Everything you want to know about Kentucky Wildcat Freshman Kahlil Whitney
In this article we want to share with Wildcat Gifts friends and customers everything you probably want to know about Kahlil Whitney. Kahlil is just another example of how Cal doesn’t just look for talent, he also looks for good kids with character.
Kahlil started his high school career in Chicago and then moved to New Jersey to live with his dad and finish his high school at Roselle, Catholic, the same high school Kentucky standout Isiah Briscoe graduated from.
Kahlil’s team at Roselle Catholic made it to the semi -finals of their state tournament before being defeated by Ranney 56-50 before a record crowd at the Barnabas Health Arena on the campus of Toms River High School North.
Senior Year Stats from Roselle Catholic High School in New Jersey
In multiple interviews Kahlil described Kentucky as his dream school, because of the BBN fans. He talks about watching Anthony Davis as a kid when he was growing up in Chicago, because as you probably know Anthony was from Chicago, and dreaming about playing for the Wildcats some day in front of the Rupp Arena fans.
Kahlil Williams High School Career
Kahlil Williams last game as a high school players was at the 3rd Annual Iverson Classic. It was a game to be remembered. A packed crowd and positive atmosphere televised on Sling created one of the most important All American Basketball games in the country.
Led by future NBA stars like Isaiah Mobley and Cole Anthony, the event was stacked with talent. The game was split into two teams, respectively- Team Honor and Team Loyalty, coached by former NBA stars like Stephen Jackson and Baron Davis and both stacked with talent.
Fresh off appearances to both the McDonald’s All American Game and Jordan Brand Classic, Kentucky commit Kahlil Whitney put on a show. Whitney proved his presence on the court right from the start against fellow 5-star players. Kahlil created smooth crossovers to convert to powerful dunks at the rim. He had the crowd on his feet following the first dunk of the game. He was able to hit from outside the three-point line proving to doubters his versatility.
By halftime, Kahlil led the stat-sheet. Kahlil finished the night with a 38 point performance and tied for the all-time record. The show he put on led him to Most Valuable Player for Team Honor.
Everyone who has followed Whitney throughout his high school career expect a great future for Kahil Whitney with huge upside potential.
He returned back to his hometown of Chicago to sign his letter of intent. Kahlil was making good on a promise he had made in the 8th grade to his principal.
He went back to Chicago to show the other kids that there is hope and more outside of his crime flooded hometown. Whitney had numerous other offers to high profile colleges but Kentucky was his dream school since he was a kid watching Anthony Davis on TV.
UPDATE January 24, 2020
Today Kahlil shared this message on his Twitter Account
Very few players have come to Kentucky, transferred, and
had success elsewhere. I sincerely hope Kahlil is the
exception.
A couple of weeks ago when Johnny Juzang missed a
couple of games because of illness I was afraid he was
going to transfer.
I told my wife Dawn, my biggest fear is that Johnny or
Kahlil decides to transfer.
Kahlil is a freak athlete. He was rated the 11th over all
player coming out of high school.
Everyone expected him to start at be the first or second
highest scorer on the team this year.
To say expectations and pressure was high on Kahlil
would be a major understatement.
He seemed lost on the court. We have seen this many
times at Kentucky. They have been able to depend
on their athleticism their entire career.
The come to Kentucky and they have to learn how
to be a professional, team player.
They aren’t able to just drive to the basket and dunk
the ball in the college game like they were able to
in high school.
It is a hard adjustment for many players.
How many times have we seen this over the years?
If they can have patience and remember they
have four years if they need it to learn how to
develop the skills of a pro player, nobody gets
talent ready for the next level better than Cal
and the Kentucky coaching staff.
Kentucky has the top rated recruiting class
coming in next year, I suspect that may have
been a contributing factor to his decision to
leaver.
Everybody and probably Kahlil expected to
be one and done.
Cal did everything he could to get him going
including installing a 1 – 3 -1 press were Kahlil
could use his athleticism.
We have seen some many examples of players
who have decided to come back and everything
seems to click for them the longer they are in
Cal’s system.
PJ Washington
Nick Richards
Ashton Hagons
Emaual Quickly
The Twins
The list goes on and on. It is hard to tell how good he
could have become if he had stayed at Kentucky.
I hope he reaches his potential. We all know the odds
are against him now. As we said previously few players
have come to Kentucky, transferred, and had success
elsewhere. I sincerely hope Kahlil is the
exception. He is one of the most athletic
young men to ever attend Kentucky.
