CJ Fredrick expected to be "ready to go" for season-opener following "minor procedure"

by:Jack Pilgrim07/12/21

Photos by Chet White | UK Athletics

CJ Fredrick is expected to be “ready to go” when the college basketball season tips off this fall, John Calipari announced this afternoon.

After Ryan Lemond reported on KSR this morning that the Iowa guard transfer underwent surgery this morning to repair a broken leg, the UK head coach confirmed that a procedure had been done, but clarified that it was only minor and “needed to be done at some point before the season.”

“(CJ Fredrick) had a minor procedure today that needed to be done at some point before the season,” Calipari announced. “He and his family decided to be proactive and have it done now rather than wait. We are all happy it went well and he will be back better than ever and ready to go for the season.”

The 6-foot-3 sharpshooter out of Cincinnati, OH missed several games last season due to plantar fasciitis. He also missed six games with a stress reaction in his left foot as a freshman.

“I had a really tough injury this past year,” Fredrick told reporters in June. “It was just something really naggy. I had plantar fasciitis in my left foot and it mentally and physically took a lot out of me. Waking up in the morning trying to take a step and I’m kinda collapsing. That’s tough. I’m trying to practice then play. It took a lot out of me mentally. Just being in the training room all day.”

Fredrick was named 2018 Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year after leading Covington Catholic to the state championship and a 35-4 record. He averaged 23.1 points per game in his senior season at CovCath and shot 48.4% from 3-point range. At Iowa, he averaged 8.8 points per game in 52 appearances. After redshirting in 2018-19, Fredrick made 47 3-pointers during the 2019-20 season and averaged 10.2 points and 2.8 assists per game. In the 2020-21 season, he averaged 7.5 points per game and made 36 threes but was limited in the second half of the season with the aforementioned injury.

Great news.

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2024-03-28