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CJ Fredrick is transferring from Kentucky to Cincinnati after two injury-filled seasons with the Wildcats but he’s appreciative of his time in Lexington and what he learned from coach John Calipari after transferring from Iowa.
“I’ve learned so much from Cal and I’ve learned so much from being at Kentucky and I’ve played a lot of basketball,” Fredrick told Bearcat Journal’s Chad Brenden. “So, I’m just kind of coming in and helping any way I can. I’ve tried to be a leader for these guys, but I do think that’s definitely going to play a part and help.”
Calipari even helped Fredrick organize his thoughts when he decided to enter the transfer portal.
“When I talked to coach Cal and my family, it was important to put a list of schools down because we know kind of what it would be like, but I didn’t quite expect it to be as crazy as it was. Just the amount of text messages and phone calls and you see some really cool names and some really cool schools pop up,” Fredrick said about the transfer portal.
“The NIL part comes in play, so now you have agents calling you for representation wanting to represent you for NIL. Just a crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy dynamic right now. But I had great guidance with coach Cal and my family and setting up a list that I was interested in.
“I didn’t get distracted with it. I knew what I was looking for and I knew what was going to help me and the style of play and the fit.”
Fredrick said Cincinnati was one of the schools on his transfer list and he liked the way coach Wes Miller recruited him before. Miller was one of the first coaches to reach out to Fredrick and he was able to visit the Cincy campus the next day.
Fredrick understands he’s regarded as a 3-point specialist but insists he can do more and did more at Kentucky and Iowa.
“I try to make the easy plays for everybody. I move around a lot — back cuts — I just try to use anything I can and that’s my moving three and basketball IQ. I bring a lot of energy,” Fredrick said. “I love basketball and I love playing. I think you’ll see someone who just competes really, really hard and will do anything to win.”
He’s glad he’ll get a chance to play against Big 12 competition again with Cincinnati moving to that conference next season.
“At the end of the day, you want to play against the best and we’re about to play in the best conference night in and night out. It’s going to be a war,” he told Brenden. “I was telling my mom and dad — you guys know the Big 12 — these road games are going to be crazy.
“Like, they love their basketball and it’s why you play. Super fun conference. It played a big part in it (his transfer decision).”
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