When Brandon Boston arrived in Lexington, it was a certainty he would spend one year and then enter the NBA Draft.
But after some struggles in his freshman season at Kentucky where Boston has seen his draft stock dip and the team has struggled mightily, could Boston come back to Kentucky for a sophomore season?
It doesn’t seem likely still, but some fans wondered if a statement made by John Calipari after yesterday’s victory over South Carolina was referencing Boston needing a second year.
“He’s never lost the fight. This stuff has been hard for him. And it’s also eye-opening to know as an individual player, man, physically, this is — I’m not where I need to be physically and so, we’ve had other guys. It’s like Immanuel Quickley. Immanuel Quickley walked in my office and said, ‘Coach I know you said this would be hard.’ This is after his freshman year. ‘This is way harder than I thought and I didn’t have a good year. But I’m coming back and you watch. No one will outwork me.’ Those are the guys that should come back. That mentality. PJ Washington. That mentality. I’m not coming back to do showtime. I’m not coming back to say, ‘Hey, this is my team.’ I am coming back because I’m going to get better and I can accept that I didn’t play the way I needed to play. And this is way harder than I thought.”
I’m usually someone who supports players jumping to the NBA, but I think Boston’s case is different. A second year could be extremely beneficial and if he came back, led next year’s team in scoring and Kentucky bounces back to have a good season, Boston would be right back as a top 10 pick.
Who knows? Boston may get a first-round guarantee from a team and that may be enough for him to jump ship to the NBA, but count me in as someone who wants to see a sophomore year Brandon Boston.
Tweet of the Day
Brandon Boston Jr. was locked in for Kentucky today. The freshman had 21 points on 6-10 shooting from deep @bboston_ @KentuckyMBB pic.twitter.com/kqrNHTPNgP
— B/R Hoops (@brhoops) March 6, 2021
Boston had a great game yesterday.
Headlines
Calipari hopes setbacks set up postseason success - Herald Leader
We can hope so.
South Carolina victory gives Kentucky confidence - Courier Journal
That was a good confidence boost.
Calipari tells players to paint their own picture - Cats Pause
An SEC Tournament run would be one for the ages.
UK Hoops looking to bounce back - KSR
The talent certainly exists.
Arizona hoops accused of five Level I violations - ESPN
Not a good look for Sean Miller and Co.
Duke’s bubble may have popped - Bleacher Report
That was an ugly loss for the Blue Devils.
Several teams circling Blake Griffin - SI
Where will the former #1 pick land?