Gonzaga: Kyle Wiltjer’s Transformation Into An All-American
By Bobby Reagan
Most people don’t transfer out of a blueblood basketball program after winning a national title and a conference sixth man of the year award while also being a McDonald’s All-American. But, most people aren’t Kyle Wiltjer.
The redshirt junior forward came to Lexington as part of one of the best recruiting classes in history joining the likes of Anthony Davis, Michael-Kidd Gilchrist and Marquis Teague to help lift the Wildcats to their eighth national championship.
While the rest of his classmates declared for the NBA Draft after one season, Wiltjer stuck around and it looked like he would be the man on another dominant Kentucky squad. However, Nerlens Noel tore his ACL, players didn’t develop the way they usually do under John Calipari and Kentucky lost in the first round of the NIT to Robert Morris.
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Wiltjer then made a decision which ultimately will help him in the long run. He announced his decision to transfer back closer to home and play at Gonzaga. Now, how could that possibly help someone when Kentucky produces more NBA draft picks than any other school?
The answer is simple. Wiltjer transformed his body and game during his year off. The Portland native stands at 6’10” but was always known as a soft player who stayed outside the paint, looking to shoot three’s. Thanks to Gonzaga strength coach Travis Knight and a 20-pound medicine ball, Wiltjer is now playing like an All-American, despite not even making the NBA Draft watch list.
During his redshirt season, Knight would lineup directly in front of Wiltjer and throw the 20-pound medicine ball at his chest, to simulate the physical nature of playing down low against opposite big guys. Once the ball hit his chest, Wiltjer wasn’t allowed to flinch but had to pick up the ball before it bounced twice on the ground.
He’s now averaging over five rebounds a game, not great for a 6’10” guy, but extremely better than where he was at one point.
While the body transformation has helped Wiltjer on the glass, it’s helped him become an all-around player on the offensive side of the ball. He still has his smooth stroke from deep, shooting 43 percent from behind the line and causing opposing defenses to stretch the floor.
However, he’s developed the post game that so many Kentucky fans kept waiting for him to showcase during his two seasons as a Wildcat.
In his two seasons with Kentucky, 52.5 percent of his shots were from deep. However, this season he’s only taking roughly 30 percent of his shots from behind the arc. This is thanks to a strong midrange game he’s developed as well as nifty work in the post. It’s translated to a ridiculous shooting percentage, with Wiltjer shooting 59.7 percent from inside the three-point line.
Along with the incredible shooting, Wiltjer brings experience playing in big games thanks to the national championship run he had at Kentucky. It’s showing so far this season as Gonzaga is currently sitting at No. 7 in the AP poll with a 12-1 record. In six games against teams in power conferences, Wiltjer is averaging 16.6 points and 7.75 rebounds per game.
Gonzaga’s struck gold once with a scrawny kid who sat out a redshirt year and blossomed into an All-American with Kelly Olynyk a couple season ago. It looks like the Bulldogs have done it again.