Kentucky Wildcat Kyle Wiltjer Selected To Canadian Basketball Team

The Canadian Development Men’s National Team announced this past Tuesday that Junior Kyle Wiltjer has been added to their roster for the China exhibition series beginning June 8. Wiltjer and the other members of the team traveled to China early Wednesday morning to begin play this weekend.

Wiltjer was named the Southeastern Conference’s Sixth Man of the Year following his sophomore season. Kyle averaged 10.2 points and hauled in 4.2 rebounds per game. Wiltjer sunk 55 3-pointers on the year and dished out 50 assists.

He earned SEC Player of the Week accolades following the team’s season-opening victory over Maryland. The sharp-shooter poured in 19 points, logged six rebounds, blocked three shots and had a pair of assists in the 72-69 win.

Wiltjer began training with the Canadian developmental team in Portland, Ore., earlier this week. Senior Men’s National Team head coach Jay Triano will lead the selected players into the China exhibition series.

Following the exhibition series, Wiltjer will have the chance to earn a roster spot on the team that travels to the FISU Summer Universiade, also known as the World University Games, in Kazan, Russia, from July 6 to 17.

Sept 17, 2011; Lexington, Kentucky, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats linebacker Avery Williamson (40) tackles Louisville Cardinals quarterback Teddy Bridgewater (5) at Commonwealth Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Another big announcement this past Tuesday, Phil Steele’s College Football magazine has named Senior linebacker Avery Williamson, junior defensive end Alvin “Bud” Dupree and sophomore punter Landon Foster as Preseason All-Southeastern Conference selections.

Williamson, who had a career year last season for the Wildcats, was selected as a second-team linebacker, while Dupree was named as a fourth-team defensive lineman and Foster a fourth-team punter.

Avery  had a great junior season last year, earning All-SEC honors from Phil Steele’s College Football and CollegeSportsMadness.com. Williamson will be the returning starter at middle linebacker for the upcoming 2013 season. He finished second in the SEC and seventh nationally in tackles (135) last season. Williamson, who has played in 37 career games, started all 12 games for UK last season, posting eight double-digit tackle games, including a career-best 20 against Vanderbilt. He had four straight games where he posted 13 tackles in each game. Williamson also had 4.5 tackles-for-loss, three sacks, four pass breakups, two fumbles caused, a fumble recovery and an interception last season.

Alvin “Bud” Dupree will more than likely play defensive end this season after splitting time at defensive end and linebacker his first two seasons. With last seasons performance, he earned Sophomore All-America Second-Team honors by CollegeFootballNews.com, while Phil Steele’s College Football and CollegeFootballMadness.com named him an All-SEC performer in 2012. Bud finished top 10 in the SEC in tackles (91), quarterback sacks (6.5) and tackles-for-loss (12.5) last season. The junior set a career-high in tackles last season vs. WKU with 12, while he had double-digit tackles at Tennessee with a career-best three tackles-for-loss.

Foster came in as a true freshman last season and had an immediate impact for the Wildcats handling all of the punting responsibilities and posting a 42.9 yards-per-punt average (the best mark ever by a UK freshman punter). The strong season led Foster to Freshman All-America honors by Scout.com and CollegeFootballNews.com, while SEC coaches voted Foster as a  Freshman All-SEC performer. He averaged a season-high 50.7 yards in UK’s win over Kent State, while his longest punt was a 58-yard blast against Arkansas. In all, Foster trapped UK’s opponents inside their own 20-yardline 13 times last season.