If E J M O N T G O M E R Y ’ S
minutes were a victim of Kentucky’s frontcourt
depth last season, his future may also have been
a beneficiary of the same quandary.
As a freshman, Montgomery only played
15.1 minutes per game behind PJ Washington
and Reid Travis and with Nick Richards also a sophomore, reaching All-American status
and greatly boosting his draft stock.
“(I saw) just how hard he went, everything
in the mix. Cats coach John Calipari raved
about his talent and his improvement over
the course of his freshman season, but in
large part because of the big man logjam, his he did,” Montgomery said of Washington last
VHDVRQ´+HZDVWKHÀUVWRQHLQVSULQWVDQG
just the way his body changed over the
summer, just things like that.”
production didn’t match it — 3.8 points and
4.1 rebounds per game. Montgomery went the same route as
Washington, and he has sought a similar
So Montgomery was left with a decision to
make come NBA Draft time. He chatted with
Washington about it.
“He just told me to go do what I feel is transformation.
best and just go play my hardest,”
Montgomery said.
Washington would know. It’s the same path
he paved a year earlier.
Washington withdrew his name
from the draft after his freshman
season — at a program where
that doesn’t happen all that
often — and was rewarded
for it. He led Kentucky in
scoring and rebounding as
That has manifested
itself in a new
emphasis on physi-
cality, Montgomery
said.
“THIS YEAR, I’M DEFINITELY
GONNA BE READY.”
32 | UK Basketball Preview 2019/2020