UofL and UK hit McDonald’s for Super-Sized Talent

The Bluegrass powerhouses will get an injection of high quality talent for 2016-17 basketball season.

By: Raashaan Myers

     It had been five years since I had a reason to make my way to Chicago for the McDonalds All American game. The year was 2011 and what a collection of Bluegrass Thoroughbreds came through the windy city that year! The University of Louisville had two participants in the game in Cincinnati native Chane Behanan and Chitown’s own Wayne Blackshear while UK would have a dynamic quartet of young guns in Chicago’s Anthony Davis, Jersey kid Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Indiana baller Marquis Teague, and Oregon big man Kyle Wiltjer. This was the definition of a banner group for both schools as they would be the galvanizing force to back to back National Championships with UK cutting the nets down that upcoming season in 2012 and UofL taking home the crown in 2013.

     

Fast forward to this year and as I made my way into the house that MJ built the United Center I wanted to feast my eyes on a class that has been very much hyped for more than a year now. And while I would not dare to say that this year’s incoming group of Bluegrass ballers will have the same impact those guys had in 2011 there is no doubt that some special talent will be coming to the hardwood near you very soon. And while two luminaries of this class big men Thon Maker and Harry Giles weren’t on display the step up in overall talent and ability was easy to see. Here is my breakdown of the local kids as well as some of the national guys who make me look twice.

VJ King – 6’7” Guard/Forward Louisville Game stats: 5 points (2-4 FG) 1 rebound

The lone UofL signee while not playing as many minutes as I or any of the other Cardinal fans would have liked showed a tremendous and diverse skill set on the court. While his bread and butter is his midrange pull up jumper which he flashed off a great feed from De’Aaron Fox I was impressed with several facets of VJ’s game. Offensively King is a triple threat player on the court with the ability to take a make off the pull up, attack off the bounce, or spot up and knock down the open 3. VJ showed great vision making some nice passes and always looking for teammates and trying to run offense in an All Star game which is always known for guys wanting to just go for their own. What I had not seen before was Kings ability defensively and all week he was a demon in practice on D and it carried over to the game where he was able to get deflections and had the quickness to defend any of the West guards on the perimeter. His talents defensively will make he and rising sophomore Deng Adel a formidable defensive wing duo next year. VJ was also the first guy off the bench to congratulate teammates and has a very positive attitude which has L1C4 written all over him.

Bam Adebayo – 6’9” Forward Kentucky Game Stats: 16 points (6-9 FG) 12 rebounds 2 steals 1 block

Bam has been my favorite player in this class for a while now. This young man for a physical standpoint was the most imposing figure in this year’s McDonalds All American Game. Built like a college upperclassman Adebayo was easily to carve out space to finish inside with ease, but also the skill to step out to 18 feet and confidently knockdown the jumpshot without hesitation. It is that inside/outside ability that make Adebayo one of the true impact players in the 2016 class. I was also very impressed with this ability to handle the ball in the open court making a nice wrap around dribble in traffic. Bam also was a very active player on both the offensive and defensive glass as well protecting the rim defensively. Adebayo will be a major impact player for the Cats and will be the next in the line of great big men at UK under coach Cal following the footsteps of Cousins, Davis, and Towns.  

De’Aaron Fox – 6’3” Point Guard Kentucky Game Stats: 2 points (1-8 FG) 7 assists 2 steals

Malik Monk – 6’3” Shooting Guard Kentucky Game Stats: 11 points (5-12 FG) 4 assists 1 steal 1 block

I grouped these two guys together because in my evaluation of the two at the McDonald’s game both guys had a very similar type of game. Both guys are 6’3” and are more comfortable making plays with the ball in his hands rather than playing off the ball it will be interesting to see how these two guys grow together as the season goes along next year at UK. Clearly Fox was a bit more interested in getting his teammates involved while Monk would look for his own offense first. I like the fact that UK will have two interchangeable players at the PG and SG spots but how that duo progresses and get used to playing off each other will be huge for Kentucky next season. Monk who is reputed to be a knockdown shooter was 0-4 from downtown but he will have plenty of time to get that together especially considering the looks he will get with Adebayo patrolling the paint. Both Fox and Monk are explosive athletes and outstanding in transition with the potential to become high level defenders as well because of their athletic gifts.

Sacha Killeya-Jones – 6-11” Forward Game Stats: 6 points (3-7 FG) 2 rebounds 2 steals 1 assist

For me Sacha was a bit of an unknown coming into the game but I can clearly see why he was selected for the game. SKJ reminds me very much of Willie Cauley-Stein in terms of both body time as well as length and agility. While still very much a raw athletic product with some time to add strength and really work on refining his offensive game Killeya-Jones can be a very good player down the road. What he can do now is give great effort defensively and utilize his physical tools to help UK on the backboards as well. Very good long range prospect for the Cats that will have time to grow.

Here are some of the other players that caught my eye in the game!

Josh Jackson – 6’7” Guard/Forward Undecided Game Stats: 19 points (9-11 FG) 4 rebounds 3 assists

They say he is undecided with Arizona, Kansas, and Michigan State battling it out for his services, but I will tell you whoever gets Josh Jackson will immediately bring in the best player on their team. Jackson is the #1 player by many in the 2016 class and for good reason. Josh is a superior athlete with great size for the guard position possessing a tight handle and very good looking jumpshot from long range. Utilizing both a change of pace dribble and very confident and strong ability to finish at the rim Jackson will definitely be in play to be one of the top players selected in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Frank Jackson (No relation) – 6’4” Point Guard Duke Game Stats: 19 points (5-7 3pt FG) 2 rebounds

This young man put the point in point guard as he stole the show with his outstanding shooting display. Coach K loves the guys who can fill it up from deep and Jackson will fit right in that mold. With the ability to take and make off the bounce, catch and shoot, as well in transition Jackson will be a very nice weapon to add to Grayson Allen and Luke Kinnard for the Blue Devils.

Other guys to look out for next year will be Markelle Fultz (Washington), Kyle Guy (Virginia), Lonzo Ball (UCLA), Jayson Tatum (Duke), and Terrence Ferguson (Undecided)

If you like this story look for more great content from the Main Event Sports crew on our app! Just go to the Google Play Store or iPhone App Store and search keyword "Main Event Sports Radio" and you will have tons of blogs, videos, pics, and more!

For Android users simply click on the link below to download the Main Event Sports app today! 

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app_maineventsports.layout

For iPhone users simply click on the link below to download the Main Event Sports app today!

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/main-event-sports-radio/id989058411?mt=8