If Tyler Ulis does indeed have a significant hip issue, as is being reported, it comes as a surprise to John Calipari.
A report from Basketball Insiders last week stated that Ulis, Calipari’s 5-foot-10 point guard who declared for the NBA Draft after his sophomore season, has a “pretty significant hip issue, which some believe may require surgery down the line.”
Addressing the media via conference call on Tuesday morning, two days before the Draft, Calipari seemed as surprised as some other people.
“There may be something structurally that they’re seeing that I don’t know about, but I just can’t believe it,” Calipari said of Ulis, who worked out Tuesday morning for the Philadelphia 76ers in a session that included Mount Vernon native Isaiah Cousins and former Louisville forward Chinanu Onuaku. “The kid played every game, played 38 minutes a game, was the (SEC) Defensive Player (of the Year), the energy of our team and he went all year with it.”
James Ulis, the player’s father, told Kyle Tucker he wasn’t aware that his son needed surgery.
“So to me – I’m not a doctor, I’m not an expert, but he’s been fine by my account,” James Ulis told Tucker. “He’s never had a hip injury, and I’ll say what he said: his hips are not in pain; they just don’t hurt. I don’t know where that came from, because I’m not aware of it coming up with a team.
“What caught me off guard was people saying he had to have surgery. I think I would know if he needed surgery.”
Tyler Ulis, Gary Payton II and Isaiah Cousins in three-points drills. #Kentucky, #OregonState, #Oklahoma #Sixers pic.twitter.com/h1Xejseu1f
– Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) June 21, 2016
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Since news of Ulis’ hip issue surfaced last week, his stock has dipped. He was once projected as high as No. 20 overall by DraftExpress after a strong sophomore season with the Wildcats. On June 1, he was projected 24th. News of the hip broke on June 14, and two days later, he was down to No. 34.
On Tuesday, Ulis sat at No. 33, one of three Kentucky players projected to be drafted. Jamal Murray is slotted at No. 6 and Skal Labissiere at No. 11. Alex Poythress, once a projected one-and-done as high as No. 7 in 2013 by DraftExpress, could hear his name called late in the second round.
Calipari used a good chunk of his 40 minutes with the media on Tuesday to offer a defense for Ulis, who has reportedly drawn strong attention from the San Antonio Spurs, who have the 29th overall pick on Thursday evening.
“Tyler Ulis is gonna have a long career, Tyler Ulis will sell a lot of tickets in that league because people are gonna want to go watch him play and not believe that he can have an effect on the game at that size,” Calipari said. “This kid, you’ve got to forget about his size.
“What’s going to happen is every player in the league will want to play with Tyler Ulis, because they’ll get the ball more. Oh yeah, they’ll get the ball more. He will pick up and disrupt defensively. If he is your second-unit point guard, you’ve got a really, really good team.”
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