I'm doing this early because this coronavirus has shut everything down. This is for the 2020-2021 season. I'm starting with the point guard.
Devin Askew 6'3" 195 pound combo guard, Mater Dei HS, Santa Ana,CA.
He's originally from Sacramento, California and will play mostly point guard at Kentucky. I'll go into his strengths and weaknesses and how they affect Kentucky. He played on the Nike EYBL Circuit for Team Why Not.
STRENGTHS: He's a strong point guard who has shooting range to 25 feet. He can hit the step back three pointer with great consistency. He has a good two dribble pull up jumper from mid range. He gets to the basket by his strength and can finish at the rim with either hand. He's shown that he can run a team. He's become a good leader and has shown he can adjust to situations quickly. His excellent shooting on all levels of the court allows him to play off the ball. He's good at catch and shoot, and can score off the dribble. He's a good ball handler with great vision of the entire court. He's shown he can pass the ball from all angles on the court. He was very good in Gary McKnight's offense at Mater Dei, and though it took him awhile he became a good floor general for Team Why Not. He led them to the Peach Jam Finals title game. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BSXn-OtU3A. Mater Dei sometimes lets him post up smaller guards when the occasion arises. He has a nice spin move at the basket to get him loose for a layup. He has nice hesitation moves to get him by defenders and get to the basket. He makes great decisions once he gets into the lane with pull up jumpers, or nice passes to a cutter, or back out to the open three point shooter.
WEAKNESSES: He does not have a blow by move to get by defenders. Lack of athleticism though that has gotten better his senior year. He can get shot happy at times especially with Team Why Not. This was part of the issue with their bad start in the first two games at the Peach Jam Finals. He showed though that he's a good listener and turned into more of a pass first point guard thereafter. They made it to the Peach Jam Finals Title game when he became that floor general that is his strength. He can be a turnover machine dribbling too much and trying to split defenders at inopportune times. This is when being a good ball handler can be a curse as well as a blessing. He has to do better with pressure defense from other guards. He reclassified to come to Kentucky and will have a bigger learning curve as a result. He has trouble defending quicker guards in the half court. He needs work on his quickness as a defender to keep players in front of him. He uses his hands too much to keep guards from penetrating to the basket. He'll have to learn to move his feet or foul trouble will come. Kentucky does not get the benefit of the whistle hence foul trouble will be more pronounced with him as a point guard.
CONCLUSION: He's a stone cold monster five star point guard, but look for a big learning curve for him under Coach Calipari. One, because he's a reclassification who should be a senior in high school, so a big jump for him. Two, he's going to have to learn the system and deal with adversity when it comes. Three, still uncertainty who comes back and who leaves for the NBA. If Ashton Hagans and/or Immanuel Quickley come back, he'll learn as a reserve which could be a good thing for him. If they don't he'll most certainly be the starter even if Kentucky recruits a grad transfer to push him or be a back up. I think he'll be successful but Kentucky fans will have to be patient, and we are not known as a patient bunch. I think he'll be a two year player at Kentucky, I do not foresee a one and done for Askew. He could surprise me though. He'll be the best shooting point guard Kentucky has had since probably Brandon Knight. He can play off the ball because of his size and his shooting ability. As I've said he has deep range on his jumper so the college three will be no problem for him. He'll have to learn shot selection and he'll have a lot of scorers at his disposal. I think he'll realize what he has and be a great set up point guard for the many scorers on this roster. Welcome to Big Blue Nation Devin Askew aka Baby Dev.
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