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.
The torch has been passed to De’Aaron Fox.
He’s next in a very long line of phenomenal John Calipari coached point guards. Derrick Rose, John Wall, Tyler Ulis, those are just a few of the elite 1s tutored by Coach Cal. To list all of the fantastic guards mentored by Coach Cal in his dribble-drive offense, well, this could be well over a 1,000 word article.
John Calipari himself ran the point when he was a player at Clarion, so it makes sense that this position continues thriving at the top of the national food chain.
Fox is currently averaging 16.2 points, 6.0 assists (16th in the country, fourth among all freshmen and first in the SEC), and 1.6 steals. De’Aaron Fox ‘s 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio tops the in the league. His 114 assists are ahead of where Ulis (108) sat through the first 19 games last year when he went on to break the school’s single-season assists record.
Fox already has a team-leading four double-doubles by way of points and assists, which includes his historic triple-double against Arizona State – the second triple-double in school history.
Said ESPN Analyst Dick Vitale: “he’s just got to work on his range as a shooter and become more consistent. In transition he’s dynamite. I think he’s got an incredible potential in terms of his defensive ability with the long arms, the size he brings to the point guard.”
Added Seth Greenberg: “I think Fox is a guy that’s just so explosive in the open floor. I want to say John Wall or whoever.”
De’Aaron Fox NBA Draft Mocksourcing
Chicago Now #15 Milwaukee
Draft Express #6 Philadelphia
NBA Draft.net #6 Philadelphia
Walter Football #13 New Orleans
NBA Draft Room #8 New Orleans
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KENTUCKY RECRUITING CLASS PROFILES
De’Aaron Fox
Malik Monk
How John Calipari is Blazing a Trail Via His Recruiting Methods
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, Bold and the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication, appears regularly as a guest on CGTN America, WGN CLTV News and KOZN 1620 The Zone.
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