LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Sources say I won't be here for the 2026 NBA Draft, so I better get this on the record today:
The outlook for prospects from Louisville, Kentucky and Indiana is brighter for next June than it was last week.
How much brighter?
In his latest projection for the 2026 NBA Draft at The Athletic, Sam Vecenie has players from Louisville and Kentucky going in the lottery (top 14 selections) as well as two more Cardinals, another Wildcat and the guy projected to be Indiana's best player landing in the second round.
Louisville | Kentucky | Indiana | Bozich & Crawford
That will work, even if there is some additional news that will cause indigestion in Bloomington.
Let's get to the details:
*Vecenie loves incoming Louisville freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr., the signature recruit of coach Pat Kelsey's recruiting class.
Brown is ranked the No. 6 prospect, with Vecenie calling him "the best floor general in this class … he's a live-dribble passer who can hit reads from a variety of angles with either hand and put them on a dime with velocity or touch. He's also improved immensely as a scorer …"
*Vecenie worked his way through the entire second round but didn't add scouting comments on players in round two.
Two of Brown's teammates made the top half of Vecenie's second round, both guards.
At pick No. 42 is Adrian Wooley, the 6-foot-5-inch wing from Kennesaw State who averaged nearly 19 points while making 42% of his shots from distance as a freshman.
One spot behind Wooley is Ryan Conwell, whose career has taken him from South Florida to Indiana State to Xavier to U of L. A native of Indianapolis, Conwell is 6 feet, 4 inches tall. He averaged better than 16 points in each of his last two seasons while shooting 41% from distance.
*After a season without the first round picks that were the signature of the John Calipari era, Kentucky is projected to crack the lottery with forward Jayden Quaintance, pick No. 13 for Vecenie.
At 6 feet, 9 inche stall, Quaintance was considered one of the best frontcourt defensive players in college basketball last season, averaging 2.6 blocks and 1.1 steals.
Vecenie wrote that Quaintance "has a massive 7-foot-5 or so wingspan that more than makes up for (his size inside) and allows him to play above his height."
Of course, Vecenie cautions that Quaintance needs to improve his accuracy after making 19% of his three-point attempts and only 48% of his free throws. He is still recovering from ACL surgery while adjusting to a new team.
*Vecenie projects that UK guard Jaland Lowe, a transfer from Pittsburgh, will also crack the second round at pick 49. Lowe averaged nearly 17 points, 5.5 assists and 4.2 rebounds as a sophomore with the Panthers. He should be Mark Pope's primary point guard next winter.
*Indiana's most likely draft pick will be senior Tucker DeVries, who is slotted at No. 54. A 6-foot-7-inch wing, DeVries is the son of first-year IU coach Darian DeVries.
In three-plus college seasons, DeVries averaged nearly 18 points and 5.6 rebounds at Drake (three seasons) and WVU (eight games). DeVries was making better than 47% of his threes last season for the Mountaineers before he suffered a shoulder injury than stopped him after his fifth 20-point game.
*There were four other names to remember on Vecenie's big board: 2025 Indiana Mr. Basketball Braylon Mullins, former IU forward Mackenzie Mgbako and Trey Kaufman-Renn and Braden Smith of Purdue.
Mullins, who starred at Greenfield Central High School, was the biggest recruiting whiff of Mike Woodson's career as well as a contributing factor to his exit as the IU coach.
Mullins signed with Connecticut. Vecenie projects him as the No. 7 pick calling him, "a complete wing who profiles incredibly well for the NBA … Mullins is this year's Kon Knueppel (a lottery pick from Duke): a player who many have off their preseason draft boards because of his perceived weaknesses but one who will ultimately prove worthy of being a one-and-done."
Mgbako left IU after two seasons, impressed skeptics at the NBA Draft workout in May and then transferred to Texas A&M. Vecenie ranks him No. 57.
Kaufman-Renn, who led Silver Creek High School to back-to-back Indiana state titles, is Vecenie's pick as the final selection at No. 60 after he finishes a stellar career at Purdue. He's an all-Big Ten performer who rarely gets outworked. Kaufman-Renn ranked seventh in the nation in Ken Pomeroy's player of the year metrics last season.
His teammate, Smith, jumped into Vecenie's first round at No. 28 because of his determined performance for Matt Painter at Purdue. As a 6-foot guard, Smith has silenced skeptics for three seasons at Purdue, and Vecenie believes he will do it again.
Wrote Vecenie: "I'm betting that he continues his growth over the last two years and turns into a guy that scouts just can't deny."
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