Archie Goodwin led UK in scoring his only season playing for coach John Calipari (UK Athletics Photo)
LaFamilia coach Sean Woods said several weeks ago on WPBK-FM radio that former UK basketball player Archie Goodwin was going to play for the UK alumni team in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) next month.
On Tuesday, Kentucky Sports Radio’s Nick Roush reported that Kahlil Whitney, another former John Calipari player, was also on the roster for the upcoming event.
On Monday, Ansley Almonor announced he would be playing for LaFamilia after spending last season playing for coach Mark Pope at Kentucky.
Whitney was a five-star recruit who ranked among the top 15 players in the 2019 recruiting class. He was expected to not only be a one-and-done NBA player at UK but also a superstar for the Cats. He started in eight games, was never a huge factor and left the program in January of 2020. He averaged only 3.3 points per game in the 18 games he played.
Whitney went to the G League and then played overseas.
“I probably just needed a hug… But instead I fell off mentally and had to gain it all back!!” Whitney posted on social media last month.
Goodwin did not play for LaFamilia but he has played in the TBT. His team reached the title game once and last year made the semifinals with Goodwin averaging 13.8 points per game while shooting 37 percent from the field. He had 20 assists in five games.
Goodwin could fill the role that Eric Bledsoe did on last year’s team with his scoring versatility and experience.
Goodwin was rated as the number 15 player in the class of 2012 in the ESPNU 100.
He led Kentucky in scoring at 14.1 points per game during the 2012-13 season when UK missed the NCAA Tournament. He also averaged 4.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals in a 21–12 season. He had a career-high 28 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 12-of-17 free throws against Morehead State. Two days later, he narrowly missed the second triple-double in UK history against LIU-Brooklyn with 22 points and career highs of nine rebounds and nine assists.
He declared for the 2013 NBA Draft and was the 29th overall pick by Oklahoma City. He played in 165 NBA games over four years averaging 6.3 p points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game and shot 43 percent from the field.
Goodwin, 30, has been playing for the Jiangsu Dragons in the Chinese Basketball Association where he averaged 20.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game in 43 games last season while shooting 45 percent from the field.
Also scheduled to play for the Kentucky alumni team are Willie Cauley-Stein, Doron Lamb, DeAndre Liggins, Aaron Harrison and Andrew Harrison.
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Tickets for the Lexington Regional are now on sale at TBTHoops.com/tickets.
One Response
I forgot all about Archie goodwin. Wow there is a alot of players during the one and done decade and a half that I’ve forgotten completely about.