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After ’12 Draft, Kentucky will have most alums currently in NBA

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A national championship, a No. 1 recruiting class, six players headed to the NBA draft, and now this:

After Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Doron Lamb, Terrence Jones, Marquis Teague, and Darius Miller are drafted into the NBA, as they are expected to, Kentucky will overtake Duke as the team with the most former players who are currently in the NBA.

As Rick Bozich of the Courier-Journal points out, Duke leads with 16, but will only be adding one player, Austin Rivers, to that number in the 2012 draft.

They could, on the other hand, lose an aging Elton Brand or Grant Hill to retirement.

Kentucky boosts its stock by adding six on the draft end, but could lose a few to retirement as well, with big men Jamaal Magliore and Nazr Muhammad reaching the ends of their careers.

By Bozich’s estimation, that would put Kentucky at 18, ahead of trailing schools that include Duke, UCLA, Texas, Kansas, and North Carolina.

Of course, there is a flood of Kentucky blue that has come into the NBA draft in the past few seasons, with the Wildcats under the direction of John Calipari.

Calipari’s first team at Kentucky produced five first-round picks, including John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Eric Bledsoe.

Rajon Rondo is perhaps the most productive Kentucky alum currently in the NBA, as he is averaging 12.1 points, 11.6 assists, and 1.8 steals per game for the Boston Celtics.

Daniel Martin is a writer and editor at JohnnyJungle.com, covering St. John’s. You can find him on Twitter:@DanielJMartin_