June 2018 archive

Tyler Ulis . (Vicky Graff Photo)

By LARRY VAUGHT

Former Kentucky standout Tyler Ulis is now a NBA free agent after Phoenix failed to pick up the $1.5 million option on him for next year. He has played the last two years for the Suns after being picked in the second round of the 2016 draft — a move that former UK teammate Devin Booker helped persuade the Suns to make.

Ulis was the 2016 Southeastern Conference Player of the Year as well as the Defensive Player of the Year. He was also a UK fan favorite — and one of the league’s most difficult players to guard.  Read more... (244 words, 1 image, estimated 59 secs reading time)

Jay Bilas (Photo by Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images)

By LARRY VAUGHT

ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas expects high school players to be able to go directly to the NBA if they are good enough sometime in the next few years.

Bilas just hopes everyone remembers why the one-and-done rule came into existence.

“The one-and-done rule came in for a reason, and the reason was the NBA was tired of having high school players and they were tired of having their scouts and NBA personnel sitting in high school gyms. And college coaches were thrilled with the one-and-done rule when it first came in because they were having to recruit players that ultimately, whether they projected them or not, went pro out of high school,” Bilas said. “So they still had to recruit guys in a belt-and-suspenders approach.  Read more... (305 words, 1 image, estimated 1:13 mins reading time)

By LARRY VAUGHT

One name to remember for future Kentucky basketball recruiting is 6-8 Jaemyn Brakefield of Huntington (W.Va.) Prep. He has 15 scholarship offers, including Alabama, Kansas, South Carolina and Mississippi.

He’s a consensus top 20 player in the 2020 recruiting class, but does not have a scholarship offer from Kentucky yet. However, Rivals.com recruiting writer Dan McDonald reported that Kentucky had an assistant coach watch him during an event in Atlanta this spring.

The five-star forward has also been at UK several times for unofficial visits.  Read more... (114 words, estimated 27 secs reading time)

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Former Kentucky men’s basketball player Wenyen Gabriel (2016-17) will have an opportunity to impress NBA teams during the NBA Summer League. Gabriel, along with Bam Adebayo (2017) and De’Aaron Fox (2017), will participate in the annual NBA Summer League, which will tip off Monday with leagues in Sacramento and Utah.

Adebayo (Miami Heat) and Fox (Kings) will utilize the summer league minutes to continue to improve upon successful rookie campaigns, while Gabriel will make his professional debut.  Read more... (921 words, 1 image, estimated 3:41 mins reading time)

By LARRY VAUGHT

P.J. Washington seems particularly enamored with what freshman E.J. Montgomery, a 6-9 interior player, can add to the team this season at Kentucky.

“He is very versatile. He can do a lot of things on the court,” Washington said. “He can dribble, he can shoot, he can pass. Just having that with a big guy down there really helps us.

“He can pick-and-pop. If Quade comes off a screen and he picks-and-pops and shoots a 3, I feel like that’s going to be helping us a lot.  Read more... (115 words, estimated 28 secs reading time)

John Calipari wants P.J. Washington, along with UK’s other bigs, to train like guards to extend their scoring range this season. (Vicky Graff Photo)

By LARRY VAUGHT

Kentucky coach John Calipari has confidence that  center Nick Richards is going to have a more productive sophomore season.

“He’s gotten way more comfortable, way more confident, way more physical,” Calipari said Thursday on the SEC summer coaches teleconference. “But he’s going to have to demonstrate performance in games so that he builds his own confidence.

“It’s not what I’m going to do or what I say. He’s gotta go do it. We’re working with him every day.”  Read more... (303 words, 1 image, estimated 1:13 mins reading time)