Summer basketball preview: General Fox's time
De'Aaron Fox is the next five-star point guard to play under John Calipari at Kentucky, and if the Cats want to accomplish their goal of winning a national championship Fox will have to live up to the hype.
As many elite point guards before him, Fox will have lofty expectations from fans and the media.
Senior Success: It was around this time last summer when UK finally offered Fox. The Cats seemingly liked other guard options in a loaded 2016 guard class, but Fox's summer in 2015 was too hard to ignore. Kentucky eventually offered the 6-foot-3, 170-pound Katy, Texas native.
And it didn't take long for UK to shoot up Fox's list. Other schools had been recruiting him longer and other schools made promises of playing time. UK was late to the party but gave Fox the classic John Calipari pitch.
He would have to work for everything. Nothing would be given. Kentucky wasn't for everybody.
After a few in-home visits with Fox and Fox officially visiting Kentucky, he decided that UK was the place for him in mid-November during the early signing period.
And despite being a Kentucky commit Fox shined his senior season at Cypress Lakes High School. Fox averaged just under 24 points per game during his senior season and had two 40-point playoff games before his team fell in the regional finals.
Fox was a prolific scorer as a high school senior. He scored over 40 points in eight games during the season, including a 50-point perfomance.
He was eventually named to the McDonald's All-American game and the Jordan Brand Classic. Rivals ranked Fox No.6 in the 2016 rankings, making him the second point guard in the class.
Fox was able to dominate at the high school level and score at such a high clip because of his quickness and feel with the ball in his hands. Far too often people compare players to John Wall, and Fox has a different game than Wall, but Kentucky hasn't witnessed a player with Wall like speed since the 2010 season.
That will change next season with Fox.
He's the type of player that can start a fast break in the blink of an eye, but has such great court awareness that he will make the necessary moves to get to the rim.
He's a great finisher at the rim, but also draws a lot of fouls. Free-throw shooting won't be an issue for Fox, but he could stand to improve from deep. Don't be surprised if his freshman year is similar to Wall's regarding three-point shooting. If he's open, no one will complain about him shooting, but if he could get to 35 percent that would be end UK's outside shooting concerns.
An underrated part of Fox's game in high school was his defense. Fox is a tenacious on the ball defender and was known to pick players up the length of the court. Calipari isn't one to press, so we may not see constant pressure from Fox, but he's capable. Fox led his high school and AAU team in steals and will likely do the same at Kentucky.
UK was lucky to have the SEC Defensive Player of the Year last year with Tyler Ulis, but there won't be a major drop off, if any, with Fox for 2016-2017.
Fox's freshman impact: With Fox being the next star point guard at Kentucky, he will have a luxury other guards before him haven't always had- an experienced guard returning.
Had sophomore Isaiah Briscoe decided to go to the NBA, there would be an intense amount of pressure on Fox. Most freshman need until February or March to catch up to speed, but if Fox didn't have Briscoe he would need to turn it on immediately.
But with Briscoe returning, Fox can take his time and grow at his own pace. Fans should still expect Fox to start, with Briscoe and fellow freshman Malik Monk, but if Fox is having an off night or he's being careless with the ball, Briscoe is more than capable to run the show.
Knowing that should take pressure off of Fox. The Cats' schedule is front loaded with talented teams, so the sooner Fox figures it out the better Kentucky will be, but it's not a necessity it's been in past seasons.
However, if Kentucky wants to eventually cut down the nets in April, Fox will at some point have to live up to the hype surrounding him during his recruitment and senior season. He was in the conversation for best guard in the class of 2016, and he'll likely need to be one of the better guards in the country next season.
Fox will have to be the leader John Calipari has made him out to be. There's going to be a major shock for UK fans next year watching basketball without Tyler Ulis leading the offense.
There will be turnovers. Do you all remember what those look like?
Fox will turn the ball over. Monk and Briscoe, too. But Fox does have the potential to be in the same assist-to-turnover boat as Ulis was last season, although it may take time for Fox to get there. Fox was a phenomenal passer in high school and he will need to be the creator for the 2016-2017 Kentucky team.
His speed and quickness should make him tough to defend, but if Fox's outside shoot can improve that could prevent teams from playing a zone against the much quicker guard oriented Cats.
But Fox improving as a three-point shooter is a big if, as he's always been a streaky shooter. If is outside shot isn't falling he has to be able to get in the lane, finish at the rim or find the open man.
A player like Derek Willis is really going to love playing with Fox. Fox and quicker and uses his body better than Ulis, so once he gets in the paint other defenders are going to have to cheat and help. Fox has the passing ability to spot an open-man, and we all saw in 2015-2016 how much Willis loves to catch and shoot.
As mentioned above, Fox may be a candidate for SEC Defensive Player of the Year. But that being said, he may not be the best guard defender on his team. Fox, Briscoe and Monk all value defense and should make for UK's best perimeter defensive team under Calipari. They will turn over other guards and not allow many open shots.
Fox needs to be ready for the media attention, both good and bad. Calipari is still considered a guards' coach, meaning if Fox is playing poorly for a few games then fans and media will let him know. But if he's playing well, he'll be in the John Wall conversation, and that can also have a negative impact if a player isn't grounded.
He appears to be mentally tough, but once the bright lights are turned on at Kentucky you find how players handle the pressure. That may be the deciding factor in how successful Fox's freshman year at Kentucky will be.