5-Star PG De’Aaron Fox Commits to Kentucky

“We’ll find out individually who we are and how tough this team is”, said freshman guard Jamal Murray, whose scoring and rebounding have keyed exhibition blowouts of Ottawa (Kansas) and Kentucky State.

Murray, a freshman from Canada, shrugged off the best-in-basketball comment. Based on the projected returning minutes for Kentucky this year, their success last season, the incoming recruits, and the high degree of correlation (95%) when incorporating both overall talent level and minutes, Kentucky is projected to have their fourth most successful season under Calipari. Murray is going to be one of the best in the game and a fantastic pro.

That was three days ago.

“We have a whole new team and these guys are looking at us and saying, ‘They’re no different than us, ‘” Calipari said Thursday of Albany.

These are the joys of working with 18-year-olds, and they’re heightened when your program is a bumper crop of kids that have one-and-done potential.

Calipari knows that high school reputations don’t translate into college wins. Though no game is a “gimme”, the Wildcats should blow past Albany and New Jersey Institute of Technology this weekend, before facing preseason-ranked No. 5 Duke and head coach Mike Krzyzewski’s equally loaded roster. Then I just have to make a decision at a few point do we play three, how much do we play three guards, how do we play if we’re playing three guards, how do we defend if we’re playing three guards?

Jamal Murray is so good.

Calipari’s challenge has lasted all week. Bad shot? His coach will ask. It’s that you’re walking into games, you’re prepared, you love the grind, every day is about getting better, you’re playing games and you’re having great enjoyment from playing, you love it, it’s game time, it’s on, let’s have a ball. “He’s the greatest kid”, Calipari continued. “If I’m not smiling and he walks in the gym, he’ll go…”, Calipari pointed to a giant grin on his face. “He’s going to do whatever it takes on either end of the floor to help his team win games”. Labissiere could go No. 1 in June, but first the skilled big man from Haiti must polish his offensive game and become the next great United Kingdom shot blocker.

“It’s an honour to have that kind of recognition”, Murray said.

“One thing we can’t do is stimulate Kentucky’s length and athleticism”, Brown said.

He answered questions in front of a United Kingdom backdrop, where cut-outs of former Wildcats turned National Basketball Association household names – DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, John Wall and Derrick Rose – literally cast shadows down on him.

Ulis, who starts the season on the Bob Cousy Award watch list as well as the Lute Olson Award watch list, appeared in 37 games during the 2014-15 season. There’s at least one college basketball season and the world in front of him.

“We have worked against their pressure and we have a stood a guy underneath the other basket who is there just to block shots”. Now, John Calipari is trying to get his squad back to the dance with another stellar freshman class.