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De'Aaron Fox

6-3, 170 Point Guard
Kentucky Freshman
Birthday
12/20/97 (26.2 yrs)
Hometown
Katy, TX
High School
Cypress Lakes
Team Site Profile
Statistics
Athleticism
9
Size
8
Defense
9
Strength
7
Quickness
10
Leadership
8
Jump Shot
7
NBA Ready
7
Ball Handling
8
Potential
9
Passing
8
Intangibles
8

NBA Comparison: John Wall/Dennis Schroeder

Strengths: De’Aaron Fox is a kid that plays with a great attitude and enthusiasm … He has an excellent combination of size, length, and athleticism … At 6’3” with a 6’6.5” wingspan he has a great set of physical tools for a lead guard … His 8’4 standing reach is solid size for a 2-guard … Where Fox particularly stands out, however, is his elite end to end speed in transition that drew numerous John Wall comparisons during his freshman season … He also has an outstanding first step from both a stand still position and off the dribble and is an explosive leaper with the ability to finish above the rim regularly … He is an absolute blur with the ball in the open court and has great shiftiness that allows him to get to the rim at will … Fox also has a tight handle and does a terrific job of changing gears; his ability to play slow to fast is partly what makes him so difficult to stay in front of … When he has a driving lane to the basket he shows tremendous burst and change of pace before turning in frequent emphatic finishes at the rim … In the half court, Fox’s speed is just as useful … He is gifted with tremendous burst that makes his ball handling ability even more effective, allowing him to get into the paint off the dribble, even without a ball screen. He projects to be among the NBA’s most elusive guards from day one … His elite burst and ball handling allow him to create via the pick and roll or isolation (21.2 points per 40 minutes), and he does a good job of drawing contact and getting to the free throw line (7.5 free throw attempts per 40 minutes) … Fox still needs to add more consistency with his shot, but he is a capable mid range shooter off the dribble with sound mechanics … His jumper in the long run is encouraging as he gets great elevation and releases the ball high … When he cannot get all the way to the rim, he utilizes an impressive floater with good touch … He combines his quickness with the ability to drive with either hand, and he does a great job of changing gears with the ball in his hands … He uses a variety of dribble moves and counter moves to freeze his defender from hang dribbles, hesitations, hard crosses, in and outs, etc … Fox also demonstrates great footwork on his crossover into his pull up jump shot, where he is capable of knocking it down if the defense sags off too far … Off the pick and roll, he is an absolute mismatch for big men that occasionally get caught switching on him; he will use hard in and out dribbles that cover a lot of ground to blow by defenders and get to the basket … He can also cover a lot of ground with the dribble and rarely is there any wasted movement with the ball … Despite being taller for a lead guard, he has a low dribble that makes him much more explosive and difficult to contain … He is constantly keeping the defense guessing by playing high to low and slow to fast, which really aids him when his jumper is not working for him … Fox is not an elite facilitator yet, but he has solid vision (5.8 assists per 40 minutes) … His ability to collapse the defense on the drive points towards high upside as a playmaker … He also has the size to see over the top of the defense with an improving pick and roll game as well … Fox has good vision in space and always keeps his head up in transition, showing the ability to deliver accurate passes with either hand to teammates running the floor … Fox has outstanding potential as a defender as well with his size, length, lateral quickness, and instincts … He also has elite reaction time with quick hands and high activity off the ball … At times he will pressure full court and make it very difficult for opposing ball handlers to initiate an offense … He shows great motor in this end of the court as well, as he does en exemplary job of helping off the ball, and still closing out to his man under control when the ball is kicked out. He does an outstanding job of stopping his man’s first move and forcing him to change directions … He anticipates passing lanes very well and has active hands on the ball to force turnovers …

