Kentucky basketball: On the first day of NIL era, UK athletes begin cashing in with policy finalized “In other words, he's kind of poking me, like do you know you didn't start me? But you can do all that here.” “Coach, would you start me on senior night do you think if I had stayed?” Calipari told reporters in 2018. When what would have been Booker’s UK senior day came in 2018, he sent a text to his former coach. “In the Wisconsin game, a lot of mismatches where I was getting scored on, but that's just going to come with getting stronger,” Booker said after declaring for the draft a few weeks later.īooker and Calipari have engaged in a playful back-and-forth about his status as a bench player at Kentucky as his NBA star has risen. The Harrison twins struggled down the stretch in the loss, but Booker was exposed defensively in a matchup with Wisconsin star Sam Dekker. I wish I could have shown more to the Kentucky fans, but at the end of the day, I feel like I'm in a great situation and we made a lot of memories here.”įor Kentucky fans, the question about whether Booker should have started was less important than whether Calipari should have played both Booker and Ulis more in the Final Four loss to Wisconsin that ended dreams of an undefeated season. I was still a lottery pick, so I'm definitely fine with that. … I stuck with it, and obviously it played out well. Everybody's gonna eat, but you're going to have to sacrifice. It's just I had to fit in with the team, and that was part of sacrificing. “I've always known I can do the things I'm showing (in) the NBA. Everybody comes back and says that to him. “I always joke with Cal, talking about he holds me back. “I was definitely a catch-and-shoot guy here,” Booker said during the summer of 2016 when he returned to Lexington for a youth basketball camp after his NBA rookie season. As Kentucky dominated its opponents on the way to 38 consecutive wins, there was little reason for Calipari to rock the boat by making changes to the starting lineup. Booker played 25 or more minutes 10 times in 38 games.īooker was more efficient than Aaron Harrison, shooting 41.1% from 3-point range for the season while Harrison shot 31.6%, but Harrison did lead the team in scoring (11 points per game). Kentucky basketball recruiting: How will NIL law help UK recruiting? It could start with Jalen Duren Should Devin Booker have played more at Kentucky?ĭespite coming off the bench in all 38 of his appearances at Kentucky, Booker actually ended his freshman season ranked third on the team in scoring. Booker played on the second platoon with Ulis, Lyles and sophomore forwards Marcus Lee and Dakari Johnson.Īs the season progressed, Calipari moved away from the platoon system – especially after a season-ending injury to junior Alex Poythress moved Lyles into the starting lineup – but Booker remained a reserve. With a loaded roster, Calipari instituted a platoon system early in the 2014-15 season, making five-for-five substitutions around media timeouts. When Booker started his Kentucky career by missing 10 of 11 3-point attempts in his first three games, there were few calls for him to play a larger role. After hitting game-winning 3s in three consecutive 2014 tournament games, Aaron was a lock to start at Booker’s shooting guard position for the 2014-15 team.Ĭalipari’s loyalty to the returning players on that team was such he turned down an offer from the Cleveland Cavaliers to return to the NBA in the spring of 2014.īooker was already considered an elite shooter when he arrived at Kentucky, but the rest of his game was a work in progress. The Harrison twins struggled for much of their freshman season but played key roles in Kentucky’s dramatic run to the national championship game. 6-ranked prospects in the high school 2013 class. He has grown into one of the most prolific scorers in the NBA and could use the platform of the finals to cement his status as one of the league’s handful of superstars.Ĭhief among that group were twin guards Andrew and Aaron Harrison, the No. The fact that Devin Booker would eventually join the upper echelon of UK alumni in the NBA was not nearly as easy to predict.īut as Booker prepares to play in his first NBA finals with the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, the former UK reserve guard has established himself as Kentucky’s second-best active NBA alum, behind only Davis. Towns was the best player on a UK team that won its first 38 games.
Wall was a consensus first-team All-American.
Same for John Wall or Karl-Anthony Towns.ĭavis was the consensus National Player of the Year and led UK to a national championship. LEXINGTON – When Anthony Davis finished his one season of NBA prep at Kentucky, few would have had trouble imagining he would quickly develop into one of the best players in the NBA.
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