Davion Mintz is RETURNING to Kentucky!

Photo by Chet White | UK Athletics

Davion Mintz is ready to run it back one more time. The BBN’s favorite guard just announced he is withdrawing his name from the 2021 NBA Draft and returning to Kentucky for another season.

“First of all, I want to thank everyone for the support they have provided me the last couple of months while I pursued my dream of playing professionally,” Mintz said. “I really appreciate the support from my coaches, my teammates and my family while I went through this process. I wanted to give it a real shot and I feel like I did that. I know that I am ready and closer to my ultimate goal of playing in the NBA.

“Having said that, my heart has guided me back to Kentucky for one more year. I want another season on the national stage to prove that I am ready to play at the highest level. I can’t wait to get back to Lexington with my teammates and experience the full effect of Big Blue Nation. It’s time to get back to work.”

According to UK, Mintz will be the first Kentucky player to return to school after leading the team in scoring average the previous season since Randolph Morris led the 2005-06 squad and came back for the 2006-07 season. Last season, Mintz led Kentucky in total points (288), 3-pointers (56), assists (77) and double-figure scoring games (17). He averaged 11.5 points per game, including 16.7 points per outing over the last six games, shot 37.8% from behind the arc and dished out a team-best 3.1 assists per game.

Mintz announced in early May he was entering the 2021 NBA Draft. Under NCAA rules, he could sign with an NCAA-certified agent, receive feedback and return to school so long as he withdrew his name 10 days following the NBA Combine (July 7). UK says Mintz is expected to return to Lexington soon to join the team for summer practice, workouts, and classes.

“I am so happy for Davion because he was able to explore all of his options and decided to come back to a place that he loves,” John Calipari said in a press release. “He is one of the most appreciative players I have coached in my time here. I said to his parents after last season, ‘I can coach him for the next 10 years.’ He is that kind of person, player and leader. Our team is different than last season and there is more competition, but there is no question that Davion makes us better. He improved so much from the start of last season to the end and I can’t wait to see that continued growth in his second year with us.”

Mintz’s return officially makes this the most experienced team of the Calipari era. UK’s 2021-22 roster currently features a sixth-year graduate (Mintz), a fifth-year graduate (Kellan Grady), a redshirt junior (CJ Fredrick), six juniors (Keion Brooks, Jacob Toppin, Oscar Tshiebwe, Sahvir Wheeler, Zan Payne, Brennan Canada), a redshirt sophomore (Dontaie Allen), two sophomores (Lance Ware, Kareem Watkins) and three freshmen (Daimion Collins, Bryce Hopkins, TyTy Washington). With Mintz back in the fold, Kentucky will return 42.1% of its minutes, 41.9% of its scoring, 39.0% of the rebounds, 42.4% of the assists and 60.6% of the three-pointers from a season ago.

For comparison, the only two Calipari-coached Kentucky teams that returned more minutes and more points (in terms of percentages) than the 2021-22 team is slated to return were the 2011-12 national championship squad and the 2014-15 Final Four team that started the season 38-0. Adding the Wildcats’ four transfers to the equation, Kentucky’s current 2021-22 roster includes 13,385 minutes, 5,203 points, 1,917 rebounds, 1,132 assists and 543 total 3-pointers in college basketball production.

Mintz began his career at Creighton, appearing in 97 career games with 79 starts for the Bluejays. In 2018-19, he started all 35 games in the backcourt, averaging 9.7 points, 3.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds in 28.8 minutes per game. As a sophomore, in 2017-18, he led the Big East in assist-to-turnover ratio. He redshirted in 2019-20 due to an ankle injury. One of three team captains this past season for Kentucky, Mintz was one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award, which honors student-athletes who excel in four core areas: character, competition, classroom and community service.

With today’s news, Kentucky’s backcourt now includes two veterans in Mintz and Sahvir Wheeler and five-star freshman TyTy Washington. And, oh yeah, Kellan Grady and Dontaie Allen.

LET’S GOOOOOOOOOO.

😏

— Davion Mintz (@deemintz1) July 1, 2021

#BBN, @deemintz1 really appreciated the birthday love yesterday.

He wants to return the favor … 😼

➡️ https://t.co/ROuZaWUXqH pic.twitter.com/gXV0RjnysC

— Kentucky Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) July 1, 2021