A late bloomer this year and quickly becoming a Big Blue Nation favorite, let’s get to know Chris Livingston a little better.
Livingston has had an impressive debut year with the Kentucky Wildcats basketball team. He’s a bit of a freak athlete and is a long, 6’6” forward with exceptional speed and rebounding capabilities. This kid can jump out of the gym. His offensive game is slowly coming along but his all around game is where he excels. Livingston does all the little things that don’t show up in the stat sheets and he doesn’t seem to mind that. Every team needs a player like Chris. He has even been awarded the SEC Freshman of the Week recently.
Livingston’s season-high points were 14, during the December 17, 2022 game against UCLA. He also played a career-high 39 minutes during the February 22, 2023 game against Florida. In the game against Arkansas on February 7, 2023, Livingston knocked down five field goals, including two 3-pointers, and in the game against Florida on February 22, 2023, he attempted a career-high 11 field goals. Livingston’s 3-point shooting has been improving this season, with a total of 16 out of 46 attempts made.
Livingston’s free-throw shooting has been exceptional, making a season-high of 7 free throws in the November 23, 2022 game against North Florida. He attempted a season-high of 7 free throws during the February 18, 2023 game against Tennessee. Livingston is no stranger to pulling down some boards. In the February 22, 2023 game against Florida, he pulled down a career-high of 15 rebounds.
In the 29 games he played with the Cats this year, Livingston averaged 6.4 points, with a total of 185 points throughout the season. He made 66 out of 144 field goals, with a shooting percentage of 46%, and made 16 out of 46 3-point attempts, with a percentage of 35%. Livingston’s free-throw percentage was 80%, with 37 made out of 46 attempts. He pulled down a total of 106 rebounds, with 29 offensive rebounds and 77 defensive rebounds. Livingston is long and can stifle defenders. On the year he has 19 steals and 11 blocks, with 23 assists.
Livingston’s game-by-game statistics reveal his consistent performance throughout the season. He started the season with 9 points against Howard on November 7, 2022, and made significant contributions to the team’s victories against South Carolina State and North Florida.
Overall, Livingston has been an asset to the Kentucky Wildcats basketball team in his freshman year. He’s been consistently improving each game throughout the year. He doesn’t do a lot of high profile scoring on the court but, like I said earlier, he does all the dirty work and stuff that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet.
He’s a versatile combo-forward that was a consensus five-star prospect in high school, ranked as the No. 10 overall player by Rivals, and listed as the 11th-ranked player by 247Sports and No. 12 by ESPN.
During his senior season at Oak Hill, he averaged 18.2 points, 9.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.9 steals per game, earning him the title of 2022 Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year. He’s also been named a McDonald’s All American and to the Jordan Brand Classic roster, cementing his status as a top prospect in the country.
Will Livingston come back next year or will he head to the NBA draft? He might test the waters but we’ve got him as a “project” in the NBA at this point. He needs another year to develop his offensive game. If he does come out this year he will either be a very late second round pick or very well may go un-drafted and then have to play his way into the league. He needs another year at UK. If he does stay, then watch out. If he works on his offensive game over the summer he could be a top 10 NBA draft pick in 2024.
The Cats return to action against Vandy at 7pm.
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