Duke's Kyrie Irving will be the first player taken. After that, Arizona's Derrick Williams will be selected. Either that, or the other way around.

After those two are selected, a bunch of players from Kentucky and Kansas will be taken. (What's new, eh?)

Then anticipate much hoopla over when Jimmer Fredette will be selected.

Somewhere in there, players from international clubs - which you neither know nor can pronounce - will be taken.

And then the rest of the Kentucky and Kansas guys will be mopped up.

You can bank on it. (And, yes, I'm calling the bank.)

In regard to Big East players, Connecticut's Kemba Walker will undoubtedly be the highest selection. Otherwise, there will be a few sprinkled among the 60 picks over the two rounds. Marquette's Jimmy Butler is receiving some love. Same with Providence's Marshon Brooks, Pittsburgh's Gilbert Brown and Brad Wannamaker as well as Syracuse's Rick Jackson. Notre Dame's Ben Hansbrough is getting a few love taps.

A few Big East players, however, are "testing the waters" (when players apply to the NBA draft early without hiring an agent, they are always "testing the waters") and finding said waters chilly.

One appears to be West Virginia's Kevin Jones.

Under NCAA rules, student-athletes can test those "waters" once without jeopardizing their eligibility. Jones, you may know, decided to do so. The NCAA, however, legislated a short window to make a call. Those deciding to return must do so on or before May 8 - this Sunday.

The disheartening news for Jones is he didn't receive an invitation for this weekend's showcase for draft-eligible players.

The New Jersey Nets are playing host to a combine of sorts this weekend in which 44 draft-eligible players will gather at the team's facility and be measured, skill-tested and participate in competition. Coaches and executives from 26 NBA teams are expected to attend.

On the list of those invited are Big East players Ashton Gibbs of Pitt, Jamine Peterson, formerly of Providence, Carleton Scott of Notre Dame, Hollis Thompson, Austin Freeman and Chris Wright of Georgetown and Jackson of Syracuse.

So far, no K.J.

"The list is not complete though," said Nets representative Patrick Rees. "It's subject to change come Saturday, Sunday. I think it will be a revolving door.

"I know he's on a list of 'would participate if invited.' He's on the radar."

The odds are getting longer and longer, though, that Jones will remain in the draft pool. In addition to the Jersey snub, his name has been absent on most mock drafts. Sure, most mock drafts have little basis, but a few certainly do. So on Tuesday I viewed 38 mock draft sites (yes, 38; I get paid to do this for you), most of which tried valiantly to somehow, some way cleverly use the word "hoops" in their names.

None of the 38 (many of which included just the first round) listed Jones. I even found one site, The Hoops Reports, that listed WVU's Casey Mitchell going to the Los Angeles Lakers with the 58th pick and (ready for this?) Pitt's Gary McGhee going 59th to San Antonio.

So it's not good news for Jones, but it is good news for WVU fans hoping to see him play his senior season.

Jones, by the way, has until 11:59 p.m. Sunday to withdraw his name, according to WVU compliance director Keli Cunningham. He would do so by faxing a document to the NBA.

"He [first] sent a declaration to the NBA office," Cunningham said of the procedure. "The NBA had an application for him to fill out. He's not being represented by an agent. That means either he or the NBA must be responsible for the finances.

"I met with Kevin and walked him through all this."

Cunningham said she told Jones to keep documentation of travel, etc., to show he - or the NBA - paid the bills in case the NCAA came calling.

Through Tuesday, though, there was no ticket punched for Jersey.

Reach Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827, mitchvin...@wvgazette.com or follow him at twitter.com/MitchVingle.