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Sean Kilpatrick Dishes On The 10-Day Contract, Playing At Home And More

Even though Sean Kilpatrick spent a brief time with the Santa Cruz Warriors, he has been having success with the Delaware 87ers. Ever since he joined the 87ers, his scoring and three-point shooting percentage has improved. With the D-League Showcase looming, the former Cincinnati product could receive a 10-day contact.

Sean Kilpatrick (14) leading the offense.
Sean Kilpatrick (14) leading the offense.
Chris Priczak/Ridiculous Upside

Ever since his time at White Plains Senior High School, Sean Kilpatrick has showed glimpses of the potential he had. In 2010, he took his talents to Cincinnati where he became a starter in his second season, as he redshirted his freshman season. As the shooting guard got accustomed to college basketball, his role and production started to rise. During his freshman season, he averaged 9.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. Two seasons later, the White Plains native averaged 17.0 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

In 2014, Sean Kilpatrick went undrafted in the NBA Draft. After a brief stint with the Philadelphia 76ers, he was signed by the Golden State Warriors. Shortly after, he was released and signed as an affiliate player to the Santa Cruz Warriors. During the 2014-15 season, he was traded to the Delaware 87ers.  Two months later, he played in front of his home crowd, as the Sevens played the Knicks in Westchester. "When you're coming back home and playing against a team like New York with your house being I would say five minutes away from here, its always a big thing," Sean Kilpatrick told Ridiculous Upside. "Whenever I come home, I always want to continue to keep giving my fans a show and the people that watched me grow up; a show to see whats going on." He has played four games at the Westchester County Center since joining the 87ers.

When Jordan McRae joined Delaware, the two guards formed a great connection on the court, which later carried into the 2015-16 season. Both guards are averaging at least 22 points and are shooting forty-six percent from the field. "We're both captains," Kilpatrick said. "The team isn't going to go far if the captains isn't on board. I think that is something that is really important for me and McRae, especially, but also for our team. If we're not going, then our team is in trouble because we are the leading scorers on the team." As of January 5th, the backcourt duo are both currently in the top 16 in the D-League Prospect Watch.

During his first stint with the 87ers, the shooting guard averaged 16.1 points per game and has improved his shooting percentage since then. "I worked on it hard during the offseason, but I think more so taking good shots; taking better shots than I did last year," Sean Kilpatrick said in an interview with Ryan Messick. "Being a rookie, you tend to really rush a lot of shots. (I'm) making sure that every shot that I do I take is good; good enough for the team and good enough for that possession." He currently averages 26.5 points per game and is shooting forty-five percent from downtown this season.

Sean Kilpatrick scored 34 points and shot 11-18 from the field in Delaware's victory over Maine.

With the NBA 10-day contract signing coming up on January 5th, Kilpatrick could be on the top of many teams' lists. "It's a lot of teams in the loop," Kilpatrick said. "I keep everything like that with my agent. I just let everything with my agent handle all of that and I just come out just to play. I just want to play and just focus on whats going on within my team. Thats all that really matters to me." There will be no shortage of teams that need players who can shoot and score the ball at an efficient rate.

This season, Sean Kilpatrick has performed at a MVP level. He currently ranks number three in the league in scoring (26.5 points per game) and tied for eight in three-point shooting percentage (44.6 %). Delaware has a 12-9 record heading into the D-League showcase. Throughout those 21 games, the Sevens have scored 107.5 points per game, which is the third most in the D-League. Not only is Kilpatrick one of the top prospects in the D-League, according to the D-League Prospect Watch, but he has been having a MVP-type season. "For me being a player, especially in  this league, it's something special to me and I take everything I do in this league serious," Kilpatrick said. "So if they were to rate me as one of the MVP candidates, that would be something huge, especially coming of the fact last year I was only averaging 12 points or something like that and now averaging 26. I mean thats a huge step and huge jump, so it's something that will be very honorable, but most importantly its how my work speaks for itself."

By looking at his offensive numbers, he has shown the ability to improve, which is a positive. The former Cincinnati product has shown his quickness, and ability to get to the basket and draw contact. If a team picks him up this season, Kilpatrick knows he needs to "take the correct shots and the right shots for the team." When he has been given the opportunity to show what he can do, Sean Kilpatrick has shown he can shine.