LEXINGTON, Ky. _ To say that things didn't work out between Kentucky and Kahlil Whitney would be an understatement.
Whitney came to Lexington as a five-star recruit and McDonald's All-American with seemingly as much long-term potential as just about any prospect in the 2019 class. In announcing that Whitney had signed with the Wildcats last spring, UK coach John Calipari called him a "difference-maker" defensively and a versatile offensive player who could be an "elite finisher" at the rim.
"I believe he's only scratched the surface of how good he can be, and I can't wait to get to work with him," Calipari said then.
Whitney started the first seven games of Kentucky's season, but his playing time fell off after that. In his last eight games as a Wildcat, he scored no more than two points, grabbed no more than one rebound, and played no more than 11 minutes. That stretch included playing just two minutes in UK's overtime victory over Louisville and a total of four minutes in two victories over Arkansas and Georgia.
After those two games, on Jan. 24, UK announced that Whitney had left the program.
He averaged 3.3 points and 1.7 rebounds per game, never finding his place on this Kentucky team.
Those numbers don't exactly scream, "NBA draft pick!" Nor does leaving a college team in the middle of a freshman season. Yet Whitney, who not long ago was considered a potential lottery pick in the 2020 draft, still interests the NBA's decision-makers.
And he could still hear his name called in June.
"In my opinion _ do I think he can play in the NBA? I mean, he's the same player that he was last year. A 6-7 kid that can play _ that's how I look at him," his former AAU coach, Mike Irvin, told the Herald-Leader this week. "It's unfortunate what happened over at Kentucky, but whatever happened at Kentucky doesn't measure if the kid is good or not. He just had an unfortunate situation."
