Kentucky announced a campaign slogan for postseason awards on Monday as Nick Richards held up a sign for cameras to see: Pick Nick & Quick.

The pithy rhyme very well may propel the Wildcats’ starters to recognition from the SEC and the nation, but it also could incidentally be a message for NBA general managers too. Both Richards and Immanuel Quickley have had breakthrough seasons, and it might be enough for them to hear their name called at the NBA draft.

We are four months from June 25, but a picture is starting to form of the upcoming draft class. Tyrese Maxey has long been considered a top prospect, and despite his below-average 3-point shooting, he is still solidly a lottery pick. UK should, though, have other players join Maxey as selections this summer.

Quickley has been absent from virtually all mock drafts and top prospect lists to this point, but his consistent play and improving scoring ability has improved his stock.

ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony took notice of Quickley’s play at LSU last week, calling it his best game as a Wildcat. He described the rest of the season as “crucial” to his draft chances.

The 6-foot-3 Quickley doesn’t project to be an NBA starter, but he does enough things well — defense and shooting, for two — and has a long enough wingspan (6-foot-8) to make him a reasonable professional prospect. The sophomore leads all major-conference players in free throw percentage (91.5%) and the Wildcats in scoring (16.2 points per game) and 3-point percentage (42.9%).

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NBC’s Rob Dauster called Quickley a “borderline guy” to be selected among the draft’s 60 picks. Dauster has been impressed with Quickley’s leadership and consistency but says the sophomore combo guard still has significant room to grow — especially as a scorer from inside the arc. His career field goal percentage from 2-point range is only 41.5%.

“He's made big shot after big shot after big shot, and he's rightfully in the mix for SEC Player of the Year now," Dauster said. "In terms of playing at the next level, I think he needs to prove more creating off the bounce. He doesn't really have the size to play the role he's played this season in the NBA."

Richards has received more attention this year, and he's trending toward a second-round selection.

Last February, Richards was in the midst of a regressive season, playing fewer minutes than he did as a freshman. But he’s emerged as one of the top post players in the country. ESPN’s Jay Bilas said that, since UK’s dismal trip to Las Vegas in December, Richards has been “brilliant.”

“He can run and rebound and protect the rim and finish plays and he’s got good hands and a very nice touch, so his consistency has been the most impressive thing,” Bilas told The Courier Journal.

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Richards is averaging 13.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks while shooting 65.8% from the field. Just as importantly for his NBA prospects, he’s connecting on 75.8% of his free throws.

“He’s big, he’s athletic,” Dauster said. “I think he is actually a pretty good shooter. He makes his free throws, and we’ve seen this year, he’s pretty good at knocking down 15-foot jumpers.”

Dauster sees Richards' shot-blocking and shooting ability as tantalizing enough to get NBA teams interested. The Athletic, ESPN, Dauster and Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman all project Richards as a second-round pick; Wasserman compared his impact as a rim-running, shot-blocking (almost) 7-footer as similar to that of Willie Cauley-Stein.

Said Dauster, “I do think he’s a guy that will probably have a job in the NBA for like 5, 8, 9, 10 years.”

Ashton Hagans has struggled of late, but he’s still on NBA draft radars too. His obvious Achilles’ heel is his inability to shoot the 3 well as a guard, which handcuffs his ceiling, but he’s still listed as a second-rounder in most mock drafts for his elite defense.

The sophomore's most natural comparison is a worse-shooting Patrick Beverley, and Wasserman says he could even see Hagans sneaking into the first round, although he’s more likely an early second round pick.

Maxey is almost universally agreed upon as a lottery pick, but mileages vary: some have him as high as a top-5 pick, some see him as a total gamble. Bilas loves Maxey’s speed and athleticism, and while he said that Maxey may need to adjust his shooting mechanics, he doesn’t see it as anything more than a minor issue. He considers him a lottery pick.

“Tyrese has a very good shooting stroke, but it’s a little flat, and the ball comes off a little flat. As he gets it more up than out, it’ll be even better and more consistent and quicker, so he’s got a tremendous amount of ability,” Bilas said.

Said Wasserman, “I’m certain that Maxey can make shots, and he can pass.”

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Dauster said that although Maxey is not a freak athlete of John Wall’s ilk, he’s a creative enough scorer and a hard enough worker that he should have a bright NBA future, as long as he can shoot 3s at a higher clip than he has this year.

“I would guess that his medium outcome is probably somewhere around a second unit scorer that averages like 10 to 12 points, but I would not be surprised if, you look up in 10 years and Tyrese Maxey is the next Lou Williams,” Dauster said.

UK’s final starter, E.J. Montgomery, has not yet appeared on draft boards, and he has not yet emerged as a true pro prospect. It’s unlikely he’ll get picked in this summer’s draft, although there is always a chance on a team rolling the dice on a big athlete with a 7-foot wingspan.

As Wasserman noted while discussing Hagans, “All it takes is one of the 30 teams.”

Hayes Gardner can be reached at hgardner@gannett.com; Twitter: @HayesGardner; Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.