Players from Kentucky have made an early statement in men’s college basketball
Fast-break points from “The Crown” binge-watching party:
21. Kentucky proud. If the first week of the 2020-21 men’s NCAA Division I basketball season is any indication, it is going to be a good year for products of the Bluegrass state.
20. Kyle Rode. The former Lexington Christian star had 18 points and six rebounds to lead the Liberty Flames to a 78-62 spanking of SEC foe South Carolina Saturday.
19. Justin Powell. The ex-North Oldham sharpshooter is off to a strong start for Bruce Pearl at Auburn, averaging 12.0 points and 6.5 rebounds in games against St. Joseph’s and No. 1 Gonzaga.
18. KyKy Tandy. The high-scoring, ex-University Heights Academy guard came off the bench to pour in 24 points to lead Xavier to a tight 76-73 win over Toledo on Friday. Through three games, Tandy is averaging 15.3 points and 3.7 assists for the 3-0 Musketeers.
17. Terry Taylor. The MVP of the 2017 Boys’ Sweet Sixteen after leading Bowling Green to the state championship, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound swingman has become a legitimate All-America candidate even while playing far from the brightest lights of college hoops at Austin Peay. In three games so far, Taylor has put up robust averages of 22.7 points and 12.7 rebounds.
16. CJ Fredrick. The MVP of the 2018 Boys’ Sweet Sixteen after leading Covington Catholic to the state championship, the 6-3, 195-pound redshirt sophomore is a starting guard for No. 3 Iowa, averaging 8.5 points and 4.5 assists through two games.
15. David Johnson. The MVP of the 2019 Boys’ Sweet Sixteen after leading Louisville Trinity to the state championship, the 6-6 sophomore guard has had his versatile skills on full display — averaging 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists — while helping Louisville to a 3-0 start.
14. JJ Traynor. In his second college game, the freshman forward from Bardstown scored Louisville’s final four points to help the Cardinals hold off Seton Hall 71-70.
13. Carson Williams. Kentucky’s 2016 Mr. Basketball from Owen County had 14 points and nine rebounds to help Western Kentucky defeat favored Memphis 75-69 on Thanksgiving Day in the semifinals of the Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls, S.D.
12. Taveion Hollingsworth. Kentucky’s 2017 Mr. Basketball from Paul Laurence Dunbar averaged 19.0 points for WKU as Rick Stansbury’s Hilltoppers went 2-1 against Northern Iowa, Memphis and then-No. 15 West Virginia (the loss) in South Dakota.
11. Dayvion McKnight. Kentucky’s 2020 Mr. Basketball from Collins High School in Shelby County scored 21 points and had four assists in his first college game to help Western beat Northern Iowa 93-87.
10. Sean McNeil. West Virginia, now ranked 11th after its Crossover Classic championship victory against WKU, is getting 13.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game from the former Cooper High School star.
9. Trevon Faulkner. Kentucky’s 2018 Mr. Basketball from Mercer County had 17 points to help Northern Kentucky nip Ball State 74-73 in its season opener.
8. Marques Warrick. In his first college game, the ex-Henry Clay star had 14 points, four rebounds and four assists to help Coach Darrin Horn and NKU edge Ball State.
7. Tre King. The former Lexington Christian player has averaged 15 points and nine rebounds while leading Eastern Kentucky to a 2-0 start.
6. Michael Moreno. The ex-Scott County star is averaging 7.5 points and 5.5 rebounds for EKU Coach AW Hamilton and the Colonels.
5. DeVon Cooper. The former Waggener High School standout had a double-double, 14 points and 12 rebounds, to help Morehead State (1-2) win its first game of the season, 69-61, over Arkansas State on Sunday.
4. Dontaie Allen. On Wednesday night, Kentucky’s 2019 Mr. Basketball from Pendleton County became the first in-state scholarship player to play for the University of Kentucky since the 2016-17 season.
3. Back from injury. In Allen’s first game action since tearing an ACL midway through his high school senior season, the 6-6 redshirt freshman scored four points in six minutes in UK’s 81-45 pasting of Morehead State. Afterward, UK Coach John Calipari said he “thought Dontaie did fine. He’s just behind some other players. But he’s going to get his chances.”
2. Not against Richmond. Allen did not play in UK’s 76-64 upset loss to Coach Chris Mooney’s Spiders on Sunday.
1. Self-interested reason to pull for Allen. If Kentucky fans need more than state loyalty to pull for the former Pendleton County star, remember this fact from Wildcats basketball history:
No UK team has ever won an NCAA championship without a player from the commonwealth of Kentucky among its top six scorers.
This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 5:37 PM.
