Alex Wilkins addresses Shai Gilgeous-Alexander comparisons
Kentucky men's basketball player Alex Wilkins addressed recent comparisons to NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.
Kentucky men's basketball coach Mark Pope drew some eyebrow raises earlier this summer regarding a comment he made regarding Alex Wilkins.
Wilkins, a recent Kentucky addition from the transfer portal out of Furman, is making a big leap in his level of play and, with much higher expectations for what he is capable of accomplishing, fans have been clamoring to find out exactly how good the former Paladin can be in blue and white.
When faced with a shot-clock challenge, a video format in which, in 30 seconds or less, Pope had to describe each member of the roster in rapid-fire format, he got to Wilkins third.
"SGA vibes," Pope said.
The comparison to now two-time MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a former Kentucky great, caught many off guard, including interviewer Michelle Knezovic.
It may have even caught Wilkins off guard.
"That's the best player in the world in my opinion, so, I mean, that's high praise," Wilkins said Thursday. "It's a lot of expectation."
Catching him off guard doesn't mean Wilkins didn't appreciate the shout, though. In fact, while he'd stop short of comparing himself to SGA now, he admitted that he takes a lot of pride in the fact that he's modeled parts of his game after the former Wildcat and followed his career for a while.
In fact, Wilkins listed SGA as his favorite former Kentucky player of all time on his UK Athletics profile.
"I watch a ton of Kentucky basketball," Wilkins said. "I've watched Shai ever since he's been here, for sure. Clippers. All that. He was on a team with Terance Mann, he's from my city, I watch a bunch of Boston guys."
Wilkins, who hails from Mattapan, Massachusetts, in greater Boston, referred to Mann who, despite being born in Brooklyn, grew up in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Following a player is one thing, though. Comparing oneself to that player is another. As mentioned, Wilkins stopped short of saying he's exactly like SGA, but still took pride in the comparison.
"I feel like, for my game, I got a couple shades," he said. "I mean, that's someone who I watch a ton. I'll wait til BBN sees me on the court to be able to make a comparison. I'm not gonna say I'm Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, that's the best player in the world right now."
Other players he was willing to admit taking inspiration from included Darius Garland — "One of my really big time players," Wilkins said. — Kyrie Irving and even recent former Cat Rob Dillingham.
Regardless, as far as the comparison with the back-to-back NBA MVP goes, Wilkins said he believes that, even if he's not there yet, he's confident in himself to get there.
Ultimately, though, in true Kentucky fashion, he said he'd let BBN decide for themselves.
"That's how confident I am, I think I can get to that point," Wilkins said. "But we'll see what BBN says when they see me on the court. And without Instagram clips, they gotta see a full game. Once they see that, then we'll see."