In his college career, CJ Fredrick has been very injury prone. In fact, the Covington native has yet to play a full season of college basketball without injury.
2018-19, Iowa: Cracked rib, used medical redshirt 2019-20, Iowa: Injured ankle (jones fracture); offseason surgery 2020-21, Iowa: Plantar fasciitis; missed practice and four games 2021-22, Kentucky: Stress fracture, hamstring tear; out for season.
Coming home to Kentucky, Fredrick was supposed to have a fresh start, but that was not the case.
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Looking at a long road to recovery, Fredrick found himself asking,”‘Why me? I do everything right, work so hard, love basketball. I don’t understand why this is happening to me,” he said in an article with Kyle Tucker of the Athletic.
From that point forward, Fredrick refused to look at the situation as a negative. “Something just clicked in my head: I’m going to turn this into a positive.”
That is exactly what he did.
Already an elite shooter and possessing a high basketball IQ, Fredrick had to get his body right to prevent injuries and to get in better shape. Coming to Kentucky at 205 pounds and 20 percent body fat, he is now down to 180 pounds and 10 percent body fat.
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Fredrick’s girlfriend and Kentucky women’s basketball star Blair Green, says, “He’s always flexing now.”
A year after the most serious injury of his career, Fredrick is getting that fresh start that he desired and is taking full advantage.
Through the first two games of the season, CJ Fredrick averaged 17 points, 3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists on 61 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent shooting from three. These numbers aren’t just amongst the best of the team, but also amongst the best in the country.
Following his Kentucky debut against Howard, KY Insider talked to Fredrick and asked what it means to him to be playing so well and for his home school after such a lengthy injury history.
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“Last year, as much as it sucked not to play, I just tried to look at it as a positive. It was almost a blessing in disguise. It helped me get in really really good shape. Just kind of learn what goes on here [Kentucky]. How the guards play here. Just learn the game in a new system… it is a blessing to come out here and do what I love again and play in front of my family.”
If you are someone that is still unsure of what to expect from Fredrick this season, he says, “They’re getting someone who will play with a ton of energy, who loves the game so much that when I play… I have that dog mentality.”
It is good to see Fredrick back on the floor doing what he loves and playing at a high level for the Wildcats.
On Tuesday, the Louisville Sports Commission announced that Kentucky Wildcat legends Randall Cobb and Tayshaun Prince were elected to the Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame class of 2025.
The KSHOF recognizes individuals that have made significant impacts in sports for the state of Kentucky. Other members of the class of 2025 include Louisville native, former University of Louisville gymnast, gymnastics coach, and longtime international gymnastics judge Carole Liedtke and highly accomplished female trap shooter Nora Martin Ross from Paris.
A selection committee made up of 15 sports media professionals from around Kentucky voted on the 2025 class. The KSHOF Selection Committee votes were independently tabulated by regional accounting firm Dean Dorton, one of Kentucky’s largest accounting and advisory firms, with offices in Louisville, Lexington and Raleigh, N.C.
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Cobb, Prince and the remaining 2025 KSHOF class members and their families will be honored on Tuesday, Sept. 23, at Freedom Hall in Louisville.
Randall Cobb
Coming out of high school in 2008, Cobb was a three-star quarterback recruit from Alcoa, Tennessee, just south of Knoxville. Cobb was only given three offers out of high school; he chose Kentucky over nearby schools Tennessee and Middle Tennessee.
In Lexington, Cobb became the ultimate utility player due to his extreme athleticism. He is remembered as one of the most versatile athletes to ever come through Kentucky.
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As a Wildcat, Cobb played wide receiver, quarterback, punt returner and kick returner during his three years at Kentucky, which allowed him to excel in the Wildcat formation. In 2011, the multipurpose star was named first-team All-America.
Additionally, Cobb was named first-team All-SEC as a sophomore and junior. In 2010, Cobb had an SEC record-setting season where he gained 2,396 all-purpose yards.
Cobb claimed the all-time Kentucky leader honor for career touchdowns with 37 until Benny Snell Jr. broke the record at the end of the decade.
The Green Bay Packers selected Cobb with the 64th pick of the second round in the 2011 NFL Draft to play wide receiver and special teams.
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As a member of the Packers, Cobb would have a successful career in Green Bay, forming a tight bond on and off the field with future Hall of Fame quarterback Aaron Rodgers. In his first career game against the New Orleans Saints, Cobb caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from Rodgers and returned a kickoff for a 108-yard touchdown.
Cobb spent the first eight seasons of his NFL career in Green Bay, earning a Pro Bowl nod in 2014, after achieving career highs with 91 receptions, 1,287 receiving yards and 12 receiving touchdowns.
In 2019, the former Wildcat joined the Dallas Cowboys to catch passes from Dak Prescott for one season. A year later, Cobb inked a deal with the Houston Texans as a target for Deshaun Watson, where he played a lone season there.
Prior to the 2021 season, Rodgers requested for the Packers to reunite the Cobb-Rodgers duo. So, Green Bay traded for Cobb ahead of the season.
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After two reasons back in the green and gold, Cobb followed Rodgers in leaving Green Bay for the New York Jets. The 2023 season would be the last of Cobb’s career, as Rodgers missed the entire season with a torn achilles, he caught one touchdown that season against his former squad, the Houston Texans.
