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Kentucky Basketball: De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk Left off Naismith Award Semi-Finalist List

By Frank Spencer

Dec 7, 2016; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari talks with guard De'Aaron Fox (0) and guard Malik Monk (5) during the game against the Valparaiso Crusaders in the second half at Rupp Arena. Kentucky defeated Valparaiso 87-63. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2016; Lexington, KY, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari talks with guard De'Aaron Fox (0) and guard Malik Monk (5) during the game against the Valparaiso Crusaders in the second half at Rupp Arena. Kentucky defeated Valparaiso 87-63. Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Atlanta Tip-Off club has announced their 10 semi-finalists for the Naismith Award. Kentucky Basketball players did not make the list.

Malik Monk has been the human highlight reel of the year for the Kentucky Basketball team. De’Aaron fox is a skilled point guard that can get to the rim at will. Fox and Monk were included in the cut-down list of the top 30 candidates for the award in early February.

Unfortunately, both of these players have been left off of the semi-finalist list for the Naismith Award. The Atlanta Tip-Off Club released the list of 10 players on the morning of March 1, 2017. The list includes the following:

  • Lonzo Ball, UCLA
  • Ethan Happ, Wisconsin
  • Josh Hart, Villanova
  • Justin Jackson, North Carolina
  • Josh Jackson, Kansas
  • Luke Kennard, Duke
  • Frank Mason III, Kansas
  • Jonathan Motley, Baylor
  • Caleb Swanigan, Purdue
  • Nigel Williams-Gross, Gonzaga

The Curious Case of De’Aaron Fox

As you can see, there is an absence of Kentucky players on this list. A few can gather that De’Aaron Fox has been left off in light of his injury history. The Kentucky guard is averaging 15.4 PPG, 4.2 RPG, and 5.2 Assists for the season. The proud owner of the second triple-double in Kentucky Basketball history has had 4 games with double-digit assists.

The turnovers have been quite an issue lately. Fox has turned the ball over 67 times while dishing out 145 assists. To most, the eye test has not scored in Fox’s favor which could be good reasoning behind the Atlanta Tip-Off club omitting his name from the list.

Malik Monk Deserves a Spot

Malik Monk is a streaky shooter. No one can deny that fact. When he is on, boy is he on. But when the freshman guard is not having the best day, the Wildcats struggle to find offense. Monk is averaging 21.7 PPG. This is the highest average for any Kentucky player under John Calipari.

Next: Kentucky's All-Calipari Starting Five

Monk’s other statistical performances may have been the deciding factor in leaving the star sharpshooter off of this list. Monk is averaging just 2.5 rebounds per game as well as only 2.4 assists. Had Monk contributed to more than just the scoring problem, his name would be at the top of this list. The final four names will be released by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club on March 19, 2017.

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