`I like being the general'
The ‘baby’ of this Kentucky basketball team has a leader’s mentality
Successful point guards on John Calipari-coached teams all have a few things in common.
They're talented, sure. Every starting point guard at Kentucky over the past decade has been ranked as one of the very best playmakers — often the best — in his high school class.
Some are fast. Some are strong. Most have been big for their position. A few have been good outside shooters, and many have been able to defend. The very best have been natural leaders. And part of being a leader on the basketball court is realizing what you do best, what your teammates do best, and how it all fits together for the good of the whole.
If Calipari had been listening to what his newest freshman point guard had to say about his approach to the game, the Hall of Fame coach surely would've been grinning ear to ear.
“Coach makes us all understand that we all are great players. We all are. We all are special,” Devin Askew told the Herald-leader last week. “But to make this whole thing work, we have to sacrifice. All of us. We do this by doing whatever it takes to win. So, for instance, if I'm not shooting well — if I'm not having the greatest offensive night, myself — what else can I do? I could get steals. I could get stops. I could be the most vocal — more of the general — and guide my team in that way.”
Askew paused before offering the alternative.
“Or I could keep shooting bad shots and trying to make that work,” he continued. “Nah. That's not what I'm going to do.”
What Askew says he's going to do — what he came to Kentucky to do — is lead these Wildcats in whatever way leads to team success. If that means his offensive production takes a hit, that's OK. If that means he doesn't get the most attention, so be it.
The 6-foot-3 playmaker from California has NBA dreams just like everyone else who will share the Rupp Arena floor
with him this season. His immediate goal is to get everyone on the same page once they hit that floor. It's what Askew has done at every stop along the way in his young basketball career, and it's the reason Kentucky's coaches wanted him on this team.
“My role, personally, being the point guard, is getting the team started,” he said. “And then from there just being a leader on the court.”
**** Originally in the 2021 class, Askew just turned 18 years old in late July. He's more than
six months younger than the next-youngest player on this Kentucky team, and he's more than a year younger than a few of his fellow UK freshmen.
Being the young guy on the court is nothing new. That's seemingly always been the case for Askew, whether it was the battles growing up with his older brother, B.J., or playing up in summer leagues or standing out next to older players in high school. It's the norm for Askew, and it's helped shape a selfless style that has led him to this point.
“It's just from me growing up playing with really, really
good teams. And being the little baby on the team,” he said. “I just never could be selfish, and I learned to play like that and got used to it. And it was fun for me. I would feel bad if I was shooting all the shots and no one else can touch the ball. I don't like doing that. I want to make my team great. I want to see my teammates succeed, as well.”
Askew laughed when it was pointed out that he would be surrounded by older guys once again in his freshman season at Kentucky.
“I'm the baby on this team, as well, so the tradition continues.”
Being the baby doesn't seem to bother Askew, who picked up the nickname “Baby Dev” when playing up in AAU ball a few years ago. (He still uses “@ babydev5” as his Twitter handle).
And being the baby doesn't mean you can't also be a leader.
His teammates are older, yes, but Askew's game speaks for itself, and the way he goes about his business on the basketball court draws others in. Watching Askew play in settings like the Nike
EYBL circuit or starstudded USA Basketball camps, it's readily apparent that he's always looking for ways to get others involved. He can shoot from outside. He can drive to the basket. He can score, if that's what's needed. But he really excels at getting others in the right spots.
Askew isn't the fastest or quickest point guard that Calipari has had at Kentucky, but he has a way of moving, of making the right pass and the right play that should fit in well with the talent that UK has accumulated for the upcoming season. And he's not afraid to tell the older guys what to do.
“The majority of the time, the communication is from the point guards,”
Askew said of UK'S early practices. “I like being the point guard,” he continued with a chuckle. “I like being the general and getting us ready. So I have no problem with being vocal.”
****
In the lead-up to his commitment to Kentucky last fall, Askew was still a member of the 2021 class, but the buzz in recruiting circles was that he would ultimately jump up to 2020.
At that time, the point guard situation at UK looked like it could be crowded.
