With the addition of Trey Lyles to the Rising Stars Challenge over All-Star Weekend, Kentucky now has six former players participating in the weekend.
With the addition of Trey Lyles to the Rising Stars Challenge over All-Star Weekend, Kentucky now has six former players participating in the weekend.
No college has more than two representatives in the NBA All-Star Game.
Lyles, the 12th pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, will replace injured World Team selection Nikola Mirotic of the Chicago Bulls in the Rising Stars Challenge in Toronto.
Mirotic, a second-year forward from Montenegro, is sidelined after having an appendectomy and a hematoma removal.
Lyles is averaging 4.7 points and 4.0 rebounds in 18.1 minutes in 45 games.
The 6-10 Lyles becomes the third Canadian on the World Roster, joining Dwight Powell of the Dallas Mavericks and Andrew Wiggins of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Former Kentucky players DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis, and John Wall were selected for the 2016 NBA All-Star Game as reserves, while Karl-Anthony Towns and Nerlens Noel were already named to the Rising Stars Challenge.
Towns, the New Jersey native, was also named NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month for January, and is a favorite for Rookie of the Year honors, along with Kristaps Porzingis of the Knicks.
“Our goal is not just to help guys get in the league,” Wildcats coach John Calipari said last year. “We want guys to become All-Stars. … Our goal would be to say, ‘Hey, half the NBA All-Stars started with us.'”
