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By: LARRY VAUGHT
After going through a few “hectic weeks,” life has somewhat returned to normal for Mychal Mulder.
“I went straight from recruiting to commiting to Kentucky to hitting the books and getting finals done,” said Mulder, a recent Vincennes University graduate who signed with Kentucky. “Now that finals are over and out of the way, I have had time to process everything and come back down to earth. But it is still really exciting.
“I just want to get to Lexington and get to work. I am excited to start working with the guys (teammates). They are some of the top players in the nation. I am excited to be part of that.”
Mulder was a 46 percent 3-point shooter at Vincennes last season when he averaged a team-high XX.X points per game but he also was second on the team in rebounding (X.X). Vicnennes coach Todd Franklin insists his defensive presence is also underestimated.
Kentucky needed a shooter to offset the loss of Devin Booker and Aaron Harrison to the NBA and Mulder said the UK program sold itself to him even though coach John Calipari and his staff did not start recruiting him until late in the process.
“It is such an amazing program and has a great winning history. Last year was unbelievable, the kind of year that not many ever get to experience,” Mulder said of UK’s 38-0 start. “I was part of a really good program at Vincennes and I am used to winning. I just figured Kentucky was the best opportunity for me because winning is important to me. And they do it the right way at Kentucky under a great coach.”
Mulder now appreciates Franklin’s policy that his junior college players wait until the season ends before making college choices. If he had decided earlier, Kentucky would not have been an option for him.
“A lot of people, including me, I am sure have questioned his rule and it really didn’t make sense to me until the end and now I see the impact it had. It was the greatest decision I could have made to wait on recruiting,” Mulder said. “Coach Franklin is amazing. It’s like he can see the future. He almost predicted this at the start of the season. Coach Franklin is a great leader for me and there was no one else I would have rather played for. He was real influential on me and I owe him a lot.”
Mulder said his high school coach in Canada “developed” shooters and started him on his way to becoming a great shooter.
“I sharpened up at Vincennes. I came in with a good jump shot and left with a better one,” Mulder said. “I put in a lot of hard work and countless hours with thousands of shots. But it all came together. I am capable of knocking down shots at all levels now.”
However, he considers himself more than a shooter.
“People always talking about my shooting, but I try to bring more to the game,” Mulder said. “I try to get up and down the floor and rebound the ball. I can make stops on defense and be an impact player on that end as well. It’s all about the intangibles that not all shooters have. I try to find ways to make myself more valuable so I can impact the game more ways than just shooting.
“I describe myself as a basketball player. I do not want to label myself as one thing. In high school I just wanted to be the best player I could be. I just go and do my best. I tried to max my ability in high school and carry that to Vincennes. I just want to be great in all aspects of the game. I am going to be playing with great guys over the next year or two and coach Cal will give me a chance to sharpen skills in all aspects of the game. But I do not want to be defined as a guy who just shoots. I want to rebound, play hard on defense, set screens. I want to help in every aspect.”
Mulder said he’s always been a “team guy” and started playing travel basketball when he was 7 years old. He had his choice of high schools and chose to go to a school about 30 minutes away because that’s where his travel team teammates were.
“I went there to maximize my ability as a player. I felt like we had an opportunity to do something special if we stayed together,” Mulder said. “Before I got to Vincennes I wonder if I would ever be on a team as close as my high school team again. I was worried Vincennes was just a two-year thing and everybody would be there to get their own. But it was so team-oriented and all we cared about every single day for two years was winning. There was not one individual thought.
“I think I am the kind of guy who can uplift others and others uplift me. Kentucky guys all want to win and that’s what I want to do with all those great players. I had very few Division I offers out of high school, so I am really excited about what lies ahead.”
He plans to be at Kentucky June 11 to start working out with his teammates. He’s also graduated at Vincennes and no summer work to do to be eligible.
He met future teammates Marcus Lee and Tyler Ulis when he made his official visit to Kentucky in April.
“We worked out and I could tell they will help push me to the absolute limit and I can do the same for them,” Mulder said.
He liked the way Calipari and his staff did not “force my hand” on his visit and let him take his time to decide about joining the program.
“Kentucky basketball speaks for itself. They were more about me making sure I was comfortable and that Kentucky was what I was looking for,” Mulder said. “Playing at this level really excites me. I know a lot of guys might be scared off and the pressure can bother some guys. But it does not bother me.”
Here’s more of what Mulder had to say on other subjects:
— Playing in the NBA: “I think anybody who plays sports at this level has apsirations to play progressionally. I have always had that dream but I have always taken it one step at a time. I wanted to win in high school and that was my goal. At Vincennes I wanted to mamimize my potential. It gives me chills to watch the (NCAA) tournament and see the intensity. My dream has been to play on that stage and now I have the opportunity to get as many wins in Lexington as possible and then carry that to my next dream of playing professionally.”
— Advice to future players at Vincennes: “My advice would be to stay focused. Going the junior college route, people expect a lot of garbage out of you. They think you are lazy, not academically inclined. I would tell them coach Franklin always has your best interest in mind. He’s a hard coach to play for at times because he is so enthusiastic and intense but at the end of the day you will love him and he will love you. He will also get you as many wins as possible.”
— Future teammate Charles Matthews tweeting that UK would win the national title next year: "That is perfect. That is no pressure. As long as we push and work toward that goal I don't see why we cannot achieve it. Pressure is not an issue for us."
— Watching Kentucky play on its exhibition trip to Windsor, Canada, in the summer of 2010: “Anyone who loves basketball went to the games. They were a really good squad then and put a little smack on my team. Me and my dad and my high school coach where there. Nobody wanted to miss those games.”
— Why basketball over hockey: “I just had a love for it. I played baseball, soccer. I never did get into hockey. I knew early that basketball was my first love but I never expected an opportunity like I have now at Kentucky.”
— How anxious is he to be at Kentucky: “I think about it all the time. From the second I wake up until I go to sleep, I think about it. Growing up you watch Kentucky games and those are the games you dream of playing in. I am not intimidated that I did not take the same route to Kentucky as most guys there did. I still feel like my journey is a good story and will get better.”
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