One of the deepest Kentucky teams in recent years got even deeper on Thursday as graduate senior Davion Mintz announced that he will withdraw his name from the NBA Draft pool and return to the Wildcats for the 2021-22 season.
Mintz, a 6-foot-3 guard who led UK in scoring, assists, and 3-point shooting last season, will take advantage of the extra year of eligibility the NCAA granted all of its student-athletes due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He will join transfers Sahvir Wheeler (Georgia), Kellan Grady (Davidson), and CJ Fredricks (Iowa), as well as sophomore Dontaie Allen and freshman TyTy Washington to give John Calipari a wealth of options in the backcourt this season.
“First of all, I want to thank everyone for the support they have provided me the last couple of months while I pursued my dream of playing professionally,” Mintz said in a statement released by UK. “I really appreciate the support from my coaches, my teammates and my family while I went through this process. I wanted to give it a real shot and I feel like I did that. I know that I am ready and closer to my ultimate goal of playing in the NBA.
“Having said that, my heart has guided me back to Kentucky for one more year. I want another season on the national stage to prove that I am ready to play at the highest level. I can’t wait to get back to Lexington with my teammates and experience the full effect of Big Blue Nation. It’s time to get back to work.”
Mintz, a graduate transfer from Creighton who averaged 11.5 points per game last season, will be the first leading scorer to return to UK since Randolph Morris prior to the 2006-07 season.
“I am so happy for Davion because he was able to explore all of his options and decided to come back to a place that he loves,” UK head coach John Calipari said. “He is one of the most appreciative players I have coached in my time here. I said to his parents after last season, ‘I can coach him for the next 10 years.’ He is that kind of person, player and leader.
"Our team is different than last season and there is more competition, but there is no question that Davion makes us better. He improved so much from the start of last season to the end and I can’t wait to see that continued growth in his second year with us.”
Kentucky has not featured as much depth or experience since the 2014-15 squad that made a run at an undefeated season. In addition to the reconfigured backcourt, the Cats will have Keion Brooks, Jacob Toppin, Oscar Tshiebwe, Lance Ware, Bryce Hopkins, and Damions Collins in a talented frontcourt.
The Cats are also in pursuit of No. 1 prospect Jalen Duren, a 6-10 center who is reclassifying from the 2022 class to 2021 and made an official visit to Lexington earlier this week.
