Jay Bilas praises Ashton Hagans’ decision to return to Kentucky, calls him ‘one of the best defenders’
By Adam Spencer
Published:
The Kentucky Wildcats are losing a lot of talent from last year’s team, including freshmen Tyler Herro and Keldon Johnson and sophomore PJ Washington.
However, talented PG Ashton Hagans will return for his sophomore season after averaging 7.7 points, 4.3 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game.
On Monday, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas praised Hagans’ decision to return to Kentucky, citing the example that Washington set just this past season (via Kentucky.com):
“I think he’s got a ways to go to become a finished product,” Bilas said. “That’s not a knock on him (as a NBA prospect). Look how well it went for PJ Washington at the same school. That’s certainly a very good blueprint.”
Bilas said Hagans is already one of the best defenders in college basketball, especially at the point guard position:
“One of the best defenders in the country last year,” Bilas said Monday on a teleconference promoting ESPN’s telecast of Thursday’s NBA Draft. “And, certainly, I’d put him among the two or three best on-ball defenders at the point guard position.”
Hagans’ offensive game needs to improve, so we’ll see if he can do that in 2019-20 and become Kentucky’s next first-round draft pick.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
