Wynyard’s ‘learning all the time’
Tai Wynyard pauses and considers the question carefully . . . what is the most valuable lesson he learned during two years at the University of Kentucky?
There have been so many home truths, cruelly dispatched by an American college basketball system that often seems a mere stopover on the way to the professional ranks and less to do with actual education.
Since the NBA outlawed the practice of drafting directly from high school, “one-and-done” has become a catch-phrase for players spending a bare minimum of time at college.
And the Kentucky Wildcats have become perhaps the best (or worst) example of that mentality, with charismatic coach John Calipari making no bones about the fact that his job is to prepare players to chase big dollars, sooner rather than later.
Which makes the Lexington campus a prime destination for teenage hoops talent and Wynyard, 19, has certainly been part of that influx.
“One of the biggest things I’ve learned,” he finally responds, “is it’s just right there, it’s so close.”
He’s talking about the NBA dream, which he began chasing as a 16-yearold, when he accepted the scholarship offer to Kentucky.
Wynyard is back in New Zealand during the college break, reacquainting himself with family and friends, and preparing for the Junior Tall Blacks’ history-making world championship campaign next month.
When he left here two years ago, expectations were high that he would be the next Kiwi to reach the NBA. Perhaps we were spoilt by the rapid rise of Steven Adams, a first-round draft pick by Oklahoma City Thunder, after just one year at the University of Pittsburgh.
Wynyard, son of world champion woodchopper Jason Wynyard, was next cab off the rank and had already established an international reputation, helping New Zealand to victory at the 3x3 Under-18 World Championships in 2015.
But he has found the pathway much harder to navigate than Adams.
Adams had a more athletic build, but needed to develop his strength and technique, especially on offence. By contrast, when Wynyard arrived in Kentucky, he was built like a totara — strong, but relatively immobile.
Calipari chose to red-shirt Wynyard through his first year at Kentucky, allowing him to practice, but not play, while retaining his full four-year quota of eligibility.
During the 2016-17 season, he appeared in just 15 of the Wildcats’ 38 games, averaging less than four minutes, a point and a rebound per game.
It’s so close, he can taste it, but Wynyard isn’t biting on suggestions he’d be better off in a programme that better showcases his potential.
“I wasn’t frustrated . . . I was taking every minute out there as an opportunity to prove myself. I didn’t let the lack of minutes affect me off the court or on the court,” he said.
“I could have gone to a smaller school and played against players that weren’t as good, but I wanted to go up against the best of the best and learn all the time.”