John Calipari calls C.J. Fredrick 'helluva teammate' for suggesting he keep Chris Livingston in over him

Kentucky‘s 63-53 loss to UCLA was one the Wildcats would like to put behind them fast, but there was one memorable behind-the-scenes moment that speaks to some strong character within the team. Kentucky guard CJ Fredrick had the opportunity to enter the game Sunday, but chose to go with the hot hand in Chris Livingston, telling head coach John Calipari to let him play over himself.

“Well what happened today is, and he was great about it, Chris was playing so well that at one point I wanted to put him in for Chris and he said leave him in. That’s a helluva teammate,” Calipari said. “And I haven’t lost any faith in him, I just think this is gonna play out over a period of time and the guys that should be on the floor will be on there.”

Fredrick transferred to Kentucky this offseason from Iowa and started the first five games of the season for the Wildcats. He provided valuable three-point scoring for Kentucky, making 11 three-pointers in his first five starts and scoring in double figures in three of those five contests.

But since their loss to Gonzaga, Fredrick has come off of the bench for the Wildcats, which has led to the emergence of the freshman Livingston. Livingston led the team in scoring with 14 points versus UCLA, which was also a career-high for him in the early stages of his collegiate basketball journey.

“That’s why my respect for Chris is off the charts, and it’s been, because he’s never stopped working in practice,” Calipari explained. Other guys were having the first opportunity and now all of a sudden he has the opportunity, he’s not pouting, he just showed you what he was.”

Livingston was a five-star prospect out of high school, attending powerhouse Oak Hill Academy where he was ranked the No. 1 player in Virginia and the No. 6 small forward in the country according to On3 Consensus. In his first season with Kentucky, he’s earned himself 14.9 minutes per game, but saw the most action he’s ever seen versus the Bruins playing in 25 minutes and filling the stat sheet with four rebounds and a block to go along with his 14 points.

“Had a couple plays, one-handed rebounds, which is a habit he has, which we needed those balls but what he did to help us stay in the game and then get up, incredible,” Calipari said.

The Wildcats have no shortage of talent on their roster, and it will definitely be interesting to continue to watch the growth of Livingston this season, and if he will continue to have more of an impact as the season prolongs.