FORT MYERS, Fla.- New Kentucky commit Bam Adebayo has been dominating thus far this year for High Point Christian Academy (N.C.), averaging 18.9 points and 13.1 rebounds.
On Monday night, the 6-foot-10, 240-pound Adebayo went for 19 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks in leading the Cougars to a 67-63 victory over Westerville (Ohio) South in the City of Palms Classic.
Next up for Adebayo and High Point Christian will be the Ball Brothers of Chino Hills (CA) in the semifinals on Tuesday night. Chino Hills is the No. 2-ranked team in USA Today’s Super 25. Chino Hills upset Montverde (FL) Academy, 83-82, on Monday.
“I’m bringing a motor [to Kentucky],” Adebayo said this week. “That’s something that you can’t really explain. I play hard on defense, I play hard on offense. I just try to get buckets. I just try to come out and play hard. If you don’t play hard, you can get exposed.”
There has been significant talk of late about the possibility of uncommitted big man Marques Bolden joining Adebayo, Sacha Killeya Jones and Wenyen Gabriel next year in Lexington in the front court. And that would be just fine with Adebayo, who was nicknamed Bam by his mother as a child after the “Bamm Bamm” on The Flintones.
“I’d definitely like to play with him,” Adebayo said of Bolden. “I think that the bigger you are, the better. Therefore, some of us can get two or three fouls and we’ve still got an extra body to help out.”
There is really only one goal next year for Adebayo, and that’s winning a national championship.
“I want to get a title with my buddies,” Adebayo said. “All five of us, De’Aaron (Fox), Malik (Monk), Sacha, Wenyen and myself, we’ve all been playing together since we were little, we know each other and we play hard together.”
Adebayo’s head coach at HPCA, Brandon Clifford, had nothing but good things to say about the future Wildcat.
“Bam plays harder than anyone else in the country,” Clifford said. “The thing about Bam is that he wants to win. He’s not a numbers-chaser type of guy even though he does fill up stat sheets. That’s what separates him I think is that he can get his numbers without having to try to. He can just play the game the right way.”
Clifford even reiterated that he feels Adebayo could be the first overall pick in the NBA Draft. He’s currently projected as the No. 9 pick in 2017 by DraftExpress.com.
“He’s a special kid,” Clifford said. “I think he’s going to be the No. 1 pick in the draft, and I’m know the only one who feels that way. He’s blossoming now, and he’s just going to get better over the next year.”
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