Seven Kentuckians (and more) to watch in the NCAA Tournament
A former University of Kentucky guard, a pair of former Kentucky high school stars at Northern Kentucky, and a transfer duo at Louisville highlight the Bluegrass state’s contingent of former standouts in this year’s men’s NCAA Tournament.
Catch up with all of the state’s ties to the 68 teams that made it to the Big Dance:
Charles Matthews, Michigan: The 6-foot-6 senior guard who transferred to the Wolverines (28-6) after one season at Kentucky is the team’s third-leading scorer at 12.0 points per game. He also averages 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 31.5 percent from three-point range.
Matthews has been slowed by an ankle injury at the end of the season. He missed three games before returning for the Big Ten Tournament, where he averaged 5.0 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in the Wolverines’ runner-up effort to Michigan State.
Matthews averaged 13.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists as a junior and decided to return to Michigan after testing his NBA Draft stock.
Drew McDonald, Northern Kentucky: The 6-8 senior forward/center out of Newport Central Catholic was named the Horizon League’s player of the year after averaging 19.1 points, 9.5 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game this season. He was second in the league in scoring and first in rebounding. McDonald also led the Norse (26-8) to the league’s tournament title and NCAA automatic bid with a 77-66 win over Wright State. He was named the tournament’s MVP after averaging 16.7 points, 8.0 rebounds and 4.3 rebounds in their three wins.
Tyler Sharpe, Northern Kentucky: The former Bullitt East star is second in scoring for the Norse with 14.1 points per game, and he leads the team in steals with 1.5 per contest. The 6-1 junior guard scored 25 points, including six threes, in NKU’s Horizon League Tournament opener against Detroit Mercy. Sharpe has scored in double figures in 18 of the Norse’s past 19 games.
Dwayne Sutton, Louisville: The 6-5 junior forward from Manual is the Cardinals’ second-leading scorer (10.2 points per game) and rebounder (6.9). Sutton also reached the NCAA Tournament as a freshman when he averaged 12.0 points and 7.7 rebounds for UNC Asheville in the 2015-16 season.
Christen Cunningham, Louisville: A 6-2 senior guard from Lexington who previously played at Cordia and Henry Clay, and then at Samford for former UK standout Scott Padgett, Cunningham averages a team-high 4.9 assists to go with 9.8 points per game for the Cardinals (20-13).
Aric Holman, Mississippi State: The 6-10 senior and former Owensboro High School standout has averaged 9.7 points and 6.2 rebounds while hitting 43.1 percent of his three-point attempts (44-for-102) for the Bulldogs (23-10). His stats are down just a tick from his junior season when he averaged 10.9 points and 6.7 rebounds.
Asante Gist, Iona: The former Eastern Kentucky star, a 5-11 junior guard, has averaged 12.4 points (fourth on the team) and 2.3 assists in his first season for the Gaels (17-15), who defeated Monmouth 81-60 in the MAAC Tournament finals for that league’s automatic bid. Gist averaged 15.9 points and 3.8 assists for the Colonels as a freshman, then played in six games a sophomore before deciding to leave the program.
More ties to the Bluegrass
Northern Kentucky: Trevon Faulkner, a 6-4 freshman guard out of Mercer County, has started 27 of 34 games and has averaged 4.9 points and 2.5 rebounds. Chris Vogt (7-1 sophomore center, Graves County) averages 4.6 points and 3.8 boards. Gerald Gray Jr. (6-3 walk-on freshman guard, Pleasure Ridge Park) has played in five games. Brooks Ely (6-4 walk-on junior guard, West Jessamine) transferred from Glenville State.
Wofford: Tray Hollowell, a 6-2 sophomore guard who starred at University Heights, averages 5.5 points and 1.8 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per game for the Southern Conference tournament champions. Wofford (28-4) defeated Greensboro 70-58 in the league finals and has already set a program record for wins in a season.
Belmont: The Bruins (26-5), who managed to get into the field with an at-large bid out of the Ohio Valley Conference, get 2.3 points and 0.7 rebounds per game from Adam Kunkel, a 6-3 freshman guard who starred at Cooper.
VCU: Corey Douglas, 6-8 sophomore forward out of Ballard and then Fork Union Military Academy and Tallahassee Community College, averages 3.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 14.3 minutes per game for the Rams (25-7).
Murray State: The Ohio Valley Conference Tournament champs have two Kentuckians on their roster, including Jaiveon Eaves, a 6-2 junior guard from Madisonville-North Hopkins who transferred to the Racers from John A. Logan College, and Jalen Johnson, a 6-1 freshman guard out of Hopkinsville. Eaves has averaged 3.7 points in 10.2 minutes per game while Johnson has averaged 0.8 in 3.1 minutes.
Kentucky: Brad Calipari, a 6-0 guard out of Lexington Christian and then the MacDuffie School in Massachusetts, is redshirting along with Zan Payne, a 6-4 guard/forward from Lexington Catholic. Star forward PJ Washington is a Louisville native, but he played in high school at Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nevada.
Iowa: CJ Fredrick, a 6-3 freshman guard and the 2018 Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year from Covington Catholic, is redshirting this season for the Hawkeyes (22-11).
Louisville: Jo Griffin, a 6-1 sophomore walk-on from South Oldham, has scored four points in nine games. Wyatt Battaile, a 6-4 walk-on guard/forward from Pikeville, has two rebounds in seven appearances. Will Rainey, a 6-3 walk-on senior guard from Atherton, is sitting out this season as a transfer from Spalding.
St. John’s: Eli Wright, 6-5 junior guard from Apollo and then 22 Feet Academy and Mississippi State, is sitting this out this season as a transfer for the Red Storm (21-12). He averaged 3.2 points and 1.9 rebounds in two seasons with the Bulldogs.