Single-digit number, single-minded zeal part of new Kentucky player’s bio

There’s a story behind why transfer CJ Fredrick will wear No. 1 when playing for Kentucky this coming season.

For one thing, it’s the number he wore in leading Covington Catholic to the 2018 Kentucky state high school championship.

“So, I figured, I’m coming back home . . . ,” Fredrick said Saturday after a youth basketball camp UK conducted at Covington Catholic High School. “It was available, and I wanted to jump on that as quickly as I could just because I’m familiar with it and have great memories wearing that jersey.”

And now for the kicker:

“So, I’m looking forward to making many more,” he said.

Fredrick prefers to wear single-digit numbers. The “family number” is 3, he said before adding, “but I kind of wanted to step outside and do something different. Be my own person.”

Fredrick wore No. 5 while playing for Iowa. It was just a number that was available.

“And it was better than, like, an 11 or 12. So, I jumped on 5.”

Fredrick jumped off when coming to Kentucky in deference to the late Terrence Clarke, who wore No. 5 for UK last season. Clarke died in a car accident April 22.

“I never really felt comfortable wearing 5 here,” he said. “I just felt like all he did for the university, and the people and the teammates that he touched, I felt it really wasn’t my place to take that away from him and his family. Their family, it should be their decision. I shouldn’t be wearing that.”

The youth camp Saturday was a homecoming for Fredrick. His grandmother, Mary Jo Fredrick, was there in the Covington Catholic gym. So were his parents, Chuck and Laura. So was Uncle Joe, a 1,000-point scorer for Notre Dame.

Missing was his grandfather, the late Charlie Fredrick, who was a good enough athlete to receive a scholarship to play football for Notre Dame.

“He was someone really special to me,” Fredrick said of his grandfather. “I’ll carry him with me on this journey.”

This journey begins with preparation for Kentucky’s 2021-22 season. The basketball adjustment from Iowa to Kentucky is not total, he said.

“At Iowa, there’s no professional sports teams either,” Fredrick said. “Those fans (who cheer for Iowa), they’re really good. They go crazy for their team, too. They were great for me.

“But, here, it’s a little different.”

Different?

“These fans, they’re the best in the country,” he said. “There’s no doubt about it. They’re great people and great fans. . . . You can just feel the excitement.”

Fredrick spoke of unsolicited dinner invitations as part of the fan enthusiasm for Kentucky players.

The youth camp at Covington Cathlic allowed Fredrick to enjoy tributes to the 2018 state championship for the first time. The gym was refurbished months after the fact. He got to see for the first time a plaque commemorating him being named Kentucky’s Gatorade Player of the Year.

“Really cool,” he said. “Really neat.”

Fredrick also saw a posting on an outer wall noting that he set three school records in 2017-18: most points (900), field goals (315) and three-point baskets (107) in a season.

Fredrick’s 1,651 points ranks third most in a career of a Covington Catholic player.

If you think such numbers satisfy Fredrick, you don’t know the player.

“Very competitive kid,” Covington Catholic Coach Scott Ruthsatz said Saturday. “Super, super competitive in everything whether it was shooting drills in practice. One thing he’s going to bring with him is an extreme competitiveness.”

It’s a family trait, Fredrick said. He recalled family gatherings that included competitions on the court in Uncle Joe’s backyard.

“It was every man for himself,” Fredrick said.

Trash talking was an option liberally executed. “Nothing my grandma would want to hear,” Fredrick said.

Fredrick comes to Kentucky with the reputation of being a shooter. As a freshman in 2019-20, he led the Big Ten in three-point shooting accuracy (46.1 percent). No Iowa freshman has ever shot a better percentage from beyond the arc.

Shooting is something he’s been doing since he was a toddler.

“I was, like, 2 or 3, and I used to have these drawers that you could slide in and out,” he said. “And my mom said I would roll some socks up and just shoot into the drawers. So, that’s kind of when it started.”

Family history — an aunt played for Xavier and his father played for Samford and then Rollins — all but mandate that Fredrick compete in athletics.

Like most players, Fredrick recoiled at being labeled a shooter.

“I’ve been labeled that kind of my whole life,” he said. “I don’t really listen to it. . . . I just try to be a complete player.”

Fredrick spoke of improving his conditioning. Plantar fasciitis in his left foot hampered him last season. He also said he wanted to expand his shooting range to the NBA distance, but also improve as a ball hander in order to get in the lane, draw defenders and then set up teammates for open shots with passes.

What came to mind was UK Coach John Calipari insisting that players like Malik Monk and Jamal Murray not “settle” for predictable (and defendable) jump shots, but add drives to the basket set up by ball fakes to their games.

“Exactly,” Fredrick said. “Try to be as smart as I can be.”

Fredrick said he respected Calipari for wanting players to be multifaceted.

“Play the whole game and not get tired” was the goal, he said. “Those are the ones that make it.”