Four freshmen make the first Kentucky basketball starting lineup of the season
The first starting lineup for the Kentucky men’s basketball team is in.
The Wildcats — hosting Morehead State in their opener Wednesday night — announced before the game that the first five UK players on the Rupp Arena court this season would be Devin Askew, Brandon Boston Jr., Terrence Clarke, Isaiah Jackson and Olivier Sarr.
Three of those players were widely expected to be sure-thing starters for the Cats this season.
Boston and Clarke — a pair of 6-foot-7 freshman guards — were top-10 recruits out of high school, and both are projected as lottery picks in next year’s NBA Draft. Boston, especially, has been billed as one of UK’s top incoming recruits in years, and — before even playing a college game — saw his name popping up on preseason All-American lists this fall. ESPN is projecting that he will be the No. 3 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. Clarke is projected at No. 15 overall.
Sarr — a 7-foot senior — was immediately inked in as Kentucky’s starting center after he was ruled eligible following a transfer from Wake Forest in the offseason. The veteran big man is an all-SEC caliber player and averaged 13.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per game for the Demon Deacons last season. (ESPN’s Dick Vitale even listed Sarr as one of his five first-team All-American selections late last week).
The other two starting spots were seen as a bit less set in stone coming into the season.
Going into Wednesday night’s opener, the most intriguing position battle might have been at the point guard spot, where freshman Devin Askew, the team’s youngest player, and graduate transfer Davion Mintz, the team’s oldest player, have been competing.
Askew, who just turned 18 years old in late July, got the nod in his first college game, but Mintz is expected to be a major part of Kentucky’s success this season, and both players have been praising each other following early practices.
UK’s young point guard says Mintz has been like a mentor to him. Mintz said this week that he’s been teaching Askew to “attack practice every day with a competitive spirit” and that the two players have developed a healthy, productive and competitive relationship on the court.
“That’s just us guys wanting better for each other,” he said. “It’s been fun, and he’s been doing really well so far.”
According to the SEC Network broadcast early in the game, Calipari talked to the announcers earlier Wednesday and point-blank stated: “Devin Askew is my point guard,” noting that he told the team the same thing before the season opener.
Mintz and freshman Lance Ware were the first two UK players off the bench in Wednesday’s game.
In the preseason, many projections had sophomore Keion Brooks — the only returning scholarship player to see game action at UK last season — as a starter. Calipari’s decision to start freshman Isaiah Jackson at the “4” spot was made a lot easier by an injury that has limited Brooks in practice in recent weeks.
Jackson — a possible one-and-done NBA pick — came to UK with the reputation as an elite shot-blocker and one of the most athletic players in the 2020 recruiting class. His preseason performances have been singled out by those who have been in the gym for UK’s practices this fall.
Redshirt freshman Dontaie Allen was among those singing Jackson’s praises earlier this month.
“He’s going to be one to watch for the season,” Allen said. “Write it down.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 5:44 PM.
