catmandoo
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Member # 1284
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posted 04-11-2020 08:55 PM
"There is “no better way” to prepare for the NBA than at Kentucky." He nailed it!
The NBA Draft has been quite kind to the Miami Heat organization in recent years, and the Kentucky basketball program has a lot to do with it.
In 2017, the Heat selected former Kentucky forward Bam Adebayo with the 14th overall pick.
At the time, Heat president Pat Riley – a former Wildcat himself – had astronomical optimism for the 6-foot-9 forward, telling reporters at Adebayo’s introductory press conference that he saw a legendary career in his future.
“One day,” Riley said holding up Adebayo’s new No. 13 uniform, “this jersey is going to be hanging up in the rafters.”
Just two years later, the franchise again used a lottery pick on a former Kentucky star, selecting Tyler Herro with the No. 13 overall pick last summer.
And again, the Heat president couldn’t help but shower the former Wildcat with praise.
“We need him,” Riley said at the time. “This is a perfect pick for us. … What I like about him is that his work ethic is second to none. I think he’s going to fit right in with all of these guys.”
In a recent appearance on Sirius XM NBA Radio, Miami head coach Erik Spoelstra raved about Kentucky head coach John Calipari and how he runs the program.
“We love what Cal does,” Spoelstra said in the interview, as discovered by Chris Fisher of 247Sports this week and brought to light again by UK Athletics this afternoon. “I’ve been up there a few times, just to see how he does his program. We like talking shop and everything. But he’s going to coach you hard. They’re going to spend a lot of time with player development. They’re not going to treat you with kid gloves because of whatever you were ranked in high school.”
Link
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http://www.ukfightsong.com/
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