WATCH: Devin Askew shines against Cade Cunningham at Peach Jam

The Kentucky men’s basketball program has its point guard for next year, as 2021 five-star prospect Devin Askew officially reclassified to the class of 2020 and signed his letter of intent with the program on Friday morning.

Askew, a 6-foot-4 point guard out of Santa Ana, CA, committed to Kentucky in October, but originally decided he would stay put in 2021 until the end of his junior season before making a decision on a reclassification. Today, he changed course, officially joining the likes of Terrence Clarke, BJ Boston, Lance Ware, and Cam’Ron Fletcher in Kentucky’s upcoming recruiting class.

One of the underlying storylines of this news? Following Cade Cunningham’s decision to commit and sign with the Oklahoma State Cowboys, Kentucky desperately needed a lead guard next season. And though a reclass for Askew was deemed inevitable, nothing was official until that letter of intent came through this morning.

With this new addition, let me take you back a few months to a moment we saw between both Askew and Cunningham at the 2019 Nike EYBL Peach Jam Finals.

In the Peach Jam quarterfinals, Cunningham’s one-seed Texas Titans were paired up with Askew’s eight-seed Team WhyNot, with elite prospects such as Jalen Green (WhyNot), Greg Brown (Titans), Nimari Burnett (WhyNot), and Addison Patterson (WhyNot) also featured in the matchup.

Averaging 25.1 PPG on 55.7% shooting during the EYBL regular season and 24.4 PPG on an absurd 74% shooting in five games at Peach Jam, Cunningham had lived up to the billing as the top guard in the nation in his final AAU season. As a strong, physical force with smooth offensive moves and patience around the basket, the 6-foot-6 point guard essentially scored at will all summer long.

Until he was matched up against Askew in the opening round of Peach Jam bracket play.

Against Askew, Cunningham finished with a season-low six points (2-8 shooting and 0-1 from three), just the second time the five-star guard finished with fewer than ten points all season. He managed an impressive 11 rebounds and 10 assists, but for a player known as one of the best scorers in all of high school basketball, Askew essentially made him a non-factor on the scoreboard. The 6-foot-4 guard – and Kentucky’s newest signee – found a way to make Cunningham widely uncomfortable, proving to be a pest on the defensive end of the floor. Where Cunningham usually thrived in creating space and finding holes in the defense, the five-star guard simply couldn’t convert.

Meanwhile, Askew finished with 12 points on 5-12 shooting to go with team-highs in rebounds (9) and assists (6) to help lead Team WhyNot to an 87-81 upset victory. While Cunningham’s AAU career had come to a close, Askew’s kept trekking along all the way to the Peach Jam title game.

Here is the game footage from the epic matchup, with several plays highlighting Askew’s impressive play on both ends of the floor:

As a quick refresher for those unfamiliar with Askew’s game, the newest Wildcat signee is considered – as seen above – a knockdown shooter with elite floor general qualities.

During the Nike EYBL regular season, Askew averaged 9.8 points (46.2% from three), 3.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.8 steals per contest before raising that to 16.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 2.0 steals per contest during Peach Jam. Throughout the entire 2019 AAU season, Askew made at least one 3-pointer in 16 of 20 total games, at least two 3-pointers in 11 games, at least four 3-pointers in six games, and at least five 3-pointers in two games.

As a sophomore at Mater Dei High School last season, Askew averaged 14.0 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.8 assists, and 2.1 steals per contest. He also had a 2.72-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

The 6-foot-4 guard committed to Kentucky over offers from Louisville, Arizona, Memphis, and Villanova, among others.

Here are just a few of his highlights over the last year or so:

Now, Askew is officially a member of Kentucky’s 2020 recruiting class and will arrive in Lexington next summer.

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