CJ Fredrick still not 100% at Kentucky basketball practice

CJ Fredrick is still on the road to recovery. John Calipari said at Wednesday’s UK basketball media day that the shooting guard is still not ready for full-contact practice.

“CJ’s been hurt, but he can really shoot the ball and I can’t wait until we get him on the court,” said Kentucky’s head coach. “He’s been on the court for 15 minutes so we just haven’t seen it.”

Fredrick briefly took the practice court Tuesday, but Calipari decided to delay his full return for another day. It’s safe to consider Fredrick as “day to day” at this point.

The Iowa transfer that helped Covington Catholic win the 2018 KHSAA Sweet 16 underwent a minor procedure on his leg in July. He has participated in non-contact drills since September.

Tshiebwe’s Smile Shines

Even though Fredrick is still sidelined, the other three transfers have made an early impact on the court, particularly Oscar Tshiebwe. The forward transferred from West Virginia in the middle of last season. He wowed NBA draft scouts at UK Pro Day.

“He’s 255 pounds with 7 percent body fat. He’s FLYING,” said Calipari. “At pro day, they said we didn’t know he could move his feet that way.”

His physicality will make a difference in the paint. What Oscar brings to practice might be even more important. He has an uplifting presence that has helped keep Kentucky move on from its turbulent recent history.

“Oscar challenges us in many different ways,” said Keion Brooks. “He’s strong, he’s physical but he also has good touch. He can shoot, he’s light on his feet. Just being able to play against Oscar has been good for all of us. The physicality he brings is good for us to play through some things, and also just having him around as a teammate has been great for us as well.

“Oscar’s a great dude, always has a smile on his face and plays hard. I think we can take something from that, him coming in, smiling everyday. I think we should all pay attention to that because we are in a great position here to play basketball and Oscar doesn’t take any of those times for granted.”