Jonathan Tjarks (@JonathanTjarks) April 9, 2015"

Smart decision or not, it's made now. All that's left for the seven players is to push their games over the next two months and see where the chips land.

As for Calipari, don't fret: The next cavalry is coming.

Follow Tyler Conway (@tylerconway22) on Twitter