Alex Poythress, Freshman, Small Forward, Kentucky
Overview:
If you ever wonder why John Calipari never gets nervous at Kentucky, it’s because the old expression “they don’t rebuild… they reload” comes to mind. A season after losing Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Anthony Davis and crew to graduation comes a new Wildcat squad, led by this quite dangerous incoming recruit. Poythress drew interest primarily from the southeastern part of the country, including Florida and Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference and Memphis and Western Kentucky outside the SEC.
Poythress started out the high school season at Clarksville (TN) Northeast with 30 points or more in four of his first six games, and from there the 6-7 senior proved intimidating while down low. The month of December was quite kind, culminating in a smashing performance of 47 points, 18 rebounds and nine blocks against LaVergne. Considering he’d committed to Kentucky the month before, Poythress was likely celebrating.
Final Projection:
Poythress pegs as a top 10 draft pick for 2013, but he will get an introduction to how difficult SEC basketball can be quickly. Not to mention the Wildcats don’t shy away from the cream puffs, either. Poythress won’t need to dominate all of those games like he did with the incoming recruit class Calipari put together, and the end result should be a solid first season and a possible strong look from NBA scouts when all is said and done.
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