Kellan Grady Ready for Kentucky Basketball Experience

On Monday, the Kentucky basketball program announced that Kellan Grady, a graduate transfer from Davidson, will be joining UK squad for the 2021-22 season. On Wednesday, Grady met with the UK media for the first time since the announcement.

Grady, a 6-5 guard, played four full seasons at Davidson and had an outstanding career. He scored 2,002 points for Davidson in four years, averaging 17.4 points per game for his career.

One of Grady’s biggest attributes is his outside shooting. He hit at least 50 three-point baskets in each of his four years at Davidson and he shot 36.6 percent from behind the arc in his four-year career there.

Grady enjoyed his four years at Davidson.

“It was a memorable four years for me,” Grady said. “It’s been a complete joy to play for Coach (Bob) McKillop and compete with my teammates, many of who are going to be lifelong friends of mine.”

How does he think his time at Davidson prepared him to play at Kentucky?

“I’ve been coached by one of the best coaches in college basketball,” Grady said. “He pushed me every day. Playing in a competitive environment, I think ultimately, that will prepare me for the next step in my college career at Kentucky.”

When asked why he chose Kentucky, Grady had several reasons.

“Multiple factors. Most notably, the competitive environment, Coach Calipari’s track record of developing players and giving them a really good shot at becoming NBA players,” Grady said. “It’s a very contemporary, pro-style offense. And from what I’ve heard, Coach Cal really fights for you and advocates for you for going to the next level. And it’s an opportunity to be on a really good team and competitive nationally, playing on the biggest stage, which is something I need at this time. I’m excited to be able to play in front of 20,000 fans, hopefully.”

Grady wasn’t sure exactly when he decided to come to Kentucky but he liked visiting with Calipari, over Zoom, watching film with the man who is now his head coach.

“I’m not sure I can pinpoint a certain moment,” Grady said. “Kentucky was my, I think, No. 1 choice invariably throughout the process, but when he (Calipari) and I watched film over Zoom and he showed me a lot of actions where he envisioned me excelling in and past actions, it’s just his emphasis on making plays and playing with freedom and his belief in me that I can be an NBA player that he can truly help me get there was very convincing for me and that meant a lot. And it was very easy for me to tell how genuine he was and how much he cares about his players. He instills confidence in his players, and to me that is incredibly important. It was a combination of great factors that led to my decision.”

At the end of his freshman season, Grady actually played against Kentucky in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament. It wasn’t hit best game (4 of 15 from the field, 16 points) but it was still a good experience for Grady. He had no idea that, four years later, he would be playing for UK.

“I did not envision that I would be able to play for Kentucky four years later,” Grady said. “But that was an awesome experience, it was a humbling experience as a freshman. I think I shot like four for 15 that game. I was able to get near my point average but I struggled from the field a little bit. We didn’t quite have that exposure to length and athleticism in the Atlantic 10. As a team, we were pretty competitive and actually almost came away with an upset victory. Now, I’m looking forward to being able to play for Kentucky, not lose to Kentucky.”

And Kentucky is looking forward to having Grady wearing a UK uniform this fall.