Kentucky guard Tyler Ulis declares for 2016 NBA Draft

Kentucky Wildcats All-American guard and 2016 SEC Player of the Year Tyler Ulis will forgo his final two years of eligibility to enter the 2016 NBA Draft.

The Kentucky Wildcats’ sensational sophomore guard Tyler Ulis accomplished so much in 2015-16, earning a spot on the AP’s All-American team and winning every major award in the SEC (Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, SEC Tournament MVP).

Naturally, the gifted guard from Kentucky will enter the 2016 NBA Draft after a stellar two years playing for head coach John Calipari in Lexington in front of Big Blue Nation. Outside of a National Championship and a National Player of the Year award, Ulis accomplished close to everything on the hardwood in two years with the Wildcats.

Ulis plays for a collegiate program notorious for churning out more one-and-done prospects than anyone in Calipari’s Wildcats. While Ulis could have entered the 2015 NBA Draft after Kentucky made it to the 2015 Final Four, losing to the Wisconsin Badgers in the National Semifinals, his decision to return to school may end up pushing Ulis into the back-end of the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft.

Ulis is undersized, but plays with great aggressiveness defensively and can create his own shot by ferociously attacking the paint. He projects as a player that will go in the mid-30s of the 2016 NBA Draft as a high second-round pick.

Given that Ulis is already an accomplished collegiate star in the SEC and an All-American in the backcourt, it makes perfect sense for him to enter the 2016 NBA Draft. While Ulis may not go in the first round of this summer’s draft, his competitiveness will give him a leg up on the competition in NBA Summer League vying for an NBA contract as a reserve on an NBA roster.

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