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The buzz is building that Quade Green will be back for his sophomore season.
The former five-star recruit had a solid freshman season at UK, but much of it came with him playing off the ball, as Shai Gilgeous-Alexander wound up being the lead point guard for much of the season.
Now, UK is set to bring in five-star point guards Immanuel Quickley and Ashton Hagans. UK is also recruiting combo guard Tyrese Maxey to reclassify from 2019 and be in Lexington next season.
With the potential for UK to have the deepest backcourt in college basketball, it’s only fair for a guy like Green to at least think about a transfer.
However, John Calipari met with Green on Thursday in hopes of convincing the Philly native to return for a sophomore season.
Not long after that report came out, SEC Country’s Kyle Tucker reported more good news:
One source who is very familiar the situation thinks that while Quade Green is seriously considering a move, he'll ultimately stay at Kentucky. Kid wants to play, believes he can play, knows a transfer means sitting a year.
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_SEC) April 19, 2018
At this point, the best decision for Green is to come back. While he may have NBA aspirations, he probably needs at least two more years of college basketball before he’s ready to take the next step.
If Green transfers, he’ll be in college at least two more seasons, as he would have to sit out and redshirt next season. If he stays at UK, he probably will have to challenge for the starting point guard spot again next season, but the worst-case scenario is he has the same role he did as a freshman.
That was playing off the ball but still averaging 25.6 minutes, 9.3 points and 2.7 assists per game. That’s good production that would keep him plenty engaged in whatever role he’s in.
Then by 2019-20, I think Hagans will be off to the NBA as a one and done, paving the way for Green to likely be the starting point guard. While Quickley and Maxey are both solid guards, I think they’re better off spending time off the ball in their first 1-2 seasons, and one of them could easily wind up going pro in what’s shaping up to be a very week 2019 draft class.
In other words, Green may face a stiff challenge to being UK’s starting point guard, but as long as he stays the course, he should eventually get there.