Tuesday Headlines: Devin Askew Edition

The Kentucky point guard announced he is entering the transfer portal

By Zac Oakes@ZacOakes Apr 6, 2021, 6:40am EDT

Devin Askew came to Kentucky with a lot of promise.

The top point guard in the 2021 class, Askew reclassified to join the 2020 class and begin his college career early in Lexington, coming in as part of a highly-touted class that many expected to be a national title contender.

But obviously that didn’t work out that way. Kentucky struggled mightily, producing one of the worst seasons in program history.

And as for Askew, he was thrust into a role he seemingly just wasn’t ready for, and that’s no knock on him.

Askew would’ve worked well in a backup point guard role this season, playing a smaller amount of minutes and developing behind another point guard. However, Kentucky missed out on some of its other targets, namely Cade Cunningham, and Askew was forced into a role where he often led the team in minutes.

But now, after all the offseason chatter was that Askew wouldn’t follow the trend of Kentucky players from the west coast transferring, Askew entered the transfer portal.

He leaves Kentucky following a freshman season in which he averaged 6.5 points, 2.9 assists, and 2 turnovers per game, while shooting 34.5 percent from the field and about 28 percent from three.

From all accounts, this seemed like a mutual split. Kentucky continues to be in the mix with point guards in the transfer portal and is possibly looking at some point guards that haven’t even entered the portal, while also bringing in McDonalds All-American Nolan Hickman and still have the possibility of Davion Mintz coming back.

There’s a world where Askew could’ve returned to Kentucky and been third among point guards. It’s hard to blame him for seeking another opportunity.

With that said, this is another transfer out of the program for a freshman that didn’t pan out as expected, and that just isn’t the best look for the program. It also doesn’t help in terms of roster continuity.

If Kentucky brings back Keion Brooks and Davion Mintz, roster continuity doesn’t take a huge hit, but right now, the status of those players is up in the air.

It’ll be interesting to see where Askew lands. Issac Simpson from the Memphis Rivals site says the Tigers could be an option. Maybe Askew heads back to the west coast to play somewhere like USC.

Regardless of where he ends up, we wish him the best of luck!