Justin Spears: Former Wildcat Kyle Fogg's unique basketball career should be celebrated more

His name isn’t in the rafters of McKale Center, his jersey isn’t draped inside Arizona’s historic arena, and he doesn’t have a spot alongside in the hallways to honor NBA Draft picks to play for the Wildcats. But Kyle Fogg’s career, both at the UA and professionally, is one to tip your cap to — and raise a glass to.

So that’s what we’re going to do: Raise our glasses, mugs, dented hydroflasks and say “Cheers!” to Fogg and his well-traveled journey in basketball because it’s unlike any player who has played at Arizona and the shooting guard is a part of the fabric of the UA basketball culture, especially nowadays with the international flavor Tommy Lloyd has brought to the program.

Technically, Fogg was the very last recruit of the Lute Olson era at Arizona, when assistant coach (and future interim head coach) Russ Pennell — with a recommendation from former ASU guard Kyle Dodd — recruited Fogg out of Brea Olinda High School in Brea, California in 2008.

The 6-foot-3 guard ascended to a starting role for Arizona as a strong perimeter defender in 2008-09, a UA team that squeaked into the NCAA Tournament and played in the Sweet 16. That season was memorable for me because I grew up in Tucson and was just a middle-schooler at the time. The club basketball team that I played for at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base had a meet-the-team event at Benko Fitness Center after the Wildcats toured Tucson’s prominent military base.

I was on Cloud Nine.

You mean to tell me then-future NBA lottery pick Jordan Hill is blocking my shot in a game of one-on-one? Chase Budinger, former McDonald’s All-American and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year, in the flesh? Everyone cackled when Nic Wise, Arizona’s 5-10 point guard, dunked on a basket lowered for smaller kids. Off in the corner, Fogg, fidgeting with his backpack straps, spoke to my late father, Gerald Spears, for about 20-30 minutes. Not sure what was discussed, but the sight of Fogg genuinely taking in what my father was saying, laughing and having a wholesome conversation is a memory I’ll never forget. That’s the Kyle Fogg I remember, and he gained two fans that day between my father and me.

Fogg’s final three years at Arizona included a coaching change, with Sean Miller taking over the reins of the program, but the Wildcats had success and tremendous disappointment. Fogg helped the Wildcats reach an Elite Eight in Miller’s second season as a complementary player to star forward Derrick Williams. The following season, the All-Pac-12 Fogg erupted for 16 second-half points to beat UCLA on Senior Day, but his final game as a Wildcat was a dispirited loss to Bucknell in the first round of the NIT.

As an NBA player, the undrafted Fogg was waived by the Houston Rockets but played for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and won a D League championship in 2013, then signed a one-year, $490,000 deal with the Denver Nuggets for the 2013-14 season, but was waived three weeks later. Fogg’s time in the NBA was short-lived, and he never made an official debut despite time in the D League and NBA Summer League.

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Fogg took his talents overseas and played professionally in Finland, Belgium, Germany, Spain and China. Fogg was named MVP and scoring champion of Korisliiga, the top professional league in Finland, after averaging 27 points per game. Fogg was also the Bundesliga scoring champion in Germany and helped Unicaja in Spain win the EuroCup championship. Most recently, Fogg won back-to-back Chinese Basketball Association championships with the Liaoning Flying Leopards; he averaged 21.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game this season.

Along the way, Fogg won four straight The Basketball Tournament championships with Overseas Elite and was a two-time TBT MVP, earning just over $500,000; he’s also TBT’s all-time leading scorer. Fogg’s first CBA contract with the Guangzhou Long-Lions was worth $2 million. In summary: Money and success have never been an issue in Fogg’s professional career despite not logging official NBA minutes. Life-changing money can be found in basketball across the pond.

Fogg has used his career earnings to buy his mother a house and assist a fundraiser, “Pencils of Promise,” which built schools in Ghana, Laos and Guatemala. Basketball took Fogg around the world, and he used some of his life earnings to impact the world. Plus, 15 years after Fogg was a late add-on for the Wildcats, he’s succeeding as a pro, averaging just over 23 points since 2016.

Fogg isn’t the first ex-Wildcat to strike success overseas, and now that Arizona has a heavy international presence on its roster under Lloyd, he certainly won’t be the last. Other former Wildcats succeeding include Parker Jackson-Cartwright (Great Britain and Germany), who was also a Bundesliga MVP in 2022, and two-time NBL Most Improved Player Keanu Pinder (Australia), who averaged 17 points and 9.3 rebounds for the Perth Wildcats last season. If the NBA doesn’t pan out for former Arizona star Azuolas Tubelis, it’s conceivable the Lithuanian forward finishes his pro career in his home continent of Europe — and that’s OK.

If there’s anyone who has shown “you don’t have to get the NBA debut to have a successful pro career,” it’s Fogg. In a program that takes pride in producing pro players, Fogg has a career unlike any other.

Almost forgot, cheers!