Think back for a minute, if you will, to the summer of 2009, when Barack Obama was in his first year in the White House, the swine flu was causing a panic throughout the United States, the world said goodbye to Michael Jackson and the Kansas basketball program was irrelevant in the NBA Draft lottery.
That’s right. What has become somewhat of an annual ritual around here in the years since — and several years before it — was almost completely irrelevant during the summer of 2009, when KU fans had absolutely no reason to tune in to the NBA Draft.
Matt Kleinmann and Brennan Bechard were the only seniors on that 2008-09 team, junior Sherron Collins made a no-brainer choice to return to school and sophomore Cole Aldrich and freshmen Makieff and Marcus Morris still were coming into their own as future NBA lottery picks.
That makes this summer the first since that ’09 draft that KU will not have some kind of presence in the lottery.
I realize that neither Cliff Alexander nor Kelly Oubre wound up being selected in the Draft lottery (Top 14 picks) a year ago, but Oubre was a fringe pick throughout the months leading up to the draft and was included in the lottery in just as many mock drafts as those that had him on the outside looking in. Ultimately, Oubre was drafted 15th by Washington, one spot out of lottery and Alexander went undrafted.
With former Jayhawks Perry Ellis, Wayne Selden, Cheick Diallo and Brannen Greene all eligible, KU figures to have at least a couple of alums drafted in this year’s draft. But none of those names figure to pop in the Top 14 — possibly not even in the first round — thus ending KU’s stretch of six consecutive years of lottery relevance.
During the five-year period from 2010-14, the Jayhawks had a total of eight players drafted in the lottery, including No. 1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins in the 2014 draft.
Only Kentucky, which has had a total of 13 former Wildcats drafted in the past six lotteries — and figures to make that seven straight in June, with Jamal Murray and Skal Labissiere both going in the top 10 in most mock drafts — can boast a bigger number and a longer streak.
Go figure.
Bill Self and John Calipari certainly have dominated the draft lottery in recent years, not only by putting players in the pros in that prestigious spot, but also by landing some of the best talent on the recruiting trail year after year.
The Jayhawks may be forced to sit this one out, but you can bet that KU’s time away from the lottery won’t last long. Incoming freshman Josh Jackson already is being touted as the No. 1 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and, even if Jackson doesn’t live up to that lofty expectation, it’s all but certain that as long as he enters the draft he’ll be selected in the lottery. In addition to Jackson, sophomore-to-be Carlton Bragg certainly could be a lottery pick after the 2016-17 college basketball season if he continues to develop at the rate he has been and shines in his expanded role. And a case could even be made for Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk to be a lottery pick, should he have a strong junior season.
With that in mind, here’s a quick look at some of the other regulars in the draft lottery from 2009-15. As you can see, Self and the Jayhawks are right there at the top of the list, just as they are in so many other relevant college basketball categories.
As for this year and the 2016 NBA Draft, don’t worry too much about the Jayhawks not being represented. With the Philadelphia 76ers getting the No. 1 overall pick — the order was determined Tuesday night — you can bet former KU big man Joel Embiid, he of Twitter fame and mastery, will have plenty to say about what his team will do and who his team will pick.
| School | Total Lottery Picks 2009-15 | Longest Streak |
|---|---|---|
| Kentucky | 13 | 6 years |
| Kansas | 8 | 5 years |
| Duke | 6 | 2 years |
| North Carolina | 5 | 2 years |
| Syracuse | 4 | 2 years |
| UConn | 4 | 2 years |
| Arizona | 3 | 2 years |
| Indiana | 3 | 2 years |
| Louisville | 2 | 1 year |
| Ohio State | 2 | 1 year |
| Texas | 2 | 1 year |
