Monk’s Work to Be the Best Is Paying off

He didn’t come to Kentucky to win awards, nor does he keep track of how many he’s won, but Kentucky freshman guard Malik Monk has lived up to every bit of the hype that preceded him.

A consensus five-star, top-10 ranked prospect coming out of high school, Monk won the 3-point contest at the McDonald’s All American Game, came in second in the dunk contest and was named co-MVP of the Jordan Brand Classic (along with teammate De’Aaron Fox).

In an exclusive interview with CoachCal.com during the summer prior to his rookie season, Monk said he always wants to be the best – it’s what he strives for.

“It’s pointless if you’re not the best or try to be the best,” Monk said. “Being the best is fun.”

On Tuesday, he was named the best freshman in the Southeastern Conference by the league’s 14 head coaches. Later that day, Monk became the first player since Anthony Davis to be named both the SEC player and newcomer of the year by the Associated Press.

“I mean, I really can’t feel (any other) way but be happy and blessed God put me in this situation,” Monk said.

After just 31 games Monk’s 656 points already rank 14th in Kentucky basketball single-season history, and are the third most ever scored by a UK freshman. His 92 made 3-pointers are the seventh most in single-season history and are just seven behind Jamal Murray’s freshman record-setting pace from a year ago.

“The biggest thing that’s happened for him, and it happened for Jamal too, they’ve become efficient scorers,” Coach Cal said Monday during the SEC Coaches’ Teleconference. “… He has become an efficient scorer, which is what I hoped he’d become, yet he can score in bunches, and when he gets in a zone you just gotta let him go and put him in spaces where he can get shots off.” 

That ability to score in bunches has caused opposing coaches to stand on the sidelines wondering what or if they can do anything to stop him. Complementing those SEC-high 92 3-pointers is an SEC-high 40.9 percent shooting from distance.

He owns the first- and second-place records for points by a Wildcat freshman in a game when he scored 47 points against then-No. 7/6 North Carolina and 37 points, including the game-tying basket, against Georgia.

This year’s SEC Coach of the Year, Florida’s Mike White, perhaps thought he had figured out a way to defend Monk. White’s Gators held Monk to 11 points in Kentucky and Florida’s first meeting of the season and three points in the first half of their second meeting. But Monk caught fire in the second half of that second game and scored 30 of UK’s 48 points over the final 20 minutes, marking the most points scored by a Wildcat in a single half in the Calipari era.

“He’s an elite shooter and is an elite-level athlete,” White said. “He understands how to use screens. He’s got a motor, he doesn’t stop moving, they run good stuff for him, they set good screens for him, he doesn’t need much space (and) because of his athleticism he can really elevate over the top of you. Then, he’s such an explosive athlete that if you crowd him he has an ability to get by you and/or draw fouls. He’s arguably the hardest guy in college basketball to defend.”

White likely wouldn’t find too many fellow coaches who would argue with him. Monk has scored 20-plus points 17 times this season and his four 30-plus point games is another UK freshman record. He’s reached double figures in scoring in every game but one this season, which just so happened to be UK’s most recent game, an eight-point UK win over Texas A&M in College Station, Texas.

“I didn’t have any kind of energy or none of that,” Monk said of his performance against the Aggies. “Basically, yeah, I was not engaged. But young players, every player has up-and-down games, so I just gotta move from that, learn from the mistakes and try to get better.”

His first opportunity to put his six-point performance against the Aggies behind him will come Friday at noon CT against either Georgia (18-13) or Tennessee (16-15) in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals in Nashville, Tennessee. Of note, Monk has never had back-to-back games this season with less than 15 points, and has scored 20-plus points in five of the seven games following a performance of 15 points or less.

“Cal sets me up well,” Monk said. “He gets me the ball as much as I want. I’m just trying to execute out there because I’m getting the ball. It’s a great honor. A lot of greats have come through Kentucky, and me being named one of the best, like I said, I’m just blessed to be here.”