Basketball season is quickly approaching as the Kentucky Wildcats get geared up for another exhibition game with Texas Tech in Lexington this Friday night at Rupp Arena.
Similar to the last few seasons of college basketball, there are plenty of new faces in new places as transfers and incoming freshmen look to make a major impact quickly at their new programs. So, how about a ranking for the new faces?
Jeff Borzello and Paul Biancardi of ESPN ranked the top 67 impact players in college basketball for the coming season. Mark Pope and the Wildcats landed two players on the list, with Milan Momcilovic at No. 6 and Zoom Diallo at No. 46.
Here is what Borzello had to say about Momcilovic:
“Momcilovic was our top-ranked transfer after he established himself as the best shooter in college basketball last season while at Iowa State. He led the country in 3-point percentage, making nearly 49% of his perimeter shots and also ranking fifth nationally in 3-pointers made. He’ll be the focal point of Mark Pope’s offense, and Pope will have to find ways to get him open looks.”
Milan is expected to play a huge role for this team this season, and the Cats will need him to perform at the highest level if they hope to make a deep run in March. They will also need a lot of help from Diallo leading this team on offense.
“It will be interesting to see how Diallo and Furman transfer Alex Wilkins coexist in the backcourt, as both are aggressive and dynamic with the ball in their hands, but there’s no denying the pure talent levels,” said Borzello. “Diallo, in particular, is a proven power conference producer, averaging 15.7 points and 4.5 assists last season at Washington.”
The Cats have a lot of new faces, but these two will need to be key players if they hope to win big this season.