Devonte Smith-Rivera is a big point guard who looks at Deron Williams as a role model. His combination of size (6-3 1/2 and 227 pounds) and skill makes Smith-Rivera talk about being a variation on the theme of talented point guards produced by Kentucky Coach John Calipari.
“They’ve had more quicker, faster guys,” he said of such Calipari point guards as Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, John Wall and Brandon Knight.
When a reporter noted that Eric Bledsoe was a muscular guard, Smith-Rivera smiled and said, “He’s one of the few.”
Smith-Rivera, a native of Indianapolis, said he aspires to be like Deron Williams, the big point guard star for Illinois in college and then the Utah Jazz/New Jersey Nets of the NBA.
Kentucky got in early on Smith-Rivera, expressing interest at the start of his sophomore year, he said. Since then, he’s heard from Ohio State, Xavier, Texas, Baylor, Georgetown, UCLA and Michigan State, among others, he said.
Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald- Leader has covered Kentucky basketball since the 1981-82 season. That time includes five coaches, five Final Fours, four athletic directors, two interim athletic directors and many memories. Before coming to Lexington, Tipton worked eight years for the Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch. He covered Marshall’s basketball team for two seasons before coming to the Herald-Leader.
