CJ Fredrick is expected to play in the Bahamas

The Kentucky Wildcats are gearing up for their preseason trip to play in the Bahamas next month, and one key piece is planning to make his unofficial debut.

CJ Fredrick missed all of the 2021-22 season with a hamstring injury that occurred during warmups of the game against Duke.

Now, the sharpshooter is back practicing and in an interview with Kentucky Sports Radio, he said he is looking to take the floor in the Bahamas.

“Yeah (I expect to play),” Fredrick said. “If we do a two-and-a-half-hour practice, I’m not gonna be doing the whole two-and-a-half hours, five-on-five. I’m just slowly, gradually getting to the point where I can do that, but I’m still doing a lot of things right now.”

Fredrick has dealt with a few injuries during his college career, but the hamstring injury was the hardest for him to overcome.

“This second injury was definitely harder mentally because I had just finished rehabbing my first one,” said Fredrick. “I’ve never had to miss an entire season playing basketball. Not being able to play for a whole year definitely was mentally hard on me because I love the game so much. But I’m in a really good spot. … You learn to appreciate everything, you know? You appreciate your legs. I definitely have a much bigger appreciation for my body and how I use it.”

In his return to the court next month, Fredrick hopes that everyone will get to see a player who plays hard and does what he can to help the team.

“Well, I hope they see someone that just plays super, super hard. Someone that’s gonna make shots and just compete on both ends of the floor, make the right play always. And just help the team.”

The Cats will tipoff their Bahamas tour on August 10^th with a matchup against the Dominican Republic National Select Team.

You can check out everything Fredrick had to say in the interview here.