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Kentucky lands Creighton grad-transfer Davion Mintz

Davion Mintz
Davion Mintz (BRENDAN SULLIVAN/THE WORLD-HERALD)

Placing his name into the Transfer Portal last month, Creighton guard Davion Mintz has decided on where he will complete his college career. A graduate-transfer that will be immediately eligible in the fall, Mintz committed to Kentucky on Friday.

WHO IS HE?

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Battling an ankle injury, Mintz decided to sit out the entirety of his senior season this past winter which kept a full year of eligibility intact. Graduating this spring, Mintz, who will have one final year to play, was a former three-star prospect from the 2016 class. A native of North Carolina, Mintz saw starts in 79 of the 97 games that he played in during his three-year career at Creighton.

Expected to be fully healthy in the fall, Mintz’ final year of play came in the 2018-2019 season. In it, he started every game that he competed within and was oftentimes the primary playmaker within the Blue Jays’ half-court offense. He averaged 9.7 points, three rebounds, three assist and 1.1 steals per game as a junior.

Mintz possesses tremendous size and versatility in the backcourt. Standing over 6-foot-3, Mintz is more of a facilitator and playmaker rather than a scorer. He has never averaged in double figures in scoring for an entire season, though he is a career 35-percent shooter from 3-point range.

His primary task will be in running Kentucky’s offense next season. The entirety of its backcourt featuring Ashton Hagans, Immanuel Quickley and Tyrese Maxey will be gone for the NBA, which presented giant questions as to how well the incoming bunch of freshmen would excel in efficiently running Kentucky’s offense next year.

By enrolling Mintz, John Calipari will have a safety valve that will bring close to 100 games of college experience to the perimeter. Mintz may not possess the athleticism or pop compared past blue-chip prospects that UK has enrolled, but his presence and maturity was a much-needed addition for the Cats.

Looking ahead, Mintz should be someone that sees between 15 to 20 minutes per game next season and ease much of the burden that would have been placed onto Devin Askew’s shoulders as its primary and potentially lone playmaker. The two, along with BJ Boston, Terrence Clarke and Keion Brooks, give UK one of the best, most well-rounded perimeter groups in the sport.

Expect for Kentucky to scour the Transfer Portal further this spring as it attempts to squelch its big man need as they have continued to pursue Purdue graduate-transfer Matt Haarms.

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