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Tyrese Maxey is going to be on of the best players on the 2019-20 team this year, and he has been looking up to a former Cat since he was 13 and hopes to follow in his footsteps.
Who was that former Cat? None other than De’Aaron Fox.
Darrell Bird of CatsPause wrote about Maxey and just how long he had had his eyes on Kentucky and becoming a Wildcat.
Seeing how it has all played out, it is crazy to think that when Fox was playing in the Peach Jam in high school, Fox, Coach Cal, and 13-year-old Maxey were all in the building.
“When I was 13, my dad took to me to watch De’Aaron Fox play,” said Maxey. “I was playing, too, but we had some time off and my dad was like, ‘We need to go watch this kid play. He’s from Houston.’ Coach Cal was there watching him play. De’Aaron got doubled every single time he touched the ball, so I didn’t get to see much of his game that time.”
A year later, Fox is committed to play for Coach Cal at Kentucky, and Maxey was just a freshman in high school. However, Maxey was already keeping an eye on Fox and wanted to see how things worked out for him.
“Just knowing that De’Aaron was going to Kentucky and the history of Coach Cal with guards, I just knew he was destined to be great and I could see myself following in his footsteps,” Maxey said.
Maxey could join a long list of excellent Calipari point guards like John Wall, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyler Ulis, Brandon Knight, and Fox.
“I talked to Tyler Ulis. De’Aaron, of course. I talked to Ashton, who had already been here for a year. Jamal Murray a little,” Maxey said. “They all told me the same thing: Just weather the storm. Listen to him. Just do what you do.”
I believe that Maxey is going to be a fan favorite this season and I am excited to watch him grow and develop into a star as the season gets closer and closer.
Be sure to read the full CatsPause interview.
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