Davion Mintz picks Kentucky: Highlights and breakdown

The Kentucky Wildcats have added to their backcourt for the 2020-21 season, as Davion Mintz has decided that he will be transferring to Kentucky.

He announced his decision on Instagram.

Mintz previously played for the Creighton Bluejays and missed the entire 2019-20 season due to an ankle injury.

However, in his 2018-19 campaign, Mintz averaged 9.7 points, 3.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.1 steals a game while shooting 41% from the field and 34% from three. He also shot 72% from the free throw line and had 16 double-digit scoring games, including 21 points vs. Marquette and 19 at Villanova (both games went into overtime).

In 247 Sports’ college basketball transfer rankings, Mintz came in as the 12th-best available grad transfer.

The way things are trending with the pending NBA Draft decisions and the fact that Tyrese Maxey and Ashton Hagans have already decided to stay in the draft, Kentucky was going to be shorthanded at the guard position.

The addition of Mintz adds a solid defender and much needed depth to the roster. It also gives Cal something he hasn’t had very often during his time at Kentucky in an experienced senior guard.

Kentucky is already bringing in the #1 recruiting class with five-star guards Devin Askew and BJ Boston being a big part of it. Now, they will have some experience with them in Mintz.

If anything, Mintz will end up replacing the minutes that Johnny Juzang would have otherwise gotten had he not transferred to UCLA. And Mintz is a much better defender, and good defense is an easy way to earn minutes with John Calipari.

Most importantly, Mintz brings a veteran leadership this team was severely lacking with a sophomore Keion Brooks set to be the old man of next year’s group. Even if Kentucky lands Matt Haarms down the road, this backcourt still desperately needed a veteran voice.

Not only does Mintz have a lot of battles under his belt, but he’s also played in the NCAA Tournament. He actually faced the same Kansas State team in 2018 that knocked Kentucky out of the tournament.

Against Kansas State, Mintz scored 10 points on 4/10 shooting with five boards, three assists and no turnovers in 30 minutes of action as a sophomore.

Mintz had a penchant for having his best games against the best teams:

Here is what 247 Sports had to say about Mintz:

Mintz sat out this past season due to injury, but in the previous three years at Creighton he showed very well for himself. A guard with good size who can play multiple different spots, Mintz started 79 games in three years for the Bluejays. As a junior in 2018-19, Mintz averaged 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 35 percent from deep and 72 percent from the foul line. As a good athlete with length and athleticism, he is a solid defender to go along with being an all-around offensive player. He should be someone who can come in and play significant minutes from day one as a versatile backcourt piece at the high-major level.

Here are some highlights of the newest Wildcat in action:

A Sea of Blue comes loaded with the best Kentucky Wildcats links, news, analysis, and some other fun stuff, so be sure to go ‘like’ our Facebook page and then go follow us on Twitter.