FAYETTEVILLE - Archie Goodwin and BJ Young were projected as first-round picks in most NBA mock drafts before this season.

Goodwin, a 6-5 guard from Little Rock, was expected to be a top-12 pick going into his freshman season at Kentucky. Young, a 6-3 guard at Arkansas, was considered a top-20pick after returning for his sophomore season.

But when the real NBA Draft is held tonight, it’s likely that Goodwin and Young will have to wait longer than they had hoped to hear their names called, and Young may not be picked at all, according to many draft analysts.

Goodwin is projected as a late first-round or second-round pick, while Young is expected to be a second-round pick at best.

“Both of them have seen their stock fall dramatically,” ESPN draft analyst Chad Ford said.

Ford said Goodwin and Young have fallen in draft projections because they didn’t show significant improvement this season.

“BJ Young actually regressed this year, in my opinion,” Ford said. “I thought in lot of ways he was better as a freshman than he was as a sophomore.”

Young averaged 15.2 points as a sophomore but shot 23.4 percent on three-point attempts (25 of 107) after shooting 41.3 percent (50 of 121) as freshman. His overall shooting percentage fell from 50.4 to 44.8.

“Some of that can be the dynamics of the team and the chemistry and things like that, but he struggled to hit jump shots,” Ford said. “He’s a guy that I thought was a lock for the first round at the start of the season. Now I think there’s a good chance he goes undrafted.”

CBSSports.com projects Goodwin as the No. 18 pick to Atlanta, while Yahoo Sports has him at No. 30 - the last spot in the first round - to Phoenix. ESPN.com has Goodwin at No. 37 to Detroit, Draft-Express.com has him at No. 39 to Portland and NBADraft.net has him at No. 47 to Atlanta.

“I think he’s in the 25 to 40 range,” Ford said.

Draft expectations were high for Goodwin coming out of Sylvan Hills High School as a McDonald’s All-American, Ford said, because so many freshmen have developed into high first-round picks under Kentucky Coach John Calipari. Ten of Calpari’s Wildcats were first-round picks the previous three seasons, including No. 1 overall selections John Wall in 2010 and Anthony Davis in 2012.

“I think Archie Goodwin has been a head-scratcher,” Ford said. “Calipari has a long track record of getting the most out of players, and you see his young players improve their weaknesses and improve their whole overall basketball IQ , and we just didn’t really see that out of Archie this year.

“He looked a lot like the player that we saw at the start of the season, and that’s what gives people pause because now. … Are you not accepting coaching? Are you just unable to work out your flaws?”

Goodwin averaged a team high 14.1 points at Kentucky but shot 26.6 percent on three point attempts (17 of 64), including 7 of 38 against SEC teams.

“I still think he’ll have a chance in the first round,” Calipari said. “He’s got a bunch of those teams [picking] late in the first round that are all looking at him. His age is working in his favor, his athleticism, his toughness, his ability to get to the rim.”

Goodwin, 18, is the second-youngest player in the draft after Giannis Adetokunbo, a forward from Greece. Goodwin turns 19 in August, while Adetokunbo turns 19 in December.

Ford said Goodwin’s age makes him “one of the most intriguing players” in the draft.

“He struggled with his jump shot, he struggled mightily with his decision-making and just never really looked comfortable out there, but there’s talent there,” Ford said. “A team that’s drafting late in the 20s might say, ‘Look, he’s not ready now, but he might be the best player that we can get’ and gamble on him.”

Goodwin worked out for 17 NBA teams, which kept him on the road for most of June.

“I was prepared for this, I’ve been getting enough rest,” Goodwin told media in Portland after his 15th workout. “It’s not like my first day, but I’m not feeling bad at all. A lot of teams are really high on me. I think I’ve helped myself in the workouts.”

Goodwin said he still believes he made the right decision to leave Kentucky.

“I never look back on decisions or regret what I do,” he said. “All I do is look forward.”

Phoenix Coach Jeff Hornacek said Goodwin’s shot looked improved when he worked out for the Suns.

“Obviously he’s going to need to learn the game better,” Hornacek told Phoenix media. “He’s used to being a scorer. He can still be a scorer, but he’s going to have to be, more the mental part of the game … a point guard. Really see the game, see how it develops, not only for himself but for his teammates.

“When you’ve got a young kid like that, those are the guys you can kind of train. You can tell he has a feel.”

Calipari said he’s convinced Goodwin can handle a worst-case scenario tonight if he isn’t drafted as high as he expects.

“My thing when we sat down, ‘Here’s the worst that can happen - can you deal with this? Yeah, I can, Coach. I want to do this, I can do this,’ ” Calipari said. “Hopefully, he goes in the first round, but if not, he’ll do his thing.”

Calipari said he would like to have seen Goodwin return to Kentucky.

“But at the end of the day, what I think doesn’t matter,” Calipari said. “I can give him the information and he’s got to make that decision, because whatever he did - come back or go - he’s got to make it work.”

Young worked out for 11 NBA teams, which Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson said is a good sign.

“Obviously, there is tremendous interest in BJ and his potential,” Anderson said. “So hopefully his name is called. That’s his dream, to have the opportunity to go and be in someone’s program in the NBA.”

Young, talking to media after a workout in Portland, said he’s enjoyed the process of preparing for the draft.

“I feel like I belong,” Young said. “I feel good when they let me put that uniform on. I really appreciate the experience and meeting all the GMs and just everybody around the team.

“I’m a combo guard that can really score. I can play the point guard if a team needs me to do that. I feel like I’m a killer on the court.”

Young said he wanted to do his best at each workout but tried to stay positive regardless of what happened to be ready for his next stop.

“It can be nerve-racking at times, thinking in your head, ‘I’ve got to perform at my highest level, this is my one chance,’ ” he said. “But you can’t really put it in that small of a scope, because you have college work and all type of film that [teams] can go off of. So you just want to come out here and have fun and play your hardest.”

Young was asked in Portland about his anxiety level for the draft.

“Honestly, draft day I’m just going to chill at home with my family and watch and have a celebration, whether it goes how I want it to go or if it doesn’t,” Young said. “That’s something I really can’t control.

“I’ve worked all my life to get this point, and I feel like I’m ready.”

NBA Draft WHEN 6:30 p.m. Central today WHERE ABC Times Square Studio, New York FORMAT Two rounds of 30 picks each FIRST PICK Cleveland TV ESPN

Sports, Pages 17 on 06/27/2013