“Absolutely loved coaching him”: Former Kentucky HC John Calipari ‘proud’ over Antonio Reeves' NBA selection
The Orlando Magic drafted Kentucky's Antonio Reeves. Well, not quite. With the 47th overall pick of the NBA Draft, the Orlando Magic picked Reeves just to trade him to the New Orleans Pelicans immediately.
One of the first to congratulate the player on his jump to the professional side of things was his former coach John Calipari who took to X to send him the following message:
"So proud of Antonio Reeves. He has made himself an NBA player. A three level scorer who became a defender and a rebounder. Absolutely loved coaching him and seeing his growth!"
Antonio Reeves joined the Wildcats in 2022, coming in as a transfer from Illinois State University. Last season he was Kentucky's leading scorer, averaging 20.2 points per game. That is also the highest scoring average at Kentucky during the John Calipari era.
The recap of his college career is as follows: 156 career games between Illinois State and Kentucky, scoring 2,350 points and getting 306 3-pointers. 1,155 of those points came with Kentucky as Reeves had the second-most points tally in a two-year span in the program's history.
In 2024 he was a Third Team All-American and a member of the First Team All-SEC's.
Antonio Reeves is the third Wildcat to be picked in the draft
Antonio Reeves, who was selected during the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft, was the third player from the University of Kentucky to be picked in this year's event. The highest-picked player for Kentucky this year was Reed Sheppard, who was picked with the 3rd overall pick of the draft by the Houston Rockets.
Also in the first round, this time with the 8th overall pick of the draft, Rob Dillingham went through a process similar to the one that awaited Reeves. He was first picked by the San Antonio Spurs and immediately traded for the Minnesota Timberwolves. With Reevee's pick, John Calipari's number of NBA Draft picks during his time at Lexington rose to 50th.