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23 E.J. Montgomery

Name
E.J. Montgomery
Position
Forward
Class
SO
Hometown (Last School)
Fort Pierce, FL (Wheeler)
Ht
6'10"
Wt
228
Seasons
2018-19, 2019-20
Birthday
September 12, 1999

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2019-20

Sophomore: Declared for 2020 NBA Draft following the season … Major improvements in his sophomore season and evolved into a full-time starter … Posted career highs in points (6.1 per game), rebounding (5.4 per game), blocks (1.1 per game), field-goal percentage (51.8%) and free-throw percentage (66.7%) … Carved a role late in the season with key hustle plays, coming up with important rebounds and 50-50 balls as UK won 17 of 20 down the stretch … Had the game-winning tip-in with 11 seconds to play to help UK overcome an 18-point deficit at Florida … Played one of his best all-around games of the season with eight points, a season-high-tying 10 rebounds, a career-high three assists and two steals at Texas A&M … Grabbed eight rebounds in the win vs. Ole Miss … Recorded six points, nine rebounds and a season-high-tying three blocks in the comeback victory at Vanderbilt … Flirted with a double-double with 12 points and eight rebounds to go along with three blocks while playing superb defense vs. Southeastern Conference Player of the Year candidate Reggie Perry vs. Mississippi State … Nine points in the home win vs. Vanderbilt … Posted 10 points and six rebounds at home in the triumph against Georgia at home … Recorded eight points on 4-of-6 shooting in addition to six boards vs. Alabama … Nearly posted a double-double with eight points and a season-high-tying 10 rebounds vs. Utah … Career performance vs. Fairleigh Dickinson with 25 points and nine rebounds … Made 12 of 16 shots in the win over FDU … Went for 16 points and nine rebounds in the rout of UAB … Missed three games in the middle of November with a right ankle sprain.

2018-19

Freshman: Declared for the NBA Draft but elected to return to school for his sophomore season … Appeared in all 37 games for the Wildcats during his freshman campaign, including making 10 starts … Started in nine of UK’s final 11 games … UK was 9-1 overall when he started … Scored 139 points, had 150 rebounds, totaled 38 blocks, posted 16 steals and had 15 assists … Ranked third on the team with the 38 rejections and led the team in the category in 14 games … Logged three games with three or more swats … Had two games with double-figure scoring and two with double-digit rebounds … Led the team in steals in six games … Grabbed 11 rebounds in his NCAA Tournament debut against Abilene Christian … Scored eight points against Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference Tournament semifinals … Posted a career-high four blocks, six rebounds and two points at Ole Miss … In the first game without Reid Travis (sprained right knee), started and played 23 minutes against Auburn … Finished with six points, seven rebounds, three blocks and a pair of steals in that win …  Scored six points and had four rebounds in nine minutes of the win over No. 1/1 Tennessee … Earned his first career double-double with career highs in points (11) and rebounds (13) in a win over South Carolina … Also drained a 3-pointer against the Gamecocks … Had two momentum-changing offensive rebounds in a come-from-behind win at Florida … Posted six points and six rebounds at Georgia … Had five or more points in seven of his first eight career games … Totaled eight points and five rebounds against UNC Greensboro … Registered seven points, four boards and a pair of steals against Monmouth … Logged eight points, seven rebounds and a pair of blocks against North Dakota … Scored 10 points and had seven rebounds in a win over Southern Illinois … Had eight points and six rebounds in his collegiate debut against No. 4/3 Duke.

Bahamas: Scored eight points and had six rebounds in 19 minutes against the Bahamas National Team … Did not play in the final three games with back spasms.

HIGH SCHOOL

Averaged 25.6 points, 13.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game at Wheeler … During his career he captured MVP honors, First Team All-State accolades and was named Florida’s player of the year … Scored 12 points and had five rebounds at the McDonald’s All American Game … 2017-18 Marietta Daily Journal/Cobb County Boys Basketball Player of the Year … Began his high school career at Montverde Academy and played with future NBA No. 1 overall draft pick Ben Simmons … Considered a five-star recruit and was ranked as high as No. 6 overall by 247 Sports … The service also listed him as the No. 1 power forward … Rivals ranked him No. 11 overall, while ESPN listed him at No. 14 … Also participated in multiple junior national team mini-camps with USA Basketball.

PERSONAL

Born Sept. 12 in Fort Pierce, Florida … Major is community and leadership development … Parents are Efrem and Glenda Montgomery … Has two sisters, Brittni and Brandy … Both of his parents and his two sisters played basketball in college … Lists some of his favorite movies as Love and Basketball, Friday and The Purge … Also played football … A hobby outside of basketball is playing video games, particularly NBA2K and Fortnite … Greatest fear is not fulfilling his dreams … Parents are his biggest influence … Chose Kentucky because of its great coaches and the opportunity to continue to improve his game.

On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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