Kentucky point guard Tyler Ulis says he’s looking forward to playing alongside incoming stud Jamal Murray even though the two play the same position.
“That’s very big for us because that gives us another guard, more depth,” the 5-foot-9 Ulis told Steve Jones of the Courier-Journal at Rajon Rondo’s camp. “Last year we have 10 guys, and we don’t know how many we’re going to have this year. Me and [Isaiah] Briscoe, he’s a crazy dude. He’s funny. It’s going to be a lot of fun. Playing with them in the backcourt, I can’t wait.”
As reported in this column on Thursday, coaches associated with both the 6-5 Murray and the 6-3 Briscoe believe all three point guards can jell and thrive in a multiple-guard set under Kentucky coach John Calipari.
“I feel like it’ll work a lot,” Ulis said. “It gives a different type of look of guards. Briscoe is more of a slashing guard, scoring at the rim. I’m more of a shooter and facilitator. Jamal, I haven’t seen much of him, but I know he dropped 30 on Briscoe [in the Nike Hoop Summit in April], so I know it’s going to be fun for us.”
Ulis still sees himself as the primary point guard, though.
“I was able to hide [last year] behind Andrew [Harrison] a little bit, so more of the pressure is on him,” he said. “I’m the top point guard, so I have to come out and play and have to lead the team on and off the court. [My role] changes a lot.”
Calipari, meantime, is understandably thrilled with the late addition of Murray, who announced Wednesday that he was reclassing and coming to Kentucky.
“He’s a playmaking guard who can score,” Calipari told Kyle Tucker before the draft. “He’s got great size, he’s tough, he’s driven, he’s wired right. Great teammate. He and Skal [Labissiere] play great together; watched them in the summer play. Skal, he’s the real deal, too.”
Kentucky now has multiple players who can run the point, with both Briscoe and Murray also expected to play off the ball.
“We would’ve been fine,” Calipari said. “We would’ve been fine, but this makes us like, ‘OK, it’s on again.’ That one guy can have that kind of impact on your team, especially if he’s as good as Jamal is. Now it doesn’t change anything for any of the other players. It just says, ‘Wow, OK, now let’s throw it up.’ ”
AARON HARRISON GOES UNDRAFTED
But Aaron Harrison was not among them, and now must hook on as a free agent in summer league.
“He’s a great player,” Ulis said. “Not being in school now, he can work on his game all day every day now, so I feel he’s going to do nothing but good things. He’s a great player, great scorer. He can shoot the ball. When he’s hot, he can run the numbers up there. He has a big-time shot, so I think someone will pick him up.”
