Bam Adebayo Selected No. 14 by the Miami Heat in the NBA Draft

by:Nick Roush•06/22/17•

@RoushKSR

Bam Adebayo rose up the draft boards to become the third Wildcat selected in tonight's lottery and the 17th lottery selection in the Calipari era.  Pat Riley has selected Bam Adebayo to play for the Miami Heat. A McDonald's and Jordan Brand All-American hailing from the mountains of North Carolina, the powerful post player took some time to find his game, but dominated down the final stretch of the season.  He had six double-doubles in his final 13 games, doubling his total from the first half of the season. A Second Team All-SEC selection, Bam averaged 13 points, 8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in his only season at UK.  He dunked the ball 101 times, the most by any player in the Calipari era.   Here's just a few of them from the NCAA Tournament. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0g2YeUHsZKg&t=129s Adebayo's first round selection makes John Calipari perfect with one-and-dones.  21 UK players have declared for the draft after their freshman season, 21 have been drafted in the first round. At the end of the season, there was some question as to whether or not Bam would be drafted in the first round, but he ended up a lottery pick, thanks in part to Calipari believing in him. "Never doubt myself," Bam said of Cal's advice. "He always told me to stay positive and everything would work out." Bam made a drastic jump in the mocks in the past few days, which he credited to his improved shooting in workouts. "I improved my shooting. Everybody thought I couldn't shoot then I got in these workouts and everyone was shocked." What was it like for Bam to share this night with De'Aaron Fox, Malik Monk, and Calipari? "We're like brothers so this is our graduation again. Just being here, Cal being one of our dads. Just this experience, it's wonderful."

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