LEXINGTON, Ky. _ The biggest question for this Kentucky basketball offseason is a conditional two-parter.
First, will star guard Immanuel Quickley return to UK for a junior season?
If the answer to that one is "no," the follow-up question is obvious: would the Wildcats have enough at the point guard position to justify their expected preseason standing as a Final Four-caliber team and top contender for a national championship?
"I think it would certainly be a little bit of a concern," Rivals.com national analyst Eric Bossi told the Herald-Leader this week. "Devin Askew is coming in, and obviously he's highly decorated and is going to be a good college player. But, at a place like Kentucky, that's a lot of pressure on a freshman who's maybe _ at the college level _ a little bit more of a combo guard than a true point guard, at least to me.
"And you'd be relying then on guys like BJ Boston and Terrence Clarke, who are very good handlers for wings, to be your secondary ball-handlers. So, ball-handling would certainly be a bit of a concern."
Kentucky has a much-celebrated _ No. 1 ranked, in fact _ recruiting class led by those three backcourt prospects: Boston and Clarke, who are both top-10 national players, and Askew, a talented, competitive recruit ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 26 player in the class.
If Quickley _ the Cats' leading scorer this season and reigning Southeastern Conference Player of the Year _ returns for a third year of college, he'd probably be the leading candidate to be UK's starting point guard. And no matter how the positions shook out, the Cats' backcourt would be loaded. His return remains a big "if," however, and some of the latest rumblings surrounding his stay-or-go decision suggest that keeping his name in the NBA draft is the most likely scenario.
Quickley probably played himself into the draft with his stellar sophomore season, but there are still questions about how his game translates to the next level. At 6-foot-3 and 188 pounds, point guard would be his most likely NBA position, but he barely played that role in college. The uncertainty surrounding this year's pre-draft process _ Will there be a combine? Will there be individual workouts? _ could make it difficult for Quickley to show NBA decision-makers what he can do at the point.
John Calipari acknowledged last week that Quickley played only about 5 to 8% _ that was the UK coach's estimate _ at point guard this past season, because Hagans and Tyrese Maxey "were better in pick-and-rolls and creating shots for their teammates."
Hagans and Maxey will almost certainly keep their names in the draft. Askew will be a very young college freshman, and there could be some growing pains. Everyone is pretty much in agreement that a Quickley return would allow him to showcase his on-ball skills while giving Askew someone to learn from as he transitions into the fishbowl nature of playing point guard at Kentucky.
Calipari might benefit most from a Quickley return _ he'd have one of his best backcourts in a UK tenure filled with great backcourts _ but the Wildcats' coach says Quickley shouldn't let that play a role in his decision.
"Would we be a better team, him being a point guard on this team coming back? Yes. But that's not why he should make a decision," Calipari said. "His decision is: 'Is this the right time? Am I ready to succeed in that league? Am I mentally ready?' Which I know he is. 'Am I physically ready?' Yeah. 'Have I mastered my skills the way I need to?' That's the decision he would have to come back to. I think, again, one of the great kids that I've ever coached. One of the most grounded young men that I've ever coached."
