Kentucky and North Carolina could make NBA draft history Thursday night
By Daniel MartinJun 28, 2012, 9:22 AM EDT
Kentucky and North Carolina are poised to make history at Thursday night's NBA draft.
Both teams will likely see four players selected in the first round, marking the first time since the NBA debuted its two-round format in 1989 that two teams have accounted for eight of the total picks in the first round.
The night should begin with Kentucky blue, as Anthony Davis is projected as the No. 1 overall pick to the New Orleans Hornets. Teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist should follow shortly thereafter to Charlotte at No. 2 or Washington at No. 3.
Sophomore forward Terrence Jones should be selected somewhere at the end of the lottery or in the middle of the first round. Guard Marquis Teague will likely be selected toward the later end of the first round.
Kentucky is sending six players total, with Doron Lamb and Darius Miller included, but not all are projected to go in the first round.
"My hope is all six, but I don't know," Calipari told SI.com earlier this month. "I would be surprised if four are not. I would say four are locks and the other two have to go work out."
For North Carolina, Harrison Barnes, John Henson, Tyler Zeller, and Kendall Marshall are all likely going in the first round.
Barnes will lead the pack, with Henson, Zeller and Marshall following.
The only time in recent memory that two teams came close to supplying four players each in the first round was in 2007, when Florida and Ohio State both had three players chosen.
Included in that draft were Joakim Noah, Greg Oden, and Al Horford.