Alex Poythress is up next in CoachCal.com’s series of stories profiling John Calipari’s latest bunch of gifted newcomers. Eric Lindsey writes about Poythress’ on-court battles with his twin sister, Alexis, ones Alex lost more often than not before developing into one of the best forward prospects in the nation.He’s worked hard to get where he is and plans to continue doing so as he looks to help lead Kentucky to a third Final Four in as many seasons.
Poythress weighs 235 pounds right now and is trying to get to 240 by the beginning of the season. Many think he could be the leading scorer on this year’s team, but Poythress said there are only three numbers he cares about: his grade-point average (a 3.9 in high school with AP courses), the ones he could deal with as an aspiring accountant (if basketball doesn’t pan out) and Kentucky’s quest for its ninth national championship.“If we come working hard from day one and we don’t take any days off, just trying to work hard every day, condition every day, listening to what Coach has to say in practice and just taking what he has to say (to heart), I really do believe that we’re going to have a chance to win a national championship,” Poythress said.Poythress intends to back up his belief by leading by example. Easily the most soft-spoken of Kentucky’s heralded freshman class, he lives by a passage he recently discovered from author Mary Anne Radmacher that says, “Courage doesn’t always roar.”That seems to contradict Poythress’ on-court game that can be so powerful and so authoritative to the naked eye. That’s not going away at Kentucky, but he wants to be defined by the other things that make a difference, similar to what Michael Kidd-Gilchrist did a year ago.
