LEXINGTON, Ky. _ When pondering questions and answers regarding this year's NBA draft, one thing quickly becomes clear: there are plenty of Q's and not a lot of A's.
_ When will the NBA draft be?
_ How will the draft be conducted?
_ Will there be a pre-draft combine?
_ Will players work out for individual teams during the pre-draft period?
_ How can a player improve his stock if he cannot work out for teams?
"There's really no answers to give," said Marvin Hagans, the father of former Kentucky guard Ashton Hagans. "Everybody's sitting in an unknown state. We don't know what's going on. But the fact of the matter is there's nothing you can do about it."
Ashton Hagans is one of six former UK players who've entered this year's NBA draft, which was originally supposed to be held on Thursday. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA halted its 2019-20 season in mid-March. The NBA also moved the draft to Oct. 16.
"It's sort of uncertainty to the nth degree," ESPN basketball analyst Jay Bilas said.
This puts potential draft picks _ who include ex-Cats Tyrese Maxey, Immanuel Quickley, Nick Richards, EJ Montgomery, Kahlil Whitney and Hagans _ in basketball limbo for an extended period of time.
Mike Rice, who coached Richards in high school, labeled this year's draft process as "dysfunctional."
Hagans' father acknowledged the frustration his son felt with the inability to work out for NBA teams.
"I think it's very frustrating because, you know, Ashton, he's one of those kids who probably could have upped his (stock) by going in there and shutting somebody down," the elder Hagans said.
While the lack of workouts can be seen as an impediment, Bilas suggested it could lead to better player evaluations.
"Because you're relying on a player's body of work rather than what you've just seen," he said.
Bilas called it "recency bias," which he said could affect snap judgments made at the annual pre-draft combine or, say, the Portsmouth (Va.) Invitational.
"Often times at the combine you see a lot of NBA head coaches and front office people who haven't spent a lot of time watching that player," Bilas said. "Could they be swayed by what they see, positive or negative? ... There's not a person who's watched basketball or whatever sport that hasn't fallen victim to this at one time or another. You see a workout and you're wowed by it. But a workout isn't five-on-five."
Hagans has continued to work out with a trainer on a daily basis, his father said.
The same is true of Whitney, who left UK at midseason. His AAU coach, Mike Irvin, said Whitney had rotated workouts in Miami, Chicago and New Jersey since leaving Kentucky. The workouts in Miami ended when the coronavirus became a pandemic.
"He's got access to tracks, the gyms, the hills," Irvin said of Whitney.
Irvin gushed about the impact of the workouts.
"He's looking phenomenal," the AAU coach said. "His body is ripped up. He's looking like Superman."
Irvin suggested an NBA draft in mid-October will give teams a greater chance to work out players. Whitney, who turns 20 on Jan. 8, has the advantage of the upside that comes with being relatively young, Irvin said. "He's an intriguing prospect," the AAU coach said of Whitney.
ESPN and The Athletic recently updated mock drafts. Each had Maxey as the only first-round pick among the former Kentucky players: the 13th pick according to The Athletic, the 14th pick in ESPN's mock draft.
ESPN had Hagans (50th pick), Quickley (54th) and Richards (59th) being selected late in the second round. The Athletic had only Quickley (49th) being drafted in addition to Maxey.
Neither mock draft had Montgomery or Whitney being picked.
When asked if Whitney might regret entering this year's draft, Irvin said, "I'm sure he doesn't look at it that way. He feels he's one of the best NBA prospects in the draft this year."
Entering this year's draft, even with the uncertainty, moved Whitney closer to his goal of playing in the NBA.
"That was his goal going to Kentucky," Irvin said, "so there's no need to look back and regret."
The elder Hagans described playing for John Calipari and Kentucky as a stable plus in these uncertain times.
"One thing they've got going good for them is that they played for Kentucky," he said of the six ex-Cats in this year's draft. "So, (NBA teams) know most of Cal's kids are ready."
