Tyler Ulis thinks he would be No. 1 NBA draft pick if he was taller

Feb 20, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Tyler Ulis (3) in action during a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 20, 2016; College Station, TX, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Tyler Ulis (3) in action during a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Reed Arena. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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Kentucky Wildcats’ point guard Tyler Ulis thinks he’d be the No. 1 or No. 2 NBA draft pick if he was taller.

Small guys have had success in the NBA before. Muggsy Bogues, Spudd Webb and, more recently, Nate Robinson and Isaiah Thomas had made a living in the league despite being pint-sized point guards.

Kentucky’s Tyler Ulis could be the next to join that group of successful, slight-framed point guards. Right now, he might be projected as a mid-first rounder, but he had a stellar sophomore season with the Wildcats that really opened some eyes.

During the 2015-16 season, Ulis took over as the leader of the young squad filled with freshmen, averaging 17.3 points, 7.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting about 34 percent from long-range. He was also considered a finalist for the Wooden Award.

Ulis is now one of the top point guards in the draft, but he believes that he’d be the No. 1 or No. 2 pick overall, according to Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com, if he was a little taller.

"“I feel like if I was 6-1, 6-2 I’d be No. 1 or No. 2,” Ulis said. “But I’m not 6-1, 6-2. I’m 5-9. I got what I have, I love it, I feel like I’ve worked for what I got. I’m just going to keep playing.”"

That might be true and confidence like that usually goes far when it comes to success at the next level, but with guys like Brandon Ingram and Ben Simmons likely locks at the top spots, it’s a bold statement, nonetheless.

No matter how you look at this statement, he will make some team very happy in the middle of the first round and become a future franchise point.

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