Cats Illustrated is previewing every scholarship player on Kentucky's 2017-2018 basketball roster.
Part 10 of the series is on point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. The 6-foot-5, 180-pound Canadian originally committed to Florida but opened up his recruitment and it didn't take long for him to settle on Kentucky.
Fans don't mention Gilgeous-Alexander when projecting lineups and impact players off the bench. Is that a mistake?
PREVIEW SERIES WEEK ONE: (Baker, Diallo, Killeya-Jones, Gabriel, Wynyard)
PREVIEW SERIES WEEK TWO: (Washington, Green, Vanderbilt, Richards)
High School: Playing for prestigious Hamilton Heights Christian based in Chattanooga, Tenn., nothing came easy for Gilgeous-Alexander. Playing a national schedule he was pushed on a nightly basis but it was rare to see Gilgeous-Alexander have an off game. And that's because he can impact the game in so many different ways.
Originally known for his passing and defense, Gilgeous-Alexander flourished as one of his team's best scorers. Good news for Kentucky fans is Gilgeous-Alexander played with other talented players and did a great job distributing. Although it will be maginified at Kentucky, it's always a positive to see UK commits understanding what it takes to play with other good players. Gilgeous-Alexander's cousin, and high school teammate, Nickeil Alexander-Walker is a top 30 player in the country. Those two had great chemistry together and although Alexander-Walker is going to Virginia Tech, he helped develop Gilgeous-Alexander.
Gilgeous-Alexander played in the Nike Hoop Summit game for the World Team. He finished with 11 points and two assists. He really shined in the Derby City Classic All-Star game in Louisville where despite being booed by UofL and Indiana fans, he scorched the competition for 29 points in 19 minutes while hitting 12-of-15 shots.
He was named MVP of the game and also won the three-point shooting contest.
Summer Rumblings: Don't sleep on Gilgeous-Alexander. That's what Cats Illustrated has been told and from reports of summer pickup games and workouts, it seems that Gilgeous-Alexander may be a serious candidate to start this upcoming season.
Several have penciled in Quade Green as the starting point guard for the Cats, but is that accurate? Time will tell. The general consensus is that Green is further along right now as a point guard, but Gilgeous-Alexander may have the higher ceiling.
John Calipari never had any major issues with Tyler Ulis' size when he starred at UK for two years, but what if Green struggles adjusting to the length and size of the college game? Well, it's a good thing UK has Gilgeous-Alexander if that happens.
He has the size that Calipari is more accustomed to coaching and thrives with at the guard position. It doesn't mean that Green won't have success, but if he isn't ready for the big stage then Calipari will have options.
2017-2018 Prediction: People are sleeping on Gilgeous-Alexander and it won't take long to realize that he will be an integral part of UK's success this upcoming season. He may not start but Gilgeous-Alexander will receive a plethora of playing time.
Some close to the program predict he may end up being Calipari's point guard later in the season. One more bullish prediction suggest he could be a one-and-done player.
Gilgeous-Alexander is a great passer but he's incredibly crafty at getting to the rim. His ability to penetrate may give him a leg up on Green, as getting in the lane and getting defenses to collapse will only make things easier for his teammates.
Green is the better shooter, so that gives the 6-foot point guard an advantage, but there's no reason both can't flourish this upcoming season.
Expect Gilgeous-Alexander to average about six points and two assists per game. Obviously not numbers good enough to get the NBA drooling, but Gilgeous-Alexander will do great things at UK.
