User:Acdixon/Deandre Liggins

Deandre Liggins (b. March 31, 1988 in Chicago, Illinois)...

Early life
When he tried out for the sixth grade basketball team at Esmond grammar school, Liggins already stood 6 feet, 2 inches tall.

High school
A summer league coach gave Liggins the nickname "The Big Ticket", after NBA star Kevin Garnett. Widely regarded as the best sophomore in the Chicago Public League in 2006, Liggins helped Washington High School to the League championship game for the first time in the school's history. Washington lost the championship to Derrick Rose's Simeon Career Academy team, and Liggins was held scoreless in the game.

By the beginning of his junior year, Liggins held scholarship offers from Illinois, Iowa, and Virginia. That year, he again led Washington to the League championship, and again they were bested by Rose's Simeon club. For the year, he averaged 14 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds and was named first-team, All-State by the Chicago Tribune.

Liggins played well in several spring AAU tournaments, but suffered a stress fracture in his left foot that kept him from participating in any summer tournaments. Entering his senior year, he was ranked 18th in his class by Rivals.com and 26th by Scout.com. In May 2007, he announced he had narrowed his list of potential colleges to Illinois, Memphis, Kansas, Kentucky, and Texas. Following an unofficial visit to Kentucky in June, Liggins made a verbal commitment to play for the Wildcats.

Later in the summer, Liggins announced he would transfer to Findley Prep in Las Vegas, Nevada for his senior year. He averaged 13.6 points, 5.6 assists, 7.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals as a senior at Findley, but struggled to meet the NCAA's academic eligibility requirements.

College career
The transfer of junior Derrick Jasper left Liggins as one of three potential options at point guard for Kentucky, along with junior Michael Porter and incoming junior college transfer Kevin Galloway. Porter gained the starting job, with Liggins coming off the bench as the backup. After playing only two minutes in the first half of a game against Kansas State in the Las Vegas Invitational, Liggins refused to re-enter the game in the second half, forcing Porter to play 36 of the game's 40 minutes. Coach Billy Gillispie chose not to punish Liggins by withholding playing time. In the tournament's championship game the following night, Liggins tied a career-high with 27 minutes, playing a key role in the Wildcats' win over the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Liggins continued to improve following the Las Vegas Invitational. He set career highs in points (16) and rebounds (7) against Lamar; the next game, he bested his point total, scoring 18 against Miami, while matching his rebounding high. Those back-to-back efforts led to his being named Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Week. He made his first start for Kentucky on December 29, 2008 against Central Michigan, tallying a career-high 8 assists. It was his only start of the season. After starting the season 16-4, the Wildcats finished the regular season with a record of 20-13, lost to LSU in the second round of the SEC tournament, and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 17 years. Kentucky was invited to the National Invitation Tournament, losing in the third round to Notre Dame. Liggins hit the first 3-pointer in Kentucky's history in the NIT.

After the season, Gillispie was fired and replaced by John Calipari. Calipari did not play Liggins at all until the waning seconds of a lopsided victory over Indiana on December 12, 2009. Calipari refused to say why Liggins did not play, telling the media "Once you get to know me, you'll know that I don't throw my kids under the bus." From that point, Liggins began to contribute off the bench, and became the player Calipari most often used to defend the opponent's best player.