Bam Adebayo's coaches have had nothing but high praise for him recently. His current coach, Coach Cal, has compared Adebayo to some great Kentucky Wildcats big men.
"My prediction will be kind of Karl (Anthony-Towns) and even Anthony (Davis), some of these guys that other players were more highly thought of, but when you start hitting late January and February, you're going to say, 'Oh, my goodness'."
John Calipari went on to rave about Adebayo's talent and selflessness, saying "he's a beast with skills. Greatest kid. I mean, he's the greatest teammate aside from that - unselfish in all kinds of ways - but he's a beast who can play basketball. And he wants to win."
Calipari's high praise for Adebayo isn't the only attention he's getting from coaches, though, as his high school coach is praising him as well. Brandon Clifford, coach at High Point Christian told SNY that he thinks Adebayo could go 1st overall in the NBA Draft.
I think Bam should feel honored to be mentioned alongside those guys before he's played a game at Kentucky. That being said, I've always felt like he was a special player that could potentially get himself in the conversation for the No. 1 pick someday. He's an unbelievable talent. He will have to grow and adjust like all freshmen, but I certainly think being at UK will bring out the best in him. Just as it did for Davis and Towns. I'm definitely not going to disagree with Coach Calipari because, like him, I've been in the gym with the kid for extended periods of time. He's a different kind of cat.
This praise from both coaches is well-deserved, as Adebayo has proven in high school that he is more than capable of being a top-tier talent, and the expectations of him are deservedly through the roof.
Currently ranked the No. 9 overall pick by DraftExpress for 2017, it's highly likely that his draft stock will rise as he progresses through his freshman season.