Cobb joined the SEC Network as a studio analyst in the summer of 2024, covering football around the SEC.
Tayshaun Prince
Hailing from Compton, California, Prince played four seasons at Kentucky from 1998 to 2001.
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During his four-year tenure in blue, Prince averaged 13.2 points and 5.7 rebounds, as the Wildcats advanced to the Sweet 16 three times and the Elite 8 once in the NCAA Tournament each year under head coach Tubby Smith. Prince’s junior season earned him the 2000-2001 SEC Player of the Year with 16.9 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
In 2001, Prince led the Wildcats to an SEC Championship, beating the Ole Miss Rebels 77-55 to win the championship. Prince was awarded SEC Tournament MVP after putting up 26 points and 12 rebounds in the championship game.
Earlier in that season Prince had one of the most memorable moments in Kentucky history by nailing five consecutive 3-pointers to begin a game against North Carolina. The Wildcats went on to win 79-59 in front of Rupp Arena thanks to a 31-point, 11-rebound performance from Prince.
In his final two seasons at Kentucky, Prince was elected to First-Team All-SEC honors. Previously, Prince was named to the Second-Team All-SEC his sophomore year.
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After a successful four-year collegiate career where Prince scored over 1,700 points, the Compton native entered the 2002 NBA Draft.
The Detroit Pistons selected the Kentucky guard with the 23rd pick of the first round.
Prince would spend the bulk of his career in Detroit on a competitive Pistons squad, reaching the Eastern Conference Finals in his rookie season.
In Prince’s sophomore season, the Pistons advanced to the NBA Finals with the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant Los Angeles Lakers. As the Lakers boasted four future Hall of Famers.
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The 2004 NBA Finals is widely recognized as one of the most challenging and improbable underdog championships in sports history, and the Pistons defeated Los Angeles in six games.
Prince was the primary defender on Bryant throughout the series, even holding Bryant to 11 points in Game 3. The Kentucky product earned the first and only NBA Championship of his career, averaging 10 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.8 steals per game during the Finals.
Additionally, Prince won an Olympic gold medal representing America on the “Redeem Team” at the 2008 Beijing Games.
From 2005 to 2008, Prince was named to the NBA’s All-Defensive Second Team.
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After spending his first 12 seasons with the Pistons, Prince played for the Memphis Grizzlies and had brief stints with the Boston Celtics and the Pistons again until retiring as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Since 2017, Prince has been a member of the Memphis Grizzlies front office. Currently, he serves as Vice President of Basketball Affairs.
After a lull in NBA news regarding freshly former Wildcats, Jaxson Robinson has rounded off last year’s class by officially landing an exhibit 10 contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers. The deal is fixated on a non-guaranteed one year period during which Robinson will have a chance to secure a spot on the permanent roster.
Robinson, who was originally projected by many as a second round draft pick before he sustained an injury to his wrist late last season, is the final Cat to find his place in the league. First, two were drafted (Brea, Williams,) then the next two were signed (Butler, Carr,) leaving Robinson as the odd-man out for a short period of time while he worked to earn an opportunity.
When healthy, the fan-favorite forward averaged 13 points, four rebounds and two assists for the blue and white throughout the 2024-25 season, showing flashes of elite shooting and surprising defensive prowess. His lengthy, 6’6 frame is built for the next level – given a streak of good health and the opportunity to play, Robinson could prove just that.
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And now, with the Cavs, he’ll have his first shot. Cleveland, reeling from a second-round exit in the NBA Playoffs and having just lost arguably their most proficient bench scorer in Ty Jerome, will certainly be looking for scoring options for their second unit. With the summer league ahead and plenty of time to make a splash, Robinson, despite his somewhat delayed signing, is bound to see the court sooner rather than later.
Big Blue Nation will be behind #2 going forward, either way. Wherever Robinson ends up, it’ll be on his feet.
When Kentucky added Reece Potter in the later stages of the portal season, many within Big Blue Nation assumed the 7-foot-1 Lexington native would be a valuable practice player. Now, the plan appears to be for him to contribute meaningfully to Mark Pope’s squad this season.
A junior transfer from Miami (Ohio), Potter stands out as the tallest player on Kentucky’s roster this season. With his size, he’s an obvious fit at the five, especially on nights the Wildcats need extra length. But he believes he can be much more than that in Mark Pope’s system, similar to other Kentucky big men who have thrived in this offense.
“I feel like I shoot the ball at a high level and I’m able to pass. Those are the things (Pope) really liked,” Potter said Monday. “He was able to use Amari Williams and BG (Brandon Garrison) in more of a point center type of way.”
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Now at Kentucky, Potter believes that being surrounded by so much talent, he will surely flourish with the help of those around him.
“I got some great players in front of me that do a great job of it,” Potter said. “I’m gonna be able to learn from them and keep growing my game in practice every single day.”
In two seasons with the RedHawks, Potter averaged 6.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in just over 15 minutes per contest, shooting at a 45.4% clip from the field, 39.85% from deep. Potter made 11 starts during his freshman season in 2023-24, appearing in 30 games in 2024 off the bench for a Miami team that went 25-9 overall and 14-4 in conference play, reaching the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship game.
In high school with Lexington Catholic, Potter made a name for himself, being named the 11th Region’s Player of the Year as a senior. He averaged 17.9 points and 8.7 rebounds for the District 43 champs.