Chris Livingston Declares for the Draft; Another Stain on the Calipari Era

Only a few weeks since Kentucky lost in the second round of the NCAA tournament for the hundredth time under John Calipari; freshman Chris Livingston has declared for the NBA draft. This is by far the dumbest off-season announcement to come out of the Kentucky men's basketball program so far this year, and it's pretty clear to see why. John Calipari sends yet another below average college player to the NBA draft, likely ruining Livingston's career in the process.

pc: via The Athletic

John Calipari has this odd fascination with the NBA draft, more specifically making sure all of his players enter it whether they're ready or not. He's had this issue his entire career, and Livingston is just the most recent victim. I think we can all agree that Chris Livingston was a below average college basketball player this year, and that he does not need to be entering the NBA draft. If he were playing for any other program he would be returning for his sophomore year, but not under the Calipari regime. The dude didn't even make it into the rotation until the last quarter of the season, and when he did finally play he was mediocre at best. This isn't his fault of course, he played for a businessman, not a basketball coach.

I don't want any of the blame to be on Livingston in this situation. I fully believe that he was one of the most talented players on this year's Kentucky team. However, Calipari went and ruined his sole season as a Wildcat. Then after doing that I guarantee Calipari ushered him into the draft despite the fact that he's not ready. The kid needed at least one more year, a year where he actually plays the whole season, to develop his game. He's going into the draft with an incredibly raw game, and he's going to be forced to make his way into the league through the G-league.

pc: Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

There is a chance that he returns to school considering that he is maintaining his college eligibility, but I highly doubt that happens. In Calipari's mind, if Livingston backs out of the draft that is a failure. This coach does not care about his players and their future, he just wants to maintain his NBA talent track record. If he sends every player to the draft as soon as he can some of those players are bound to turn out to be good NBA players.

I wish Livingston all of the luck in the world, and perhaps one day he will make it to the league, but I think the near future is bleak. He's going to be a G-league player until his game develops, and when he does make the league he's going to face a massive learning curve. If you never hear about this kid again don't be surprised, that's just a side-effect of the Calipari method.