John Calipari hints that BJ Boston should consider returning for sophomore season

It has been an up and down season for BJ Boston.

Some weeks he flashes the potential that pegged him as a top-five draft pick in this upcoming draft. Other times, he’s looked overmatched by the speed and strength of other players at the college level.

This has left fans wanting to see another year of BJ Boston at Kentucky, and even one popular hoops analyst predicted it would happen earlier this week.

Well it seems like John Calipari could be hinting at the pitch he is going to give Boston at the end of the season, at least based on what he told reporters following the Kentucky Wildcats’ win over South Carolina Gamecocks. Boston finished the game with 21 points on 7/13 shooting (6/10 from three), four rebounds and three assists in easily one of his best games of the season.

Calipari has a great selling point with these two players as reference points as well.

PJ Washington at the end of his freshman season was looking at second-round grades and a few late first looks as well. Instead, he chose to come back and work on his outside shot and refine his post game, which helped him become the 12th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

It may be Immanuel Quickley though that should be the main selling point for Cal to Boston. In his first season, Quickely showed a lot of the same things that Boston has this season. He would flash potential, but then disappear in other games, though a big part of that was Kentucky having Ashton Hagans, Tyler Herro, Jemarl Baker and Keldon Johnson in the backcourt. This year’s team clearly doesn’t have that depth, which has led to Boston playing heavy minutes, even when he’s struggled mightily.

Quickley’s choice to come back helped give him time to work on a consistent outside shot, as well as work on his ability of finishing at the rim. That led to him being 25th pick in the 2020 draft, and he’s already become a star for the New York Knicks.

With Boston’s length and athleticism, most teams will consider a late first-round choice on him this year. If he were to come back for another year and build on what we have seen defensively, as well as become that go-to scorer Kentucky has hoped he’d become, and he is right back into the mix for a top-10 pick next season.

It’s all a waiting game now to see how it plays out, especially with the SEC Tournament still left to be played, but it sounds like it could be more of an option than everyone previously thought.

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