NEW YORK — Not every kid who comes out of Kentucky has to be one-and-done to be a success.
Sure, current freshmen Malik Monk, De’Aaron Fox and Bam Adebayo might become the latest phenoms to emerge from John Calipari’s one-and-done factory.
But Isaiah Briscoe is proving that if you stay at Kentucky, you can improve from one year to the next and become an effective program player.
Playing in front of 38 family and friends and a capacity crowd that included Knicks star and Briscoe’s mentor Carmelo Anthony, the Newark native went for 21 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 turnover as No. 2 Kentucky throttled No. 13 Michigan State, 69-48, in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden.
“It feels good,” Briscoe said. “A lot of my fanbase is from New York and this place has made me who I am so it felt good to get back out there in front of my fans and perform well.”
In his past two games, the 6-foot-3 former Roselle Catholic star has accounted for 42 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists.
“I think what he did was right for his family,” Calipari said of Briscoe’s decision to return for his sophomore season instead of declaring for the NBA Draft.
“He’s on the path we want him on and I’m proud of him. Not every kid we have leaves after a year, you just know about them all. But there are kids that leave after two years, three years. They’re on their own timetable. I’ve had some kids leave early that shouldn’t have. I tried to talk to them, I would never try to convince them. I said, ‘Are you sure?’ They left and it was a tough deal. But it’s their life, it’s not my life. And they’re life is more important than our program. So if they chose to leave my job was to help them get drafted in the best position I could, and say whatever I had to say. That’s why a lot of teams aren’t calling me any more.”
For sure, players like Tyler Ulis, Willie Cauley-Stein and the Harrison twins have stayed more than one year at Kentucky and gone onto the NBA. Others, like Dakari Johnson left after two and remain in the NBA D-League.
Great steal by Isaiah Briscoe who then takes it the length of the court. #BBN pic.twitter.com/s9GVvZyQOm
— Scott Charlton (@Scott_Charlton) November 16, 2016
Although there was a widespread assumption by many going into college that Briscoe would be one-and-done, the feedback he got from NBA personnel last summer was that he simply wasn’t ready.
After all, Briscoe last season averaged 9.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.1 assists while shooting 44 percent from the field and 14 percent from deep.
“The only thing that held him back was he shot 14 percent from the 3 and 48 from the line, that’s a hard deal, man,” Calipari said. “He said, ‘I’m a shooter.’ I said, ‘You’re a shooter, you’re just not a maker.’
This year, by contrast, Briscoe has clearly improved his shot — although he went 8-of-18 and 0-of-3 from deep — while improving other aspects of his game, most notably his leadership of guys like Monk, Fox and Adebayo.
“He came in last year as a freshman with Tyler [Ulis] and he was a great leader,” said Monk, who scored a game-high 23 points on 8-of-17 shooting. “And he’s taken the role of Tyler now with us freshman, just teaching us we have to do in practice, what to do in games. He’s been through a lot and helps guide us through.’
“You see his rebounding, you see his leadership, you see his defending,” Calipari said. “I said, ‘You don’t have to make all the shots, you just can’t miss them all.'”
Briscoe said it’s easier to lead freshmen when they’re special freshmen.
“The group of freshmen, they’re not ordinary freshmen,” he said. “They pick up things fast. They listen and they know how to basketball. We don’t really run a lot of plays so that’s big for the freshmen.”
Those freshmen need a leader and Briscoe’s effort drew praise from Naismith Hall of Famer Tom Izzo, whose team is now 0-2 on the young season.
“Just a tough gritty kid, you gotta love that kid,” Izzo said of Briscoe.
Flat out pro move by Isaiah Briscoe. Pro continuation as well. #BBN pic.twitter.com/G7QHx8NyAG
— Scott Charlton (@Scott_Charlton) November 16, 2016
Like anyone in any circumstance, Briscoe said he simply feels more comfortable with a year of experience under his belt.
“I feel more comfortable out on the court and I know how to play the game as far as college basketball,” he said, adding he knows when to take himself out of the game to conserve energy.
“Last year I’ve been through it and now I’m more comfortable out there on the court.”
As for his decision to return to Kentucky, Briscoe said, “The decision to come back was not hard at all. I spoke with Cal, spoke with KP [Kenny Payne], they welcomed me back with open arms. I know the freshmen class from camps and stuff like that. I knew we had a chance to be special and coach mentioned that to me.
“I’m just glad to be back. I grew as a player on and off the court and that’s the reason why I’m back.”
Not every successful player leaves Kentucky after one year. Just ask Isaiah Briscoe.
Photo: USA Today Sports
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