Chucky Hepburn

Chucky Hepburn
Louisville Cardinals
PositionPoint guard
LeagueAtlantic Coast Conference
Personal information
Born (2003-02-09) February 9, 2003 (age 21)
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolBellevue West
(Omaha, Nebraska)
College
Career highlights and awards

Chucky Hepburn (born February 9, 2003) is an American college basketball player for the Louisville Cardinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference He previously played for the Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten Conference.

Early life and high school career

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Hepburn grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and attended Bellevue West High School. A 6-foot-1-inch (1.85 m) point guard, he averaged 15.9 points, 8.3 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 3.8 steals per game as a senior as Bellevue West appeared in the Class A state title. He guided Bellevue West to a Class A state title as a junior averaging 17.1 points, 6.5 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game.[citation needed] As a sophomore, Hepburn averaged 18.3 points, 5.0 assists, 5.1 rebounds and 3.4 steals per game.[1] Hepburn won the 2020 Nebraska Mr. Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year.[2]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Chucky Hepburn
PG
Omaha, NE Bellevue West (NE) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sep 29, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 81
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 123  247Sports: 114
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Wisconsin 2021 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  • "2021 Wisconsin Badgers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  • "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 7, 2024.

College career

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Wisconsin

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Hepburn enrolled at University of Wisconsin–Madison after receiving offers from Nebraska, Creighton, Minnesota, Loyola (IL) and Valparaiso.[3]

Freshman season

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Hepburn became the first true freshman to start the season opener since Devin Harris in 2001.[4] He went on to score 13 points in his first career game against St. Francis.[5] Hepburn banked in a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left against #8 ranked Purdue, giving the Badgers a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.[6] Hepburn was able to profit in the newly implemented NIL after the game-winning shot against Purdue with merchandise named "The Chucky Special".[7] After the regular season, Hepburn was named to the Big Ten All–Freshman Team.[8]

Sophomore season

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Hepburn was asked to take on a larger role in his second season at Wisconsin after Johnny Davis was selected 10th overall by the Washington Wizards.[citation needed] Hepburn started all 35 games and was the Badgers leading scorer (12.2 points per game), 3-point percentage (.405), assists (2.8 APG) and steals (1.5 SPG).[citation needed] The team struggled with injuries midway through the season and Wisconsin missed the NCAA tournament. Following the conclusion of the regular season, Hepburn was named an All–Big Ten honorable mention selection.[9] The Badgers accepted an invitation to the NIT where Hepburn scored a career-high 27 points in a second round victory against Liberty.[10]

Junior season

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Hepburn came into his junior season and has thrived in the role of facilitator and defender.[11] The previous season, he was looked at by his teammates as the "go to guy" to score late in shot clock or late in games.[11] With the additions of scorers AJ Storr and freshman John Blackwell, Hepburn has been able to refine other parts of his game.[11] Evidence of this is Chucky has put up his best assist to turnover ratio of his career and uptick in steals.[11] Following the completion of the regular season, Hepburn was named All-Big Ten honorable mention by the coaches and named to the All-Defensive Team.[12]

Louisville

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Senior season

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On April 25, 2024, Hepburn announced he would be transferring to Louisville.[13][14]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021–22 Wisconsin 33 33 31.0 .388 .348 .696 2.1 2.3 1.1 0.2 7.9
2022–23 Wisconsin 35 35 32.0 .377 .405 .718 2.8 2.8 1.5 0.1 12.2
2023–24 Wisconsin 35 35 33.3 .429 .322 .737 3.3 3.9 2.1 0.1 9.2
2024–25 Louisville
Career 103 103 32.1 .395 .365 .719 2.8 3.0 1.6 0.1 9.8

[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Chucky Hepburn page". MaxPreps. March 12, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  2. ^ "Chucky Hepburn Mr. Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year". RealGM. April 13, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  3. ^ "Hepburn". Rivals. September 29, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2024.
  4. ^ "Wisconsin Freshman Likely to Start Season Opener Tuesday". Rivals. November 8, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  5. ^ "St. Francis (NY) vs. Wisconsin Box Score". sports-reference.com. November 9, 2021. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  6. ^ "No. 10 Badgers nip No. 10 Purdue for share of Big Ten title". apnews.com. March 2, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  7. ^ "March Madness: The 'Chucky Special' shows how NIL will play in the Big Dance". Yahoo Finance. March 18, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  8. ^ "2021–22 Big Ten Men's Basketball Postseason Honors Announced". Big Ten Conference. March 8, 2022. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  9. ^ "2023 Big Ten Men's Basketball Postseason Honors Announced". Big Ten Conference. March 7, 2023. Archived from the original on March 7, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  10. ^ "Rewatching Chucky Hepburn's offensive playmaking reveals strengths, areas to grow". badgersextra.com. July 14, 2023. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  11. ^ a b c d "Chucky Hepburn Loving his Role of Wisconsin Badgers' Facilitator". wisconsin.rivals.com. January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 25, 2024.
  12. ^ "Big Ten Announces 2024 Men's Basketball Postseason Honors". Big Ten Conference. March 12, 2024. Archived from the original on March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
  13. ^ Cobb, David (April 25, 2024). "What Chucky Hepburn's commitment means for Louisville basketball as Pat Kelsey lands ex-Wiscconsin guard". CBS Sports. Retrieved May 6, 2024.
  14. ^ "Kelsey Adds Wisconsin Transfer Chucky Hepburn". University of Louisville Athletics. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  15. ^ "Chucky Hepburn Statistics". ESPN. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
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