Kentucky is a de facto NBDL franchise and I mean that as a compliment; I always have. Being the first and foremost NBA Developmental Program is the defining characteristic of Coach John Calipari’s recruiting pitch. We’ve been saying it for years- Coach Cal is a social trail blazer in that regard.
He’s developed a system that both a.) works for everyone involved and b.) flies in the face of the NCAA’s hypocritical, broken system. It makes Calipari and the Kentucky a lightning rod for criticism, but you know who else is extremely polarizing?
Everyone who’s ever challenged the establishment and first brought change to the status quo.
Kentucky’s NBA assembly line is showcased every single year in the McDonald’s All-American Game. The Kentucky signees in the MCDAAG this year will be in the NBA Draft Lottery next year.
So if UK is a quasi-NBA D-League, then the MCDAAG is their D-League. Before this gets to be 1.) way too meta and 2.) an alphabet soup of acronyms, let’s move on to profiling each blue chip prospect in Big Blue’s latest freshmen class. Today, we profile Sacha Killeya-Jones.
Killeya-Jones was a double-double machine during his final season at Virginia Episcopal in Lynchburg, Va., posting 13 games with at least 20 points and at least 10 rebounds.
“He’s one of the most skilled guys here,” said future teammate De’Aaron Fox at MCDAAG Media Day.
“Definitely top three skilled bigs (in the nation), people don’t really know who he is, he’s definitely underrated.” Fox continued.
He’s right. Jones does somehow fly under the radar despite being a consensus top-30 player. 274 Sports ranks him 14th overall, Rivals has him 26th, ESPN has him at No. 27 and Scout tabs him at No. 30. Of course, Sacha Killeya-Jones is being compared to the other members of UK’s class, and the other top national prospects at the MCDAAG. When you’re evaluating and analyzing the top 10, top 5, it’s a totally different ballgame than the top 30.
Sacha Killeya-Jones doesn’t show up in NBA mock drafts, at least not yet. Fox sees the sleeper role being an advantage for SKJ however.
Fox on the idea of SKJ playing alongside Bam Adebayo and as of now uncommitted Marques Bolden:
“Since people don’t really know his game it’ll make it easier for him, cuz Sacha doesn’t have to bang in the paint, they’ll just open it up for him.”
A long, athletic big man considered to have a ton of upside, Killeya-Jones is a consensus top-10 forward in the class of 2016. The 6-foot-10, 207-pound forward is a highly skilled offensive post player who can shoot it from way the behind the arc, complementing his game in the paint.
The second tallest player at the MCDAAG, he still retains some guard skills. Not quite the big man with guard skill set that former Kentucky Wildcat Anthony Davis has, but in a similar vein.
Whatever you do, don’t sleep on Sacha Killeya-Jones. You’ve now been granted access to the dossier.
Kentucky has signed 57 McDonald’s All-Americans since the team began in 1977, including current Wildcats Isaiah Briscoe (2015), Marcus Lee (2013), Alex Poythress (2012) and Tyler Ulis (2014).
Projected Depth Chart
C: Bam Adebayo (Fr)/Isaac Humphries (So)/Tai Wynyard (Fr)
PF: Wenyen Gabriel (Fr)/Derek Willis (Sr)/Sacha Killeya-Jones (Fr)
SG: Malik Monk (Fr)/Charles Matthews (So)
G: Isaiah Briscoe (So)/ Mychal Mulder (Sr)/Dominique Hawkins (Sr)
PG: De’Aaron Fox (Fr)
Gone: PG-Tyler Ulis, C-Skal Labissiere, SG-Jamal Murray, F-Alex Poythress, PF-Marcus Lee
As of now, we rank the Wildcats 3rd in the early 2016-17 Preseason Poll, to see the rest of the top 25 go here.
KENTUCKY RECRUITING CLASS PROFILES
De’Aaron Fox
Malik Monk
How John Calipari is Socially Blazing a Trail with this program
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram