‘It’s a process.’ UK’s Whitney comfortable with pace of his improvement.
Friday saw reporters crowd around Kahlil Whitney’s space in the T-Mobile locker room before Kentucky’s practice. Questions about when this former McDonald’s All-American and projected first-round NBA Draft pick is going to blossom did not surprise.
“I mean, everybody is just waiting for me to arrive,” Whitney said. “So you’ll see it when you see it.”
With a pleasant, engaging smile appearing and reappearing on his face, Whitney spoke of the process he and others must experience as aspiring players. As the questions about blossoming came as no surprise to Whitney, neither does the need for time to evolve into a game-changing player.
“My game has always been a process,” Whitney said. “I was good coming out of high school. But, you know, I was a late bloomer.
“So, I was always adding stuff to my game.”
Whitney said he started blooming as an eighth-grader. “Thinking I can have a future in this sport,” he said.
What UK Coach John Calipari wants Whitney to add to his game now is no secret to the 6-foot-6 freshman from Chicago.
“He talks about it all the time,” Whitney said. “Wanting me to be that energy guy.
“All my life, I’ve felt I was that energy guy. But, you know, I’ve got to come out there and show it.”
Exceptional player
At a news conference previewing Saturday’s game against No. 5 Ohio State, Calipari said that Whitney had made progress. The UK coach added that Whitney should be aware that continuing to improve will translate into playing time.
When asked to describe the player Whitney can be, Calipari said, “You’re going to see that physical athlete who can guard multiple positions, who can block shots that normal guys can’t block, who can get at the rim and offensive rebound.”
On offense, Whitney should be thinking of finishing plays, Calipari said. “Not a dancer-play starter.
“When we give you the ball, finish! Shoot it! Drive it!”
More than once, Calipari spoke of Whitney possessing exceptional abilities, even by the lofty standard that Kentucky sets.
“Because he can do stuff the other guys on this team physically cannot do,” Calipari said. “They don’t have that talent to do what he can do.
“But he’s got to play with unbelievable effort. All the other stuff doesn’t matter. And he’s beginning to do that.”
When involved in reviewing tape of games, Whitney acknowledged that he has not played as well as he thought he had.
“You’ll think you’re playing exceptionally well,” he said. “And then you look on film and, hey, there’s some mistake you made. But the film is always good because you get to see it. You’re out there playing, you probably think you were there on help side. But on film, you weren’t.”
When he filled in for Calipari on the weekly radio show, associate coach Kenny Payne called Whitney “a major piece of the puzzle.” But UK was still waiting for him to emerge.
“Kahlil Whitney could be and should be one of the best defenders in the United States,” Payne told the radio audience. “He has to be a high-motor kid, and he’ll bring another dimension to this team once we get him more comfortable.”
Fan of Leonard
Payne recalled Whitney coming to his office this past summer and saying that Kawhi Leonard was his favorite player. “Next day I had 45 clips of Kawhi Leonard for him,” Payne said. “Let’s go get it.”
Whitney said what he liked about Leonard’s game was its simplicity.
“He doesn’t do too much with the ball,” Whitney said. “He gets to his spots. He’s a really efficient player. And he’s a two-way player. And that’s what I want to be.”
To help that become a reality, Kentucky coaches have also shown Whitney tape of DeAndre Liggins, a former UK player who carved out a niche as a defender and hustler.
“He brought energy,” Whitney said. “Deflections. Stops. Showing emotion.”
In its Nov. 19 mock draft for 2020, ESPN projected Whitney as the 17th pick. When asked about his modest statistics after 10 games (5.5 points and 2.7 rebounds), Whitney playfully responded, “So what are you saying? That I’m not a first-rounder?”
Much can change over the course of a season, so it’s not prudent to speculate about NBA Draft status as this point, Whitney was told.
“Like I told you, it’s a process,” Whitney said. “I’m telling everybody, it’s a process. I think everybody can see that.”
When asked how often he’s been telling people that, Whitney said, “Pretty often. Yeah, pretty often.”
Saturday
No. 6 Kentucky vs. No. 5 Ohio State
What: CBS Sports Classic
Where: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
When: 5:15 p.m. EST
Records: UK 8-2, Ohio State 10-1
Series: UK leads 11-9
Last meeting: Ohio State won 74-67 on Dec. 19, 2015, in the CBS Sports Classic at Brooklyn, N.Y.
TV: CBS
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
This story was originally published December 20, 2019 at 8:52 PM.