Weaknesses: The biggest obstacle for Fox in his transition to the NBA is his lack of a consistent jump shot … Fox made just 31% of his pull-up jumpers, and 20% of his spot up attempts in the half court this season, but he connected on a far more respectable 55% and 36% of those attempts respectively in March … When his jumper is not working, his half-court scoring becomes much more limited and the defense can sag off of him, which somewhat negates his elite quickness … One piece of his shot that he could fix is his tendency to flex his elbow too more, creating almost a slingshot-like release … Fox does not have NBA range at this stage and is much more effective inside the arc; he needs to work on being balanced more consistently on his pull-ups … Fox still is learning to find the right balance between scoring and facilitating … He has a tendency to get too sped up when going to the rim and be a little out of control … He does not always anticipate a play well before they happen, and he can work on his timing with passes … He could also work on his timing and patience off the pick and roll, as he can be especially turnover prone in this department … Fox is still young but he will need to add strength and fill out his wiry frame to hold up over time against the bigger guards in the league … He may struggle initially with bigger guards on defense and finishing through contact in the NBA … He has potential to be a lockdown defender, but sometimes he can be a bit too upright on the ball, which mitigates his lateral quickness …

Notes: Measured 6′ 2” barefoot, 6′ 3.25′ in shoes, 169.6 lbs, 6′ 6.5′ wingspan, 8′ 4” standing reach at the 2017 NBA Draft Combine … Born Dec. 20, 1997, in New Orleans … Son of Aaron Fox and Lorraine Harris-Fox … Has one brother, Quentin … Nicknamed “Fox” and “Swipa” … His mom played basketball at Arkansas-Little Rock … Chose his jersey number because he feels like you should fear no one … Besides basketball, he lists gaming as a hobby … Chose Kentucky over Kansas, Louisville and LSU… Named to the All-USA Boys Basketball team as a first-team selection … Also made the Naismith All-America First Team … Naismith High School Player of the Year finalist … Also a McDonald’s All-American and participated in both the Jordan Brand Classic game and the Nike Hoop Summit … Shared MVP honors at the Jordan Brand Classic with fellow UK signee Malik Monk…First Team All-SEC Selection

William P. Desautelle III 6/15/17

Strengths: 6’3 shifty left handed point guard … Good size and length for the position … Explosive athleticism and high skill level. Changes speeds very well. Great lead guard in transition. Pushes the ball at every opportunity and is a blur in the open floor. Elite quickness: quick hands, feet, and great reaction time … Good court vision and passing ability. Great touch on lob passes and floaters. Handles the ball very well … Has the ability to avoid traps and break a press by himself … Has good body control; plays with a lot of creativity and craftiness … Gets where he wants off the dribble and breaks down the defense efficiently … Uses hop steps to get to the middle of the floor and avoids contact. Swift footwork in traffic … Can score from multiple spots on the floor. Very good midrange scorer where he can get to at will. Good pull up jumper … Has range out to three … Rebounds well for a guard … Top notch defender especially on the ball, can rip good ball handlers in one on one situations … Great anticipation in the passing lanes. Great defensive tools moving forward with his length, quickness, and instincts …

Weaknesses: Can be a streaky shooter. More of a scorer than consistent shooter right now … Has a slight frame. Very light at 175 pounds … Lacks ideal strength in both upper and lower body, although he has added some muscle tone over the past year … Can score in traffic but playing through contact will be an obstacle at the college level and beyond … Definitely shows good passing ability but can put too much heat on passes at unnecessary times. Can try to do too much at times, can play a bit more under control and limit turnovers. Can improve overall as a decision maker and could benefit by keeping the game simple … Can improve as a leader and floor general. Also, setting the pace of the game … Has room to improve in the half court …

Outlook: Fox enters his college career as Kentucky’s next elite point guard prospect. Led the Nike EYBL in assists and steals per game with 5.4 and 2.8 respectfully. Fox earned Co-MVP of the Jordan Brand Classic along with Kentucky backcourt teammate, Malik Monk.

Evan Tomes 9/27/16

Notes: Measured 6’3.5 (in shoes) 164 lbs, with a 6’6 wingspan at the 2014 Nike Guard Skills Academy … Measured 6’4’’ in shoes, with a 6’6’’ wingspan and 170 lbs at the 2015 Nike Basketball Academy

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