As March Madness approaches, this ex-Cat is one of college basketball’s best scorers
A former Kentucky men’s basketball player has emerged as one of the NCAA’s most consistent scorers this season.
But he won’t be taking part in March Madness.
Devin Askew — a fifth-year guard who spent his freshman season with the Wildcats — is one of only six players in NCAA Division I men’s basketball this season to have scored at least 10 points in each of his team’s games.
The 6-foot-5 Askew finished his college career at Long Beach State of the Big West Conference. After playing in 25 games (with 20 starts) on Kentucky’s ill-fated 2020-21 team, Askew transferred to Texas. He was mainly a bench player for the Longhorns during the 2021-22 season, and then transferred to California, where he spent the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons.
Askew averaged 15.5 points through Cal’s first 13 games (all losses) during the 2022-23 season before suffering a season-ending injury. Then, Askew played in only six games during the 2023-24 season because of injuries.
Askew then transferred for a final time last offseason, and he was a focal point for Long Beach State this season.
Askew was Long Beach State’s per-game leader in minutes (36.1), points (18.9), assists (4.5) and steals (1.5).
Askew has 13 games this season of 20 or more points, including a career-high of 35 points in a Jan. 25 loss at Cal Poly.
Unfortunately for Askew, he won’t be able to carry his strong scoring season over into postseason play.
The Beach — yes, Long Beach State’s team nickname actually is “The Beach” — went 7-25 this season and just 3-17 in Big West Conference play. Long Beach State failed to qualify for the end-of-season conference tournament and finished the regular season on a 15-game losing streak.
Last season, Long Beach State won the Big West Tournament to earn its 10th all-time NCAA Tournament berth.
Askew left the second half of The Beach’s final game this season — an 83-69 home loss to Cal Poly — with an injury.
Devin Askew is one of NCAA basketball’s top scorers this season
As the college basketball regular season came to an end this weekend, Askew is one of six players at the NCAA Division I level who have scored at least 10 points in each of their team’s games this season.
The other five players on this impressive scoring list are: Donovan Dent (New Mexico), Sam Hines Jr. (Southeastern Louisiana), Kam Jones (Marquette), Ian Martinez (Utah State) and Lamar Wilkerson (Sam Houston State).
Only Jones — a true senior and a three-year starter for the Golden Eagles — has accomplished this scoring feat at the high-major level.
Kentucky junior guard Otega Oweh was among this group of players before he recorded only two points in UK’s road loss at Alabama on Feb. 22.
This story was originally published March 7, 2025 at 7:16 AM.
