The Kentucky basketball team started practicing earlier this month, and one of the biggest surprise performers thus far has been James Madison transfer Justin McBride. One reason for that is the offseason work he has put in before arriving in Lexington.

McBride, who previously played for Oklahoma State, Nevada, and most recently, James Madison, is listed at 6’8 and 250 pounds on Kentucky’s roster list. Those listed numbers are bigger than any of his previous stops, but he is currently in the best shape of his career.

According to one source, McBride has lost 10-12 pounds of fat from his top playing weight at James Madison. That has allowed him to be more mobile in practice, a pleasant surprise to what the staff was expecting of him coming in.

Mark Pope had a comparison for McBride in a ‘Mark Pope vs. the Shot Clock’ segment on UK Sports Network.

“Julius Randle vibes, seriously,” Pope said.

Randle was the SEC Rookie of the Year and an All-American in his one season at Kentucky, so high praise for McBride. However, Pope is not comparing McBride to Randle in terms of talent, but in terms of style.

McBride grades excellent as a catch-and-shoot guy in analytics, shooting 40% from deep last season, an ability that Randle has shown in the NBA. Also similar to Randle, he can use his size to get to his spots in the paint and muscle his way for a rebound.

Having a bully-ball kind of player, who is also efficient from three-point range, is a welcome addition for a Kentucky program that has struggled with physicality in recent seasons.

Mark Pope vs. the Shot Clock ⏱️

Meet your 2026 @KentuckyMBB team in 30 seconds pic.twitter.com/NLexvGpySl— UK Sports Network (@UKSportsNetwork) June 23, 2026

Also posted on A Sea of Blue.

It’s every kids dream to play professionally one day, let alone be able to play for the University of Kentucky on the way to the next level. 

Although Jayden Quaintance’s time with the Wildcats ended anticlimactically, his NBA dreams have officially come true at just 18 years old. 

The Cleveland, Ohio native began his collegiate career with the Arizona State Sun Devils, starting in all 24 games he played in.

Before his unfortunate knee injury, Quaintance was good for nearly a nightly double-double, averaging 9.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game to go along with 2.6 blocks a night. 

He would transfer to Kentucky ahead of his sophomore season, making his first appearance on Dec. 20 against St. John’s.

Finishing the game with 10 points, eight rebounds and two blocks, many members of the Big Blue Nation were confident that their superstar had finally debuted. 

Only appearing in three more games for the 2025-26 season, it was quite clear that his eyes were set on playing at the next level, not taking any chances of another injury. 

Selecting Quaintance with the No. 20 overall pick, the Spurs have now added on to their elite front court and will likely utilize him as a two-way player.

Mark Pope likes to start his roster-building process with a point guard. In year one, that was Lamont Butler. This past season, it was Jaland Lowe, who was the second commitment after an eager Kam Williams signed with the Wildcats without a visit.

This season, that point guard is Zoom Diallo.

According to early practice reports, Diallo has not only been one of the best players, but one of the most important in terms of helping this team build its foundation. According to one source, “Zoom has been one of the purest forms of a floor general early on. These guys rally around him. He’s the voice of the team in the early stages and backs it up by going the extra mile.”

Assistant coach Mikhail McLean confirmed that in interviews this week.

“Zoom’s been my favorite so far,” he said on Tuesday, before going into more depth with BBN Tonight on Thursday, comparing him to a quarterback.

“He’s just a connector,” McLean said. “If you know what a quarterback is like, where they just kind of connect everybody. He has a bubbly energy and personality. He’s humble enough to accept who he is as a person. He gasses and encourages everybody to be the best version of themselves, and that’s how he gets the best version of himself.”

McLean mentioned another “connector” on the team, Malachi Moreno, who actually played a part in recruiting Diallo to Kentucky, “his favorite point guard.”

“I had already known Zoom for a while,” he told KY Insider on Thursday. “We had been in Adidas Euro camp together, and being on the Adidas circuit, we’ve been good friends for a while. We always wanted to play together. He ended up at Washington, and I ended up here, but the stars aligned and now he’s here with me. I got my favorite point guard.”

As far as the impact Diallo has on the court, Moreno mentioned his ability to make plays for his teammates, but also highlighted his ability as a bully guard, drawing a comparison to Otega Oweh.

“He’s a high-assist-rate guy,” Moreno said. “He makes plays, and he earns shots for his teammates, and he’s also a bully guard.”

“I think that also helps in the SEC as well, being one of those bigger bully guards. You saw how Otega was last year. He was able to be so good because he was such a bully and able to muscle his way through the paint and really earn shots for everybody, earn shots for himself. I think having a guy like Zoom like that as well, it’s just a recipe for success.”

High praise for Kentucky’s PG1 this season.