Kyle Wiltjer

Kyle Wiltjer

Wiltjer with Kentucky in 2012
No. 18 – Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Position Power forward / Center
League NBA Development League
Personal information
Born (1992-10-20) October 20, 1992
Portland, Oregon
Nationality Canadian / American
Listed height 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
Listed weight 243 lb (110 kg)
Career information
High school Jesuit (Beaverton, Oregon)
College
NBA draft 2016 / Undrafted
Playing career 2016–present
Career history
2016–present Houston Rockets
2016–present →Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's Basketball
Representing  Canada
Pan American Games
2015 Toronto National team

Kyle Wiltjer (born October 20, 1992) is a Canadian-American professional basketball player for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League, on assignment from the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He spent two seasons with the Kentucky Wildcats before deciding to transfer to Gonzaga in 2013.[1] He holds dual U.S. and Canadian citizenship, and has committed himself to the Canadian national team.

High school career

Wiltjer attended Jesuit High School in Beaverton, Oregon, where he led the school to three consecutive Oregon state championships.

Wiltjer played in the 2011 McDonald's All-American Game in Chicago. Also, he played in the 2011 Nike Hoop Summit in his hometown of Portland and in the 2011 Jordan Brand Classic in Charlotte.

College recruiting and career

Wiltjer was ranked as the No. 18 recruit in the class of 2011 in the ESPNU 100, the No. 25 recruit by Rivals.com, and the No. 22 recruit by Scout.com. He chose to play basketball for the University of Kentucky Wildcats and coach John Calipari on August 28, 2010. He had also considered Kansas, California, Texas, Gonzaga, Georgia Tech, and Wake Forest.

Although he was a 5-star recruit according to all of the recruiting analysts, Kyle Wiltjer never started a game his freshman season at Kentucky, and did not play as many minutes as fellow freshmen Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Marquis Teague. He averaged only 11.3 MPG and 4.8 PPG, although his 3-point percentage was a noticeable 42.5%. The Kentucky Wildcats won the 2012 NCAA championship during Wiltjer's freshman year.

Wiltjer began the 2012–13 season as a starter. In his third game of the season, against Lafayette, he accumulated 23 points, 2 assists, and 4 rebounds. However, he would eventually settle in to an off-the-bench role, being named the SEC's Sixth Man of the Year.

In April 2013, he had announced he would remain at Kentucky for his junior season. However, he eventually changed his mind, posting a letter on Kentucky's official athletic website on June 23 indicating that he would transfer in order to "compete the way I know I can. ... wherever that may be." A later report indicated that Wiltjer had drawn interest from three of the four Division I programs in his home state of Oregon (Oregon, Oregon State, Portland), Gonzaga, Stanford, and Texas. According to that report, "he left the door open to return to Kentucky if he can't find the right situation."[2] On July 19, multiple media outlets reported that Wiltjer had chosen Gonzaga.[3][4] The transfer became official the next day, when Gonzaga received a signed copy of a financial aid agreement. After sitting out the 2013–14 season due to NCAA transfer rules, he had two remaining seasons of eligibility.[5]

In February 2015 he scored a career-high 45 points against Pacific.[6] Wiltjer led Gonzaga to its second ever Elite Eight appearance and a school record 35-3 record. He was named a Consensus Second-Team All-American, as well as First-Team All-WCC and WCC Newcomer of the Year.[7] In his first season with Gonzaga he appeared in 38 games averaging 16.8 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game and 1.9 assists per game in 27.6 minutes per game.[8] After contemplating forgoing his remaining eligibility to enter the 2015 NBA Draft, WIltjer decided to return to Gonzaga for his senior year.[9]

Entering his second season with Gonzaga, Wiltjer was named CBS Sports' preseason player of the year.[10] Sports Illustrated projected Wiltjer as the preseason player of the year, scoring champion, and the top-usage player in all of NCAA Division 1 basketball.[11] He was named to the 35-man midseason watchlist for the Naismith Trophy on February 11.[12]

College statistics

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2011–12 Kentucky 40 0 11.6 .438 .432 .815 1.8 0.4 0.1 0.4 5.0
2012–13 Kentucky 33 10 23.8 .421 .367 .810 4.2 1.5 0.4 0.4 10.2
2014–15 Gonzaga 38 37 27.6 .540 .466 .789 6.2 1.9 0.5 0.7 16.8
2015–16 Gonzaga 36 36 33.6 .491 .437 .857 6.3 1.5 0.4 0.8 20.4
Career 147 83 23.8 .487 .425 .814 4.6 1.3 0.3 0.6 13.0

Awards and honors

Professional career

Houston Rockets (2016–present)

After going undrafted in the 2016 NBA draft, Wiltjer joined the Houston Rockets for the 2016 NBA Summer League. On September 23, 2016, he signed with the Rockets.[14] On November 13, 2016, he was assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the Rockets' D-League affiliate.[15] He was recalled by the Rockets on November 21.[16]

Controversies

In a [17] 2016 interview with Pardon My Take, Wiltjer told hosts PFT Commenter and Barstool Big Cat that another Gonzaga alum, Adam Morrison is paranoid and has an apocalypse bunker that includes a large amount of guns and ammo. The story went viral, with national outlets such as The New York Daily News and Bleacher Report disseminating the claim. Morrison [18] appeared on Pardon My Take and vehemently denied Wiltjer's account, though he acknowledged he is a gun collector. Wiltjer subsequently went undrafted in the 2016 NBA Draft.

Personal life

Kyle is the son of Greg, a former Canadian professional basketball player, and Carol Wiltjer. He is also brother to Jordan Adams, former WNBA player for the Minnesota Lynx.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Graves, Gary (June 23, 2013). "Kentucky F Kyle Wiltjer says he is transferring". Yahoo! Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Kyle Wiltjer may transfer from UK". ESPN.com. June 25, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
  3. ↑ Goodman, Jeff (July 19, 2013). "Sources: Kyle Wiltjer to Gonzaga". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  4. ↑ Borzello, Jeff (July 19, 2013). "Kentucky transfer Kyle Wiltjer headed to Gonzaga". Eye on College Basketball. CBSSports.com. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Kyle Wiltjer Officially Joins Gonzaga Men's Basketball Team" (Press release). Gonzaga Athletics. July 20, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Wiltjer's has career-high 45, No. 2 Gonzaga beats Pacific". February 20, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 "WCC Announces 2015 Men's Basketball All-Conference Team". March 3, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Kyle Wiltjer player profile". March 29, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Gonzaga forward Kyle Wiltjer returning for senior season". April 20, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Gonzaga senior Kyle Wiltjer is CBS Sports' Preseason Player of Year". October 6, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Player of the Year projections: Wiltjer, Simmons a cut above competition". October 14, 2015.
  12. ↑ Payne, Terrence (February 11, 2016). "Naismith Trophy midseason list announced". Fox Sports. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  13. ↑ "USBWA names 2014-15 All-Americans". Retrieved March 16, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Rockets Announce Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Rockets' Kyle Wiltjer: Assigned to D-League". cbssports.com. November 13, 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  16. ↑ Feigen, Jonathan (November 21, 2016). "Rockets recall Chinanu Onuaku, Kyle Wiltjer". Chron.com. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  17. ↑ http://www.barstoolsports.com/chicago/pardon-my-take-3-25m/
  18. ↑ http://www.barstoolsports.com/chicago/pardon-my-take-4-6-with-special-guest-adam-morrison/

External links

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