How UK’s freshmen stack up against top basketball recruits from class of 2016
Once again, it’s freshmen leading the way statistically for the Kentucky Wildcats this season.
Through 10 games, Malik Monk (19.4 points) is UK’s leading scorer, Bam Adebayo (8.0 rebounds) is the Cats’ leader in boards and De’Aaron Fox (6.9 assists) is the leading passer on John Calipari’s team. Freshmen are also leading the way in blocks (Adebayo’s 18) and steals (Fox’s 17), while Monk’s 30 three-pointers are almost double the number of the next-best Wildcat, senior Mychal Mulder with 16 threes.
Freshmen at the top of the stat sheet is nothing new for the Wildcats under Calipari, but how do UK’s newcomers stack up against the nation’s best?
The only other player ranked among the Top 25 recruits in the 2016 class with a higher scoring average than Monk so far this season is Washington’s Markelle Fultz, who is averaging 22.8 points per game and is projected as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.
UCLA’s TJ Leaf (9.3 rebounds per game) and Michigan State’s Miles Bridges (8.8 rpg) are the only Top 25 recruits ahead of Adebayo in that category.
And UCLA’s Lonzo Ball (8.8 assists per game) is the only freshman ahead of Fox, who is ranked 10th nationally in that category.
Fox, who leads UK with 30.2 minutes per game, is also one of six Top 25 recruits from 2016 averaging more than 30 minutes a game this season. The others are N.C. State’s Dennis Smith Jr. (36.1), Ball (34.2), Fultz (33.3), Bridges (32.5) and Arizona’s Lauri Markkanen (31.5).
Take a look at the chart below for season stats so far on each of the Top 25 recruits from the 2016 class. Three players (Thon Maker, Terrance Ferguson and Omari Spellman) from that group will not play college basketball this season, two have yet to make their college debuts (Harry Giles and Omer Yurtseven) and two others have been limited due to injuries (Jayson Tatum and Marques Bolden).
Ben Roberts: 859-231-3216, @BenRobertsHL
College stats so far for Top 25 recruits in class of 2016
Rk | Player (school) | MPG | PPG | Other notes |
1 | Josh Jackson (Kansas) | 28.3 | 14.8 | 6.1 rpg, 3.4 apg |
2 | Harry Giles (Duke) | — | — | Injured -- Expected to make debut Dec. 19 |
3 | Lonzo Ball (UCLA) | 34.2 | 15.0 | 8.8 apg, 5.2 rpg, 45.3% threes |
4 | Jayson Tatum (Duke) | 24.3 | 15.0 | 7.0 rpg; Missed 8 of 11 games due to injury |
5 | Markelle Fultz (Washington) | 33.3 | 22.8 | 6.9 rpg, 6.1 apg, 48.7% threes |
6 | De'Aaron Fox (Kentucky) | 30.2 | 15.1 | 6.9 apg, 5.4 rpg, 3/21 threes (14.3%) |
7 | Dennis Smith Jr. (NC State) | 36.1 | 18.3 | 5.0 apg, 3.7 rpg, 26.3% threes |
8 | Jonathan Isaac (Florida State) | 24.8 | 14.4 | 7.1 rpg, 43.3% threes |
9 | Bam Adebayo (Kentucky) | 25.3 | 12.6 | 8.0 rpg, 1.8 bpg, 54.5% FGs |
10 | Thon Maker (NBA) | — | — | Selected with the No. 10 pick in the NBA Draft |
11 | Malik Monk (Kentucky) | 28.0 | 19.4 | 2.6 rpg, 2.4 apg, 38.5% threes |
12 | Miles Bridges (Michigan State) | 32.5 | 16.6 | 8.8 rpg, 2.0 apg, 38.5% threes |
13 | Frank Jackson (Duke) | 28.0 | 13.5 | 2.3 rpg, 1.9 apg, 40.0% threes |
14 | Wenyen Gabriel (Kentucky) | 20.4 | 6.7 | 5.8 rpg, 1.5 apg, 5 starts |
15 | Marques Bolden (Duke) | 9.0 | 4.3 | Missed 8 of 11 games due to injury; Still limited |
16 | Terrance Ferguson (Australia) | — | — | Skipped college to play professionally overseas |
17 | Jarrett Allen (Texas) | 27.9 | 9.3 | 6.3 rpg, 54.1 FG% |
18 | TJ Leaf (UCLA) | 29.6 | 17.6 | 9.3 rpg, 67.9 FG%, 10/20 threes |
19 | Omari Spellman (Villanova) | — | — | Ruled academically ineligible for 2016-17 season |
20 | Josh Langford (Michigan State) | 17.3 | 6.5 | 2.0 rpg, 12/25 threes (48.0%) |
21 | Lauri Markkanen (Arizona) | 31.5 | 16.8 | 7.1 rpg, 47.7% threes |
22 | Rawle Alkins (Arizona) | 29.9 | 12.5 | 4.6 rpg, 41.7% threes |
23 | Mustapha Heron (Auburn) | 25.0 | 15.4 | 6.4 rpg, 1.1 apg |
24 | Sacha Killeya-Jones (Kentucky) | 9.3 | 4.0 | 3.0 rpg, 1.1 bpg, 61.5% FGs |
25 | Omer Yurtseven (NC State) | — | — | Suspended for the first nine games of the season |
*247Sports composite rankings
This story was originally published December 12, 2016 at 10:40 AM with the headline "How UK’s freshmen stack up against top basketball recruits from class of 2016."