The Wildcats were still in the mix for Cade Cunningham, the consensus No. 1 recruit in the 2020 class. Some national analysts were even predicting that Cunningham — a 6-foot-6 point guard and possible No. 1 pick in next year's NBA Draft — would choose the Cats.
That didn't deter Askew. “Cade Cunningham definitely did not scare me at all,” he said matter-offactly last week.
The roster for that upcoming season included three former five-star point guard recruits: Ashton Hagans, Tyrese Maxey and Immanuel Quickley. Most observers figured Hagans and Maxey would go on to the NBA, but Quickley — at that point — was not projected as a draft pick. It was certainly possible he could've been back for another season at UK, perhaps penciled in as the starting point guard.
“Immanuel Quickley is my guy,” Askew said. “He's a great player, and I would have loved to play with Immanuel Quickley.
“I wanted to be at Kentucky, so I knew my best decision was to go there. I didn't make my decision based on what other people do. It was all based off what I wanted to do. What was best for me.”
Quickley emerged as one of the country's best guards, of course, and moved on to the pros. Cunningham decided to pick Oklahoma State over Kentucky.
That left Askew as the expected point guard on this season's UK team. Not so fast.
“We don't know who's going to be the starter,” Askew said, pointing out that Creighton graduate transfer Davion Mintz is also on this team before explaining what a formidable player — and integral part — the veteran guard will be for the Wildcats.
The two have had their battles in fall workouts. And they're loving it.
“Me and Davion always go at each other, and it's the best thing ever,” Askew said. “Because we're both so competitive. Davion is like a big brother to me. We get the best of each other.
“That's my guy. I learn a lot from him. He's an amazing shooter. He's an amazing point guard — he can pass the ball really well. He's just really good.” The feeling is mutual. “It's good to be around a guy like that,” said Mintz, who turned 22 about a month before Askew turned 18. “I've been playing for years, and coming into practice against a guy who's not really wanting to go hard, who's not going to compete every day, who doesn't have interest in making you better every day — that's just not fun.
“So having Devin there — having a guy who's very ambitious, who works hard, who's in the gym like myself — it's just like looking in the mirror every day and (seeing) somebody who really wants to go hard. It's super fun playing against him, because I know he's going to compete every day.”
**** Askew comes to Kentucky as the No. 32 overall prospect in the 2020 class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. That's a bit lower than most of Calipari's point guard prospects of the past, and it's quite a bit lower than two other guards who will share the backcourt with Askew this season.
Brandon Boston Jr. and Terrence Clarke — both listed at 6-7 — were No. 5 and 8 in the final 2020 rankings, respectively, and they're two of Calipari's highest-rated freshmen in years.
Rather than feel any jealousy toward the attention that duo is already getting, Askew points to the presence of Boston and Clarke as two of the reasons he's most excited about this season.
He can't wait to play alongside them in UK'S backcourt — it's expected that Calipari will once again start three guards this season — and the freshman trio are already well-acquainted. In addition to all of them playing on the Nike circuit — where Askew led his team to the Peach Jam finals last year — the three met up in California this past spring for some pre-summer workouts together.
“Terrence is an amazing playmaker. He's a scorer, and he can create for other people on the team. And BJ can do the same thing,” Askew said. “They're like two point guards who are 6-7 and can do everything. And then you add me, and that takes pressure off of them. So I can just get them the ball, and it makes it a little easier for them. It's kind of amazing, honestly. It's cool.”
Askew promised “a lot of excitement, a lot of energy” from Kentucky's guards this season. “And the fans will be happy, for sure.”
This hasn't been a normal summer, obviously. Due to COVID-19 protocols, this Kentucky team hasn't had nearly as many opportunities to bond — on or off the court — as other UK squads in the past. Their face time has been limited. Their social time has been less frequent. Their ability to get on the court together, all at the same time, has been cut.
But Askew already senses something special about this bunch. The growing pains will surely come as the season begins, and the youngest member of this UK team is ready to take the reins and lead these Wildcats through the rough patches, in whatever way he can.
“We have great teammates who really like each other and enjoy playing with each other and enjoy getting better with each other, which is one of the biggest things, in my opinion. If you have a team that likes to grow together and make mistakes and grow on top of that — that's when you know you have a special team, man. And I think that's what we have.”