Twenty-six is an awfully young age at which to retire, but that’s what a former Miami Heat basketball player has done. Kyle Guy, who played for Miami and for the Sacramento Kings for three seasons, is calling it quits to go back home to Charlottesville, Virginia.
But he’s not leaving the sport. Instead, Guy is taking a job at the University of Virginia as a Special Assistant/Athlete Development Mentor, according to a press release from the school put out August 7.
UVA is happy to have him. The university’s men’s head basketball coach Tony Bennett said the school was “thrilled” to welcome Guy back home. He called the player one of the best he has ever trained, and also one of the “finest young men I’ve ever met.” Bennett said Guy will be good for the program and he’ll be sharing his experience in collegiate and professional basketball with the young players on the college team.
The university’s release also included a statement from Guy himself, who said, “C’ville I am back!” He thanked coach Tony Bennett and the college for placing trust in him to take the job, which he called the “next chapter” of his life. Deciding to quit the sport as a player and take up a job as an instructor was a hard decision, he said, but he loves Charlottesville and his family and can’t wait to get back.
UVA is where he started. He played for the college from 2016 to 2019. During that time he was named an All-American twice, an All-ACC First Team honoree also twice, and he played on the National Championship team from 2018 to 2019. He also earned the distinction of being named the Most Outstanding Player in the Final Four, coming in with an average of 19.5 points during the 2019 NCAA game.
After leaving Virginia, Guy was picked up by the New York Knicks in the 2019 NBA draft, but got traded to the Sacramento Kings. He played for that team in 34 games racking up 91 points in total.
Then he played 19 games for the Miami Heat from 2021 to 2022, and scored an average of 3.9 points per game.
