Chris Livingston wants to play in the NBA and that's one of the big reasons he came to UK. (Chet White/UK Athletics)
I was looking through some notes and found some quotes I had saved from a Chris Livingston interview session this summer.
He’s the 6-7 freshman who could do a variety of things for coach John Calipari’s team this season and I really believe he could be the X-factor for the Wildcats as they pursue a national championship.
Livingston, a five-star McDonald’s All-American, made it clear that Calipari’s success putting players into the NBA was important to him when he made his college choice.
“That’s really what attracted me to Kentucky. Seeing the history of what they’ve done to people to get them drafted. And not (just) drafted, they stay in the league,” Livingston said.
“They stay because of the principles you learn here, the values you learn as a hard worker. Coach Cal really knows how to get the best out of people. I love the play style at Kentucky. It’s up and down, it’s real fast.”
It was also refreshing to hear Livingston admit how hard the overall workload at Kentucky is even compared to his senior season at Oak Hill Academy, a national high school basketball powerhouse.
“I’m used to doing a lot of skill workouts, a lot of practicing. I’m a basketball player, so I’m used to playing basketball,” Livingston said. “But going from lifting to practice to another skill work to getting up shots, it’s a lot on your body so you really have to learn to take care of your body, recover the right way, stretch, things like that.”
Which is part of the NBA preparation that Calipari does for his players.
