Willie Cauley-Stein Playing Like All-American for Kentucky Wildcats
By Tim Letcher
@TimLetcher
Mark Zerof, USA TODAY SPORTS
The Kentucky Wildcats lost junior forward Alex Poythress for the year on Thursday. But it’s another junior who’s making the Wildcats go right now.
Willie-Cauley Stein is the one Kentucky regular who was not a McDonald’s All-American. But if he continues to play the way he’s currently playing, he may become a college basketball All-American this season.
Cauley-Stein was at it again on Saturday, as the Wildcats beat the North Carolina Tar Heels 84-70 in a battle of two of college basketball’s blue bloods. Cauley-Stein had 15 points, six rebounds, four steals and two blocks in the game, continuing his run of strong play to start the 2014-15 season.
On a team filled with players known as scorers, Cauley-Stein currently leads the Cats, averaging 10.7 points per game. He also leads the team in rebounds (6.8 per game) and steals (19). He is second on the team with 18 blocked shots.
With Poythress now out for the season with a torn ACL, Cauley-Stein will be counted on to both provide scoring and to play great defense. It was freshman Trey Lyles who took Poythress’ spot in the starting lineup on Saturday, but it was Cauley-Stein who truly filled the void of the team’s fallen leader.
Cauley-Stein has always had freakish athletic ability since arriving in Lexington, but he’s worked hard to add skill to his game. He can still catch a lob pass for a dunk, as he always could, but now he has showed that he can create his own shot and can even step out and hit the occasional jumpshot.
If Kentucky is to continue rolling through this season, Cauley-Stein will need to continue to bring production on both ends of the floor to this team.
Tim Letcher is a contributing writer for www.RantSports.com and a member of the Football Writers Association of America and the United States Basketball Writers Association. Follow him on Twitter @TimLetcher , on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
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