In the first month of the season, the Kentucky Wildcats offense set college basketball on fire. The team reached several scoring milestones, the program tripled its number of triple-doubles, and several players were on pace to break records.
Unfortunately, the Cats have not been as fine-tuned as of late, and it will be difficult for some of those goals to see fruition. Once destined to shatter Tyler Ulis’ single-season assist record, De’Aaron Fox will really have to get his act together to crack the top 5.
Malik Monk, on the other hand, is still on track to break Jamal Murray’s freshman scoring record of 720 points, not to mention being one of the country’s most efficient scorers.
If Monk were to play as many games as Murray did last season (36), and he continued averaging 21.7 points per game, he would end the season with 758 total points. That would be good for 4th on the all-time list behind Dan Issel (948), Jodie Meeks (854), and Jamal Mashburn (767).
Getting to 36 games would require a deep run into the SEC tournament and a decent showing in the NCAA Tournament in March, as Murray and last year’s team won the SEC Tourney and got knocked off in the round of 32 to Indiana.
Should Monk stay on track, he could go down as one of the best scorers in Kentucky basketball history. And if the Wildcats are going to get this season back on track, he has to be an important part of that solution.
Monk and the Wildcats try to get their mojo back on Tuesday at 9 p.m. as the Georgia Bulldogs come to town. You can tune in on ESPN to cheer on the Cats and witness Brent Murburger’s final broadcast.
Do you think Malik Monk can keep up the pace and continue to climb the single-season scoring list?