Shai Gilgeous-Alexanders rise from Canadian curiosity to likely NBA lottery pick
Since John Calipari arrived at the University of Kentucky, the Wildcats have been synonymous with heralded recruiting classes that stay for about a year before leaving for the NBA draft. Any Calipari news conference will, inevitably, turn into a listing of the NBA stars that, however briefly, wore a Wildcats uniform — players such as Anthony Davis, John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Devin Booker.
This year’s class, led by 6-foot-6 point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, is no exception.
A projected lottery pick from Hamilton, Ontario, Gilgeous-Alexander is arguably the best point guard available in June’s NBA draft. And unlike most of Calipari’s other high-profile recruits, Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t supposed to be this type of talent.
“People thought he was going to be in college for a couple of years, to be honest,” said Mike Schmitz, a draft analyst for ESPN.
At the beginning of the college basketball season, ESPN’s rankings of the top 100 players in this year’s draft class (and, remember, there are only 60 players drafted each year) saw six Wildcats make the list.
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Gilgeous-Alexander wasn’t one of them.
In last year’s high school recruiting rankings, Gilgeous-Alexander, who originally committed to Florida, was listed as the ninth-best point guard in his class — and the second on his own team, behind Quade Green.
All of that seems laughable now. Kentucky has roared into the Sweet 16 with wins in nine of its past 10 games, and is the heavy favorite to advance out of Atlanta to next week’s Final Four in San Antonio. Gilgeous-Alexander, the MVP of the Southeastern Conference tournament earlier this month, is a big reason. He put up 27 points, six assists and six rebounds in the Wildcats’ 95-75 win over Buffalo on Saturday to secure passage into the NCAA’s second weekend.
“We had a young man this year on our team, Shai Alexander, who was in the gym at 7 a.m. shooting, who would come up in the office and want to watch tape of his turnovers,” Calipari said. “Who never missed a class. Never missed a tutor. Was always on time. Worked harder than anybody in every practice. Who works the hardest in the weight room.
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“And it’s changed who he is and his opportunities and all that.”
Those opportunities could include being the first point guard to have his name called on draft night, June 21. Gilgeous-Alexander, along with Alabama’s Collin Sexton and Oklahoma’s Trae Young — both of whom were eliminated from the tournament last weekend — are considered the top point guards available. And only Gilgeous-Alexander — listed at 6-foot-6 with a 7-foot wingspan — has the kind of size and length to defend at least three — if not four — NBA positions, something in high demand in the current state of the league.
“I don’t think even they realized what they had until December, or even conference play,” Schmitz said. “He’s clearly been amazing for them and is looking more and more like a lottery pick.
“With the consistency he’s shown, he’s in the same conversation with [Sexton and Young]. It’s up in the air who will be the first point guard selected.”
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“You want guys who can guard multiple positions, play on and off the ball ... he’s in the mold of what you want to look at.”
Gilgeous-Alexander said he started to notice things changing at about the midway point of Kentucky’s season, and he credited it to film study.
“I was really taking what Coach was asking of me, what this team needed me to do,” he said. “I just tackled it. Once I cleared that role out and stuff like that, I worked on my game and got better every day.”
Questions remain about Gilgeous-Alexander’s jump shot — he has made 41.8 percent of his three-pointers this season but has attempted only 1.5 per game — but he has proven able to get into the paint against just about anyone. He had everything working against Buffalo, going 10 for 12 from the field (including 2 for 2 from three) and seemed to make a key play every time it looked like the underdog Bulls were going to pull within one possession.
“He’s [gotten] so much better from the beginning of the year,” one NBA scout said. “The most important player on their team.”
Not only is Gilgeous-Alexander Kentucky’s most important player, but he has become the Wildcats’ best draft prospect. If he can lead them to the Final Four, his stage will only get bigger.
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