The Most Impactful Kentucky Wildcat Basketball Players (1981-1982-Present): #25 Ron Mercer
By Danielle
#25 Ron Mercer
1995-1997
Oak Hill Academy (VA)
Ron Mercer entered the University of Kentucky as a freshman in 1995-96 as the top high school player in the nation, according to Bob Gibbons, over the likes of Kevin Garnett, Vince Carter, Antwan Jamison, and Stephon Marbury. Heading into UK, Mercer was a 2-time Mr. Basketball for the state of Tennessee when he attended the Goodpasture Christian School in Madison, Tennessee. During his senior year at Oak Hill, Mercer was both a McDonald’s and Parade All-American.
At Kentucky, Mercer played for Rick Pitino on two teams that went to the National Championship game, winning in 1996 and losing in 1997. It’s a good bet that they would have won it all in 1997 has Derek Anderson been completely healthy and not limited to a technical foul free throw in the Final Four.
As a freshman, he was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team and the All-NCAA Final Four Team.
As a sophomore in 1996-97, Mercer was named as the SEC Player of the Year, the SEC Tournament MVP. That is in addition to being named as an All-American [Consensus (1st), AP (1st), Sporting News (2nd), NABC (1st), USBWA (1st), Basketball Times (2nd), and Wooden (1st)]. During the 1997 NCAA Tournament, Mercer was named the Most Outstanding Player of the region that the Cats played in.
After the 1997 NCAA Tournament, Mercer decided to declare for the NBA Draft, where he would be picked 6th overall in the first round by the Boston Celtics.
UK Stats:
1995-96: 8.0 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 288 points
1996-97: 18.1 PPG, 5.3 RPG, 725 points
Mercer finished his Kentucky career as a member of the 1,000 point club after shooting a 48.3 career field goal percentage.
In the NBA, Mercer played for 7 franchises during his career, spanning 1997-2005. Following the 1997-98 season, Mercer was named to the All-Rookie 1st team.
Mercer will have a basketball camp this July.
IMPORTANT DATES —
IMPACT AT UK
UK STATS
AFTER UK