Denzel Aberdeen has stepped up as Kentucky’s primary point guard after Jaland Lowe’s season-ending shoulder injury. Coach Mark Pope entrusted the Florida transfer with the playmaker role, and Aberdeen delivered strong performances in recent games against Louisville and Eastern Illinois.
Building on this opportunity, the 6’5″ senior looks into his past experience in Florida, where he was a backup point guard to Walter Clayton Jr during the Gators’ national championship run last season.
Kentucky Guard Denzel Aberdeen Speaks About Taking Up Ball-Handling Duties After Jaland Lowe’s Shoulder Injury
Aberdeen attended Monday’s media session to discuss the team’s Champions Classic matchup against No. 17 Michigan State. When asked about his new role as the Wildcats’ starting point guard, he shared his thoughts, citing his experience with the Gators last season as motivation for embracing his new responsibilities.
“I feel good,” Aberdeen said. “At Florida, I had to back up one another great guard (Walter Clayton Jr). So, I’ve been put in this position before. I just been being ready, sticking to my craft and just doing what I can do for this team to win.”
The Orlando native also noted that learning from Clayton and Gators coach Todd Golden prepared him to accept a bigger role as Kentucky’s chief playmaker and to become the team’s second coach on the floor.
MORE: Jaland Lowe’s Injury Threatens To Expose a Costly Recruiting Oversight by Mark Pope
Aberdeen has thrived in the starting point guard role in Kentucky’s first four games this season. He has averaged 15.3 points, 4.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 steals in 24.0 minutes per game, leading the Wildcats to a 3-1 record.
His leadership was in full bloom in Kentucky’s last two games against Louisville and Eastern Illinois, where he tallied 19.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, and 1.5 spg and took the shots that he doesn’t usually take.
Building on his strong performances, Kentucky coach Mark Pope praised the Criminal Justice major for taking on greater responsibility as the team’s primary point guard and for showing maturity in handling the loss of a teammate.
“Denzel is awesome, man. He is,” Pope said. “He’s pretty good about not carrying emotional weight around with him because you can during the course of a game. You can just start to pile on emotional weight, good and bad and sideways and all the things. He’s pretty good about not carrying a bunch of emotional weight.”
Aberdeen will try to lead Kentucky to its second straight win against No. 17 Michigan State in the Champions Classic on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Spartans are unbeaten in three games so far.