(Photo by Vicki Graff for YourSportsEdge.com)
When John Calipari needs a lockdown defender, he now knows who it will be — freshman guard Ashton Hagans.
“He’s physical. He’s more athletic. He can stay in front of people. If another team gets going with an individual player, what are we going to do as a team? We’re putting Ashton on him,” Calipari said after Kentucky beat UNC Greensboro last week.
Hagans’ athletic ability should be no surprise considering his family bloodline. One cousin — Ronnie Brown — played football at Auburn and then in the NFL. Another cousin — Trey Thompkins — played basketball at Georgia and then in the NBA and overseas. Brown and Thompkins were both all-SEC players.
“Trey played for the Clippers and then went overseas and Ronnie played for the Dolphins,” Hagans said. “They are like mentors to me telling me to keep my head on, play my game and just do what I have to do to get to the next level. It is a blessing to have them in my life because they have been through it all. They tell me what to expect and the hard work you have to put in not just at practice but in the mornings and the afternoons. That extra work it takes to make me a better player.”
What he can do best is play defense. Maybe his offense will come as he’s shown signs of being able to penetrate and either finish at the basket or find an open teammate. But he’s easily become UK’s best perimeter defender and teammates know it.
“Coach always says that Hagans can come in and change the energy of the game because of what he brings defensively,” freshman Tyler Herro said. “He’s been playing really good offensively as well. He is able to control and be a leader on the court but his defense is something else.”
There was a time when he was growing up in Georgia that it looked like football might be his sport — which is not really a surprise considering the emphasis on football in Georgia. His Little League football team won a state championship, not an easy task in Georgia. He played quarterback, running back and cornerback as one might expect for a player with his speed and agility.
“I wasn’t the best player on the team. There was a lot of talent on there. It was like an all-star team,” Hagans said. “But I was real good at football. I wanted to play football but I really didn’t like the contact, so I couldn’t do it. I had to go with basketball. I wouldn’t say I was soft. I could take the hits but I really didn’t like getting hit, especially when it was cold outside. I would just ball up (in the cold). I had to go to the indoor sport that was warmer.”
He made a good choice sticking with basketball. Hagans likes to guard full court. He knows how to play angles to disrupt offensive players.
“That is something I have enjoyed doing since I started playing the game,” Hagans said. “I think it brings the intensity level up for whole team. That is what I am here to do.”
“He’s a guy that’s still learning. He’s thinking about what’s next instead of just reacting to what’s next, and that’s just a natural progression of any young player,” Kentucky assistant coach Tony Barbee said. “Sometimes it comes quicker than others.
“Right now, Ashton’s picked things up (but) not quite at the pace as some other guys. We don’t want him out thinking defensively because he’s so disruptive. He put pressure on the ball, and if you can disrupt the timing of any offense starting at the point then your defense can be really good, and that’s what Ashton brings to the floor. Now we just need him to pick some of the other things up.”
UNC Greensboro coach Wes Miller thinks Hagans’ long arm and “great feet” makes it difficult to start offense when he is pressuring in the backcourt.
“When a guy like Hagans checks in it’s really difficult. He did a really nice job defeating screens off the ball and playing off the ball in the second half, but in scouting all we were really worried about was pressure in the back court,” Miller said. “He’s got really active hands, too, and that just makes him even better on defense.”
