Kentucky Basketball: Calipari Era top four shooting guards

CLEVELAND, OH - MARCH 28: Aaron Harrison #2 of the Kentucky Wildcats reacts after a play in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the Midwest Regional Final of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball tournament at Quicken Loans Arena on March 28, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH - MARCH 28: Aaron Harrison #2 of the Kentucky Wildcats reacts after a play in the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the Midwest Regional Final of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball tournament at Quicken Loans Arena on March 28, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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3. Jamal Murray

Murray will one day become a forgotten star from John Calipari’s tenure. It’s already happening with players like Brandon Knight and Doron Lamb, and those two fared far superiorly in the postseason. Murray, though, is a favorite of mine. We talked about shooting with Lamb but adjust that conversation to overall scoring and Murray is your guy. Did you know that he is the only Wildcat of the past 10 seasons to average 20 points-per-game? And he had Tyler Ulis next to him. What a backcourt! If only Skal wasn’t the softest top-two recruit in the history of Kentucky Basketball. Darn.

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Jamal Murray was the first in a mini-string of dazzling score-happy shooting guards at Kentucky. Following Murray’s tear in 2016, Malik Monk arrived in 2017 to set nets on fire; and just this past season we had Tyler Herro who dubbed himself “a bucket.” The sad thing about history is that it is often mis-strewn. Some kid from Muhlenburg county is going to grow up 20 years from now believing that Tyler Herro was a better player than Jamal Murray. He’ll be remarkably incorrect. Murray was a dependable scoring presence on a daily basis. Threes, drives to the basket, pick-and-rolls, catch-and-shoot jumpers, Murray possessed a comprehensive offensive portfolio. One-on-one, he was a nuisance to defend. Long live the Blue Arrow.

Reasons to Pick Jamal Murray: Scoring versatility, reliability, charisma, energy, elite three-point shooting