In the waning days before the college basketball season kicks off, University of Kentucky head man John Calipari is ready to show off his NCAA championship contender team to the nation.
At the school’s gym in Lexington, Calipari opened his doors to 90 NBA scouts – representing all 30 teams in the league – and media, broadcasting the event on ESPNU. Kentucky and Calipari’s choice to show the league what they’ve got is for good reason. According to DraftExpress.com, the Wildcats boast three picks in the top 20 selections of the upcoming 2017 NBA Draft.
Those guys – De’Aaron Fox, Bam Adebayo, and Malik Monk – are all a part of Calipari’s freshman recruiting class that is ranked number one in the nation by ESPN.
The blue chip talent ridden roster of Kentucky is full of freshman looking to bring their team back to NCAA glory, but one of the most important pieces of the team has already been around the block in Lexington: Isaiah Briscoe.
The New Jersey point guard is the seasoned veteran of the squad after electing to stay another year in college and go for it all with the Wildcats. For a team relying heavy on freshman talent, the sophomore is going to be the one looked at to steer the ship.
“I’m ready,” Briscoe said to ESPN’s Andy Katz at the open practice. “I’ve done it before. And as a freshman, watching Tyler (Ulis) lead as a sophomore – I didn’t know I was coming back – so I wanted to take that leader role that Tyler did. This year I’m a sophomore and everyone is looking at me for advice and things like that. And Coach (Calipari) wants me to lead the team. I just try to lead by example.”
Taking over the leadership role from Ulis is an important position for Briscoe to fill, and adding backcourt mates like Fox and Monk will emulate shared playing time like the sophomore saw last season. The guidance of Briscoe is something that the stud freshman are taking notice of, and are thankful for.
“Zay’s (Briscoe) been here for a year,” Fox told Katz at practice. “He played with Tyler (Ulis) so he knows what’s going on. Us six freshman that came in, we came in blind, we didn’t know what to expect. And Isaiah’s been teaching me from the point guard position because we’ll be sharing that role.”
Briscoe is currently slated to go undrafted according to DraftExpress.com, but whether or not he gets picked in next June’s draft won’t take away from the huge role as a leader and playmaker he is poised to have for Calipari’s Wildcats this season.
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