FanHouse PatrickPatterson

According to an ESPN.com report by Andy Katz, Jodie Meeks is still going to forgo his senior year in favor of entering the NBA Draft. Meeks had joined the early entrant list to the NBA Draft prior to the hiring of John Calipari as the Wildcats' head basketball coach. Once Calipari was brought on board, there was some thought amongst the general public Calipari's presence would somehow convince Meeks to change his decision, but that isn't the case.

Meeks was arguably the best player in the SEC last season. The 6-foot-4 junior averaged 23.7 points per game, and put together a brilliant 54-point outburst against Tennessee mid-January, which was a school record. He shot brilliantly for the season, hitting 41 percent of his threes and 90 percent of his free throws.

FanHouse covers the 2009 NBA Draft.

All mock drafts are not created equal. And why would you want them to be? That'd be awful boring, just reading lists of names over and over. At FanHouse, we emphasize the commentary -- so in our mocks we'll (try to) explain why we think certain players fit in their theoretical slots. We will also project our own biases (positive and negative), of course.

At this early stage -- and let's be honest, at every stage -- this is 5% homework, 5% supreme divination, 90% guesswork. (A great endorsement, no?) After the jump, a full first-round mock draft for your amusement bemusement.

BOSTON -- Tubby Smith is much too dignified to laugh out loud, or LOL in the text-message age. But for all the abuse he took at Kentucky during a decade that was absolutely dreadful -- a national championship, a 263-83 record, an NCAA tournament appearance every season, just horrendous stuff -- who could blame him if he wanted to giggle to himself Friday?

Seems the bluegrass has turned to fertilizer in Lexington.

Nervous Nellies in Oxford can relax, as the state of Mississippi's top player -- Patrick Patterson -- has committed to Ole Miss. Patterson is one of the nation's most intriguing receiver prospects, a taller player (listed at 6'3") who attacks the ball. The Rebels beat out late-charging Tennessee for his commitment.

Patterson had initially committed to Mississippi State last year but, as it became apparent he was a national-level player, his offers increased and he opened things up. Ultimately he remained in the state of Mississippi, but not without a few nervous moments after a last-hour trip to Tennessee.

It's rare that a meeting between the two winningest programs in college basketball history would be missing something. Yet, there were a few things that weren't available when Kentucky took on North Carolina in the Dean Smith Center.

First was Player Of the Year Tyler Hansbrough. Psycho T has a stress reaction in his shin and was held out of tonight's game. He really wouldn't be missed as Deon Thompson and the Tar Heels beat down the Wildcats, 77-58. The Heels jumped all over Kentucky early, built a 15-2 lead and never looked back.

The stat of the game were the 28 turnovers Kentucky committed. North Carolina trapped Kentucky to force mistakes that turned into quick points for the Tar Heels. Carolina feasted on the fact that Kentucky has no real point guard right now.

Big Blue Nation is mourning the loss of their uber-talented freshman F/C, Patrick Patterson, after the big fella was diagnosed with a season-ending injury today. ESPN reports:

Kentucky's Patrick Patterson, the Southeastern Conference's top freshman scorer, will miss the remainder of the season after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in his left ankle.

Patterson, a blue chip recruit out of West Virginia and the only freshman ranked among the SEC's top 10 scorers (16.4 points per game) and rebounders (7.7 per game), underwent an X-ray Friday morning at UK Hospital, at which point the injury was confirmed, the university announced.

Patterson is wearing a cast on his left foot and will be out approximately eight weeks, the school said in a statement.

God seems to be mashing the "Smite Big Blue Nation" button on his keyboard repeatedly this season, and it's anyone's guess as to why. The Heavenly Father seems to be taking a special glee in watching the Wildcats rebound from their terrible pre-season play and endless injuries/team issues to rack up a 10-3 SEC record, only to yank out their MVP with three games remaining.