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  • BRISCOE BACK!

    He announces it on Twitter. Boo-yah!

    Briscoe Plans to Return to Kentucky for 2016-17 Season
    Freshman guard tested NBA Draft waters but did not hire an agent to protect his eligibility



    LEXINGTON, Ky. – He’s baaaaaack.

    Kentucky men’s basketball freshman guard Isaiah Briscoe plans to return to UK for the 2016-17 season after going through the process of declaring for the NBA Draft. Utilizing new NCAA rules that allow players to “test the waters,” Briscoe entered the NBA Draft without hiring an agent to protect his NCAA eligibility with the option of returning to school.


    Players had until 10 days after the conclusion of the combine to make a final decision based on the new rule between the NCAA and NBA so long as they didn’t hire an agent.

    On Wednesday, Briscoe informed UK of his intention to come back to school. He will join Derek Willis, Dominique Hawkins, Isaac Humphries, Mychal Mulder and Tai Wynyard as 2016-17 scholarship returners.

    “I really grew from this experience and I appreciate the opportunity to be evaluated by these NBA teams,” Briscoe said. “I also want to thank the coaching staff and the fans for their support during this time. The NBA is my ultimate goal, so I’m returning to build on last year. There’s no better place to grow as a player or to win a championship, and I want to do both.”

    Briscoe will return as the leading scorer and rebounder to form a nucleus alongside the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class (according to Rivals and ESPN), which features Edrice “Bam” Adebayo, De’Aaron Fox, Wenyen Gabriel, Sacha Killeya-Jones and Malik Monk. With Briscoe coming back to school, UK will return 24.2 percent of its scoring and 30.0 percent of its rebounding from last season.

    “After finishing up academically, Isaiah Briscoe used the new rules to the fullest by working out for eight different teams to get a true barometer on where he stands at this point in his career,” head coach John Calipari said. “I can tell you all the teams were impressed with him physically, defensively, his rebounding ability, his strength, his ball-handling ability and his basketball IQ. He shot the ball well at the NBA workouts but will look to continue to improve that to take the next step in his career. With that said, he’s pulling his name out of the draft and returning to Kentucky as the leading scorer and rebounder. Without his impact and competitive spirit, last year’s team would not have been nearly as successful. I fully expect him to come back and be a leader on and off the court for this young team. I’m excited to have him back.”

    Briscoe transformed into an elite defender during his freshman season and one of the best-rebounding guards in the country. He averaged 5.3 boards per game in 2015-16 and scored in double figures in 18 games. The Newark, N.J., native posted 9.6 points and 3.1 assists per game.

    Among Briscoe’s highlights included a double-double (11 points and 12 rebounds) in his season debut and a double-double (13 points and 11 rebounds) in the NCAA Tournament win over Stony Brook. Three times this past season he posted at least 10 points, at least five rebounds and at least five assists in a game, and four times he scored 15 or more points, including a career-high 20 at UCLA.

    Briscoe ranked ninth in the SEC in minutes per game at 32.2 and was also among the league leaders with a 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio. He’s among the top 10 performers in the Calipari era in total assists, assist-to-turnover ratio and assists per game after one season.
    Comments 21 Comments
    1. Philly Cat's Avatar
      Philly Cat -
      Slim Bz ‏@ZayBriscoe · 48s48 seconds ago

      Bbn im back !!!!!!!!!!!
    1. Darryl's Avatar
      Darryl -
      HUGE!!

      Darryl
    1. Padukacat's Avatar
      Padukacat -
      Now we're in bizness
    1. StuBleedsBlue2's Avatar
      StuBleedsBlue2 -
      Yeah, this is really big. Really provides us with more combo abilities than does Lee coming back, which would really have it's biggest impact on depth and experience.
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Big.
    1. Philly Cat's Avatar
      Philly Cat -
      Briscoe gave a brief explanation to Scout (Evan Daniels):


      Isaiah Briscoe will return to Kentucky




      Evan Daniels

      11:39 AM


      Isaiah Briscoe will return to Kentucky.


      Isaiah Briscoe will withdraw from the NBA Draft and return to Kentucky, he told Scout.

      “I’m going back to Kentucky,” Briscoe said. “There’s a better chance for my dream to come true. I feel like I’ll be able to showcase my talent and I trust Cal. I 100-percent know that Cal understands what he’s doing.”

      “I had a long talk with [Kenny Payne] and I just think that it’s better for future."

      Briscoe, who was rated as a top 15 recruit out of high school, averaged 9.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists a game during his freshman season at Kentucky.
    1. UKFlounder's Avatar
      UKFlounder -
      Wonderful!
    1. GhettoBird's Avatar
      GhettoBird -
      Great news, I love to hear he trusts Cal 100%!
    1. Doc's Avatar
      Doc -
      Not a shock. Good to see a player take advantage of the rules to see where they stand and make an informed decision. Likely a wise decision. Certainly should be able to help his standing.
    1. UKHistory's Avatar
      UKHistory -
      Glad to see a young man make a wise decision as his stock can go up with improved play next year

      I also love the comment that briscoe made about trusting Cal. Want to hear players say that.
    1. Padukacat's Avatar
      Padukacat -
      Great decision for him and it'll mean about 3-4 more wins and a shot at a title for us!
    1. suncat05's Avatar
      suncat05 -
      Good news for us, and hopefully ultimately it will be for him and his future NBA aspirations.
    1. kingcat's Avatar
      kingcat -
      Likely bigger for our chances than we know. Extremely good news to have our best drive to the basket player back with point guard experience under Cal.
    1. Hoss's Avatar
      Hoss -
      Welcome back!!!
    1. bigsky's Avatar
      bigsky -
      The guy is a hoss! And as many times as we yelled "dont shoot!" last year I think it goes in this year. 2nd year worked for Ulis and I think that is the more likely comparison
    1. Darrell KSR's Avatar
      Darrell KSR -
      Quote Originally Posted by bigsky View Post
      The guy is a hoss! And as many times as we yelled "dont shoot!" last year I think it goes in this year. 2nd year worked for Ulis and I think that is the more likely comparison
      I sure hope so. Also hope those FTs go up to somewhere north of the 50-50 mark .
    1. Padukacat's Avatar
      Padukacat -
      He won a few games for us early last year and will this year when monk and fox struggle early. I'd like to see him run the point more
    1. ukpumacat's Avatar
      ukpumacat -
      Geez we needed that right now. Now they need to find a late signee (Allen?) or find a Juco kid. We need depth in the front court now that Lee is gone.

      This may all work out for the best for UK imo.
    1. Philly Cat's Avatar
      Philly Cat -
      Quote Originally Posted by ukpumacat View Post
      Geez we needed that right now. Now they need to find a late signee (Allen?) or find a Juco kid. We need depth in the front court now that Lee is gone.

      This may all work out for the best for UK imo.
      I don't think the front-court is any worse off than the back-court; not sure why people aren't focusing more on the lack of depth in the back-court (i.e., in the event of an injury to Fox/Monk, we're cooked and we have barely any shooting even with them in the lineup). I think we're basically equal, in spots 1-4, in both places -- in terms of having quality backups for the starters.


      Depth in front-court: Bam, Willis, Gabriel (3/4), SKJ (3/4), Humphries, Wynyard
      Depth in back-court: Fox, Monk, Briscoe, Hawkins, Mulder, Calipari and [Floreal/walk-ons]

      I have a strong preference for shooters, so I would much rather add a JUCO sharpshooter (or grad transfer) to bulk up the back-court depth.
    1. blueboss's Avatar
      blueboss -
      We're definitely in business, now let's get the Diallo kid reclassified and on campus this fall too.


      Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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