Being at Kentucky "means everything" for freshman Braydon Hawthorne
It’s hard to fly under the radar as a University of Kentucky basketball signee, but one player who has managed to do that thus far is Braydon Hawthorne.
The 6-foot-9 freshman forward was the final addition to Mark Pope‘s second team at UK, signing with the Wildcats after originally committing to West Virginia.
A late coaching change for the Mountaineers opened the door for Hawthorne to get a second look from his “dream school.”
“It was a crazy moment for me,” Hawthorne said Thursday during a Q&A session at the Craft Center. “… Being here now, it means everything.”
When he announced his commitment to the Cats, Hawthorne shared a photo on social media from when his father took him and his brother to a UK father/son camp. That family time in Lexington made a big impression on him.
“That experience just set it over the top for me,” he said.
Full-circle with a childhood hero
One of the players he got to meet during the camp was eventual UK All-American and NBA star Willie Cauley-Stein. Hawthorne has grown quite a bit since that original meeting and recently got to scrimmage against the former Cat, who was in town to play for “La Familia” in the TBT event.
“I got to talk to him a little bit,” Hawthorne said. “It was a cool experience, talking about then and now.”
Hawthorne was rated the No. 64 prospect in the Class of 2025, coming off a senior year which saw him average 23 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists at Huntington Prep in West Virginia.
He joins Malachi Moreno and Jasper Johnson as the Cats’ incoming freshmen this season. While he has not drawn as much attention as his classmates who just took part in USA Basketball’s U-19 camp, but fans started paying a bit more attention after Pope shared a comparison earlier this week.
An eye-popping comparison
“Braydon Hawthorne is a really unique player,” the UK boss said. “I can’t wait ’til you guys get to watch him and see him on the court. I was with Tayshaun Prince for quite a while, maybe about a week ago, and he just — build, body, skillset — there is a whole lot of Tayshaun Prince in this kid. And I know those are big words. Tayshaun Prince is one of the best players to ever play here and had an incredible NBA championship career also.”
The physical resemblance is uncanny, and a comparison that Hawthorne had heard even before coming to UK.
“Kinda all arms and legs,” Pope said, adding that he really moves well for his size.
Hawthorne’s high school coach used to make the same remark, prompting the wiry player to look up Prince — who starred for the Cats from 1998-2002 under coach Tubby Smith before becoming an NBA champion with the Detroit Pistons and an Olympic gold medalist for Team USA — on the internet.
“I saw him do a little bit of everything — dunks, defense, shooting, all-around,” Hawthorne said. “… He’s a great player. I’m happy with that (comparison).”
Challenging transition to the college game
Like Prince, one of the keys for Hawthorne in making the transition from high school to college will be adding weight and strength. At 175 pounds, practice can be challenging.
“The biggest difference is just physicality and little things, like using angles, that (the UK veterans) know how to do,” he said.
He has learned quickly, however, what the fastest way to earn playing time as a freshman will be.
“Defense. You really gotta be on your Ps and Qs now,” he said. “No plays off… That’s what separates young guys from getting on the floor, defense.”