There could have been nine chairs.
On a day when seven Kentucky players, sitting alongside John Calipari on a stage in the Joe Craft Center, stood and declared their intentions to enter the NBA Draft, the number could have been eight.
Calipari said so: if Alex Poythress hadn’t gone down in December with a knee injury, the junior small forward would have been part of the professional procession.
“It’s unfortunate,” Calipari said. “It’s a tough deal because he would be sitting here, too.”
Which isn’t to say Poythress is for sure forgoing the draft to return for a senior season. Calipari said Poythress will go home and meet with his family to discuss the “research” the staff has done on his stock.