Kentucky Wildcats Basketball Preview: #10 Archie Goodwin
Photo Credit: UKAthletics.com
#10 Archie Goodwin
6’4.5″ 198 lbs.
Freshman, Shooting Guard
Sylvan Hills High School
Little Rock, Arkansas
2011-2012 (Senior year of high school): 25 points, 6.1 rebounds, 2.3 steals, 2.2 assists per game
Archie Goodwin, from Little Rock, Arkansas, was the 2012 Mr. Basketball and Gatorade State Player of the Year for Arkansas, to go along with being a McDonald’s, Parade, ESPN and Jordan Brand All American. He was ranked the 14th, 15th and 15th overall by Scout, ESPN and Rivals respectively. He was also ranked the 3rd, 4th and 5th best shooting guard in his class by those same recruiting websites. Goodwin was a member of the 2012 Arkansas All-State Team, the 2012 Arkansas State Tournament Team, he was the 2012 Arkansas State Tournament MVP, the 2012 Arkansas State Championship Game MVP, and a 2012 Arkansas State Tournament Champion. During his junior season of high school, Goodwin also was awarded many of those awards, making his senior year a back to back winner of the award.
What should Kentucky Wildcats fans expect this season from Archie Goodwin? If this were any other program with any other coach, I would say that Goodwin is just a freshman so he cannot be expected to do as much as an upperclassman would; however, in this case, with John Calipari at the helm and this being the University of Kentucky, the statement is much different. The past three years have been filled with John Calipari bringing top ranked recruits and turning them into immediate NCAA superstars and NBA Draft picks. His first year included the likes of John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins, among others, his second year included Brandon Knight, Doron Lamb, and Terrence Jones, and who could forget last year which included Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marquis Teague. Enter this year’s freshman class, which includes Nerlens Noel, Alex Poythress, Willie Cauley-Stein, and Archie Goodwin.
Goodwin is expected to fill in the hole at shooting guard that Doron Lamb and Darius Miller left when they went to the NBA Draft. Of course, it is not logical to assume that Goodwin is going to be able to account for the leaving of two NBA Draft picks right off the bat, but the ability and potential is most certainly there. According to ESPN, Goodwin has brought back comparisons of the last great player from the state in Joe Johnson because of the smooth way he plays the game. Goodwin is a multi-skilled guard who can put the ball on the floor to attack the rim or spot up for knock-down jump shots out to the 3-point arc. He has tremendous length on his side which he utilizes to rebound and defend. It looks as if all facets of the game come easy to him. Goodwin has a nice handle that gets him where he needs to go, and has improved his perimeter stroke from behind the arc.
Goodwin will also be expected to play some backup point guard when Ryan Harrow is forced to the bench. Goodwin played some minutes at point guard on his high school team and even played some for his AAU team and in the McDonald’s All American game. However, like any freshman that is immediately thrown into the pressure of the college basketball spotlight, expect there to be some hiccups along the way. Overall, I feel as if Archie’s athletic ability is something that will fit right in with Coach Cal’s style of play and will help him become a success this season at the University of Kentucky.