John Calipari lauded would-be UK player Enes Kanter as worthy of the overall No. 1 pick.

"Yeah, he is," the UK coach said. "And, I'm telling you, people are looking at him right now and saying, 'Oh my gosh! How can I pass on this?' He's a beast. He's skill and all of 6-11. And I'm not talking about an undersized 6-7. You're talking about real size. They'll see athleticism they haven't seen.

"If you're asking me and I'm picking at 1, I'm taking Enes Kanter. That's no disrespect to Kyrie (Irving) or any of those other players. They're all worthy of that, too. That's just me, personally. Then again, I'm probably biased."

Calipari likened Kanter to "a Karl Malone-ish kind of guy."

Although he won’t be drafted No. 1 overall, as Derrick Rose and John Wall were, Brandon Knight thinks he can make immediate impact like they did.

“Yeah, I believe so,’’ Knight said Friday at the NBA Combine, which began Wednesday and concluded Saturday in Chicago. “That’s my goal. That’s what I want to do with whatever team I go to.”

Knight was asked if he’s ready to become the face of whichever franchise selects him.

“I’m confident in the things I do,’’ said Knight, who is going through measurements and medical tests at the combine but elected not to compete in any on-court drills for reasons he wouldn’t disclose. “I’m a hard worker. So in three to five years I’m comfortable that I’ll be the player a lot of people expect me to be. So I’m confident on being the face of the franchise.’’

Enes Kanter reportedly refused to participate in interviews with the Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks. The Jazz hold the No. 3 and No. 12 picks in the draft, the Raptors are the No. 5 pick and the Bucks are the No. 10 selection.

This early in the process, refusing to interview with teams is highly unusual. The only explanations: Kanter doesn't want to play for those teams or he does want to play for someone else.

On Thursday, CSNWashington.com reported that Kanter's preference was the Washington Wizards, who hold the No. 6 pick.

Enes Kanter, who is good friends with John Wall after spending the past year enrolled at Kentucky, said on Thursday that the Wizards are one of the teams that he would like to play for next season.

“If I had the choice, I like Washington,” Kanter said.

Kanter is projected as a top 5 pick.

Though the 2011-12 college basketball season is still a few months away from even tipping off, we already have our favorites to cut down the nets at the Final Four in New Orleans next season.

Bodog.com has published odds to win next year's NCAA championship and, to no surprise, the North Carolina Tar Heels are at the top of the list.

UNC, which will return stars such as Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller, John Hension and Kendall Marshall, is listed as a 7:2 favorite to win next year's national title.

After the Tar Heels, the oddmakers like Kentucky to make a run at the trophy. Bodog lists the Wildcats at 13:2 favorites with several key returning players and another top-flight recruiting class under head coach John Calipari.

USA Basketball wanted Michael Gilchrist, Marquis Teague and Anthony Davis to be on the team that will play in the World Championship for players 19 years old and younger June 30-July 10 in Latvia.

But the trio were among about 27 players who declined invitations to participate in the tryouts next month. Ford said that UK wanted Gilchrist, Teague and Davis to attend summer school and accelerate the process of becoming college players.

"Obviously, they're going to be a younger team next year,"  National Team director for USA Basketball Sean Ford said of Kentucky. "Coach (John Calipari) is looking to say, 'Hey, let's get the younger players in. Let's get them acclimated. Let's get them spending time with the upperclassmen so come September, when the rest of (the country's) freshmen come in, our guys are not true freshmen anymore.'

"It's unfortunate. We wish it were different. But we certainly understand the reality of it."

DeAndre Liggins heard all he needed to convince him that the time was right to jump to the NBA.

The University of Kentucky guard will forgo his senior season and remain in the NBA draft, the school announced Sunday night.

“Coach (John Calipari) encouraged me to come back for my senior season, but based on the feedback I got from NBA personnel, I felt it was in the best interests of me and my family to stay in the draft,” Liggins said in a release. “I learned a lot in my three years here at Kentucky, and I appreciate all the support I got from the people at UK as well as the Big Blue Nation.”

The 6-foot-6 Liggins is known for his strong perimeter defense. He received Lefty Driesell Defensive All-America honors and was named the Yahoo! Southeastern Conference Defensive Player of the Year after leading the Wildcats with 46 steals. He also had 28 blocked shots.

Terrence Jones announced Saturday that he will withdraw his name from the NBA Draft and return to the University of Kentucky for his sophomore season of basketball.

Jones, a 6-foot-9 forward, made his decision public with a post on his Twitter account (@TerrenceJones1).

"I've been enjoying being a college player & plan on striving to reach my goal of winning #8 here at UK. I can't leave the BBN just yet," Jones posted shortly after 4 p.m.

Coach John Calipari reacted in a news release from UK, saying, “I’m very happy for Terrence and his family because he did the right thing for his future but he had to come to that conclusion. He told me he wanted to continue enjoying the college experience and I told him that was fine by me.”

Brandon Knight will remain in the NBA draft, he announced Friday morning, becoming the fifth one-and-done player in John Calipari’s two seasons as the Wildcats’ coach.

Knight said he “strongly considered” returning to Kentucky for his sophomore season but ultimately couldn’t pass on the opportunity to be a top-10 pick in the June draft.

Knight said that he “definitely” will finish his degree and will try to get credit hours during the NBA lockout.

John Calipari, who led Kentucky to the Final Four last season, has been chosen to coach the national team of the Dominican Republic and try to qualify it for the 2012 Olympics, according to an Associated Press report.

Federation GM Eduardo Najri said the choice was made official Thursday and Calipari posted on his website that he has formally accepted the head coaching position.