2016–17 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team
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The 2016–17 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the
2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 11, 2016. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic, and ended with the Final Four in Glendale, Arizona on April 3, 2017. Practices officially began on September 30, 2 ...
. The team played its home games in
Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...
for the 41st consecutive season at Rupp Arena, with a capacity of 23,500. The team, led by
John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach. Since 2009, he has been the head coach of the University of Kentucky men's team, with whom he won the NCAA Championship in 2012. He has been named Naismith College C ...
in his eighth season as head coach, is a member of the Southeastern Conference.


Departures


2016–17 Newcomers

Edrice Adebayo Edrice Femi "Bam" Adebayo (born July 18, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats before being selected by the Hea ...
, nicknamed "Bam" and originally from Pinetown, North Carolina, was a consensus top 15 player in his class. He committed to Kentucky on November 17, live on ESPN's '' Mike & Mike'' simulcast radio show. He chose Kentucky over NC State and
Auburn Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...
. He is ranked in the top 10 by Rivals (No. 6) and ESPN (No. 6). 247Sports (No. 14) and
Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...
(No. 15) tab him as a top-15 prospect in the 2016 class. He has prior USA Basketball experience and was named a
MaxPreps MaxPreps is an American website that specializes in coverage of American high school sports. The site is owned by Paramount Global and is a division of CBS Sports. Founded on August 1, 2002, the company has covered up to 29 sports, including b ...
All-American in 2013.
De'Aaron Fox De'Aaron Martez Fox (born December 20, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball, Kentucky W ...
, originally from Katy, Texas, was the second highest rated point guard that Calipari had signed at Kentucky. He committed to Kentucky on November 12, live on
ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and the Hears ...
. He chose Kentucky over Kansas, Louisville, and
LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
. He was the nation's consensus top point guard, was ranked the consensus No. 3 overall player by the four main recruiting services Rivals, ESPN,
Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...
, and 247 Sports.
Wenyen Gabriel Wenyen Gabriel (born March 26, 1997) is a South Sudanese-American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, after being a 5-sta ...
, originally from Manchester, New Hampshire, was the third commitment in the Kentucky class. He committed to Kentucky on October 1, live on the radio. He chose Kentucky over Connecticut, Duke, and Maryland. He was a consensus five star prospect, and was ranked the consensus No. 17 overall player by the four main recruiting services Rivals, ESPN,
Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...
, and 247 Sports.
Sacha Killeya-Jones Sacha Liam Killeya-Jones (born August 10, 1998) is an American-British professional basketball player for Surne Bilbao Basket of the Liga ACB. He played college basketball for Kentucky. High school career Killeya-Jones grew up playing footba ...
, originally from
Chapel Hill, North Carolina Chapel Hill is a town in Orange, Durham and Chatham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Its population was 61,960 in the 2020 census, making Chapel Hill the 17th-largest municipality in the state. Chapel Hill, Durham, and the state ca ...
, was the second commitment in the Kentucky class. He committed to Kentucky on October 1, live on the radio. He chose Kentucky over Connecticut, North Carolina, and Virginia. He was a consensus four star prospect, and was ranked the consensus No. 36 overall player by the four main recruiting services Rivals, ESPN,
Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...
, and 247 Sports.
Malik Monk Malik Ahmad Monk (born February 4, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played one season of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats, earning consensus ...
, originally from Lepanto, Arkansas but attending high school in Bentonville, Arkansas, was the second highest rated shooting guard that Calipari signed at Kentucky. He committed to Kentucky on November 18. He chose Kentucky over Arkansas where his brother,
Marcus Monk Marcus Monk (born April 26, 1986) is a former professional American football wide receiver and a former professional basketball player. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football ...
, played college basketball and football. He was a consensus five star prospect, and was ranked the consensus No. 5 overall player by the four main recruiting services Rivals, ESPN,
Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...
, and 247 Sports.


Pre-season


Roster

On April 1 the University of Kentucky held a press conference for Murray as he declared himself eligible for the 2016 NBA draft, and would forgo his remaining eligibility by signing with an agent. On April 5 Labissiere declared himself eligible for the draft, and would forgo his remaining eligibility by signing with an agent. On April 6 the University of Kentucky held a press conference for Ulis as he declared himself eligible for the draft, and would forgo his remaining eligibility by signing with an agent. On May 18 Matthews announced that he would transfer from Kentucky and finish his remaining three years of eligibility at a school that was to be chosen; the following month, Matthews announced that he would go to Michigan. On May 25 Briscoe and Lee withdrew their names from the draft, but Lee decided to transfer for his final year of eligibility to a then-undetermined school, which ultimately proved to be California. On August 9, reserve guard E. J. Floréal announced that he would leave the UK basketball program to compete full-time for the school in track. Floréal, who had one year of remaining eligibility in basketball but would have two years in track, was a local and regional track champion in high school, and
his father His or HIS may refer to: Computing * Hightech Information System, a Hong Kong graphics card company * Honeywell Information Systems * Hybrid intelligent system * Microsoft Host Integration Server Education * Hangzhou International School, in ...
was UK's head track coach at the time.


Accolades and rankings

The Southeastern Conference preseason media poll was released at the SEC Media Days in October, it predicted that Kentucky would win the championship. Adebayo and Fox were named to the All-SEC First Team while Briscoe and Monk were named to the All-SEC Second Team. ''USA Today'' announced its initial coaches poll on October 15 with Kentucky ranked as No. 4 in the country. The Associated Press announced on October 31 that Kentucky was ranked No. 2 to start the season in its initial poll of the season.


Events

On July 18 Kentucky released the non-conference portion of its schedule. The schedule is highlighted by marquee match-ups at Rupp Arena and across the country. Kentucky will travel to New York to play Michigan State in the annual Champions Classic, to the Bahamas to play Arizona State, back to New York to play Hofstra, to Las Vegas to play against North Carolina in the annual CBS Sports Classic, and finally to Louisville to face in-state rival Louisville.. Kentucky will also host UCLA for the first time as well as Kansas in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Tickets for Big Blue Madness, Kentucky's version of Midnight Madness went on sale and sold out on September 30. Big Blue Madness took place on October 14. The event debuted the team for the 2016–17 season. It included player introductions, a speech by Calipari, and a scrimmage.


2017–18 newcomers

Nick Richards, a native of
Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...
living in Queens, New York, was the first commitment in the Kentucky class. He committed to Kentucky on November 10 at a press conference at his high school. He chose Kentucky over Arizona and
Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...
. He was a consensus five star prospect, and was ranked the consensus No. 14 overall player by the four main recruiting services.
P. J. Washington Paul Jamaine Washington Jr. (born August 23, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball, Ken ...
, a Dallas native attending school in Las Vegas, Nevada, was the second commitment in the Kentucky class. He committed to Kentucky on November 10 live on
ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Disney Media Networks division of The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and the Hears ...
. He chose Kentucky over North Carolina and UNLV. He was a consensus five star prospect, and was ranked the consensus No. 15 overall player by the four main recruiting services. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, originally from Hamilton, Ontario and attending school in Chattanooga, Tennessee, was the third commitment in the Kentucky class. He committed to Kentucky on November 14 through a message on Twitter. He was a consensus top fifty player, ranked No. 42 by the four main recruiting services Rivals, ESPN,
Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...
, and 24/7 Sports.
Quade Green Quade Green (born May 12, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Centauros de Portuguesa of the Superliga Profesional de Baloncesto (SPB). He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies and the Kentucky Wildcats. Hi ...
, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was the fourth commitment in the Kentucky class. He signed his National Letter of Intent on November 16, the last day of the early signing period, but did not reveal his choice between Kentucky and
Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...
until an event at his high school on November 19 - with his mother Tamika Johnson by his side. He was a consensus top-25 player and ranked as a five-star player by the four main recruiting services Rivals, ESPN,
Scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...
, and 24/7 Sports. Hamidou Diallo, a Queens native who graduated from a Connecticut school in spring 2016, announced on January 7, 2017 that he would enroll at UK for the start of the school's spring semester the following week. While he was eligible to play immediately, he redshirted the spring semester and is set to begin play as a freshman in 2017–18. Jemarl Baker, a native of Eastvale, California, was the seventh commitment in the Kentucky recruiting class. He announced his decision on April 11 via a story posted on Scout.com by Evan Daniels. Baker originally committed to
Cuonzo Martin Cuonzo LaMar Martin (born September 23, 1971) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the former head coach of the Missouri Tigers men's basketball team. High school Playing alongside LaPhonso Ellis as a sophomore and junior, Ma ...
at California, before Martin left the school to coach Missouri. He averaged 17.1 points, 4.1 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals for Roosevelt High School in Corona, Calif., and he quickly emerged as one of the Wildcats' top backcourt targets after their season ended last month. Scout.com ranks Baker as the No. 86 overall prospect in the 2017 class. UK's final commitment came on May 6, when
Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...
product Kevin Knox announced he would come to the school. Kentucky beat out Duke, Florida State, North Carolina, and Missouri for Knox's signature.


Roster

*Roster is subject to change as/if players transfer or leave the program for other reasons.


Depth chart


Schedule and results

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Honors


Weekly Awards

On November 14 Fox was named SEC Freshman of the Week following a 21-point career-high against Canisius and a 12-assist career-high against Stephen F. Austin.


National Awards

On March 28, 2017 Malik Monk was voted consensus Second Team All-American by each of the NCAA's four recognized organizations (AP, National Association of Basketball Coaches, United States Basketball Writers Association, Sporting News) it uses to determine consensus status. On April 7, 2017, Malik Monk won the Jerry West Award, which is awarded to the nation's top shooting guard of the year. Monk beat out Duke's Luke Kennard, UCLA's
Bryce Alford Bryce Michael Alford (born January 18, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for Zastal Zielona Góra of the Polish Basketball League. He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. He set school records for the most three-point ...
, and Creighton's Marcus Foster for the award.


Rankings


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2016-17 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team Kentucky Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball seasons Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky