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Men's Basketball

The Morning After: Four Things to Know after Kentucky vs. Kentucky State

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UK Athletics

On a somber Thursday night, the fans and team honored the father of Damion Collins, Ben Collins, as Kentucky played their final “tune-up” game before the start of the regular season.

This time against the Kentucky State Thorobreds, and the Wildcats put on an honorable performance in a 111-53 victory.

Despite playing with just eight scholarship players, with three key players out – Damion Collins (grieving loss of father), Oscar Tshiebwe (injury), Sahvir Wheeler (injury) – the Kentucky Wildcats looked impressive.

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After a lackluster performance on Sunday, Kentucky put on an offensive clinic, while still holding the Thorobreds to under 28 percent shooting from the field and from three.

Let’s get into the specifics.

First-game jitters are gone

Scoring just 56 points in their exhibition against Missouri Western State, the Wildcats looked off. On Thursday, Kentucky scored nearly doubled the number of points (111), scoring efficiently and at ease.

A big reason for that is that players who played poorly in the previous exhibition, stepped up in a big way, most notably Chris Livingston and Antonio Reeves.

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After combining for just a total of seven points against Missouri Western State, the duo balled out and were two of the team’s three leading scorers, scoring 23 and 14 respectively. They also scored efficiently, Livingston only missed one of his seven shots, while Reeves shot 50 percent from the field and three.

It wasn’t just Livingston and Reeves playing well, but six different players scored in double figures and the team only accounted for 10 turnovers.

Shown by the even scoring and limited amount of turnovers, it seems fair to say that the players got their first-game jitters out.

Three-point shooting

Last season, the responsibility for the three-point shooting primarily fell on the shoulders of Kellan Grady and Davion Mintz, and the consistency was not always there.

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This season, the hope is that responsibility is more spread out as Kentucky has two elite shooters – CJ Fredrick and Antonio Reeves – and several capable shooters – Chris Livingston, Adou Thiero, and Cason Wallace.

On Thursday night, the best of Kentucky’s shooting was on display as they made 12 of their 26 three-point attempts, with five different players making a three. Be reminded, this is without Oscar Tshiebwe to help spread the floor or Sahvir Wheeler to penetrate and kick out.

To no surprise, Fredrick and Reeves led the way, hitting three and five three-point shots respectively. More interestingly, Wallace shot eight threes, and while he only made two of them, it showed that he is not afraid to shoot it and can provide shooting at the point guard position when needed.

Ugonna play

Ugonna Onyenso is going to play.

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After recording 5 blocks in 15 minutes on Sunday night, Onyenso followed that performance with 11 rebounds and four blocks in 18 minutes on Thursday night. For reference, that is a 23.3 percent block percentage. This is higher than the highest block recorded percentage (Walker Kessler, 19.05%) since it started being collected in 2009.

Albeit these past two exhibition games have been against inferior and smaller competition, Onyenso has made an impact in limited playing time.

If Onyenso can carry this level of play into the regular season and continue to do things that set him apart – blocking and rebounding -, expect him to compete with Lance Ware and Damion Collins for playing time.

Injuries

Oscar Tshiebwe is recovering from minor knee surgery and Sahvir Wheeler suffered a minor knee injury in Kentucky’s last exhibition. Both sat out on Thursday tonight, originally with the expectation that they would be ready to go.

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While neither is expected to be long-term issues, they could keep them out longer than originally thought.

Following Kentucky’s exhibition win on Thursday night, John Calipari said he would be “stunned” if Tshiebwe played on Monday, and would be “somewhat surprised” if he played Friday.

While Wheeler’s timeline is TBD, it seems that Tshiebwe will be out at least the first week of the regular season, but will hopefully be ready to go against Michigan State in the Champion’s Classic on Nov. 15th.

In encouraging news, Thsiebwe was seen jumping around in warmups on Thursday night while Wheeler also looked healthy, not wearing any brace nor showing any sign of pain.

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball Commit Impesses at McDonald’s All-American Game

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Kentucky basketball commit Malachi Moreno is a McDonald's All American
McDonald's All-American Game

Fresh off of winning a Kentucky Basketball State Championship Saturday night, Malachi Moreno had no time to rest. After winning the State Championship, Moreno flew out the morning after to Brooklyn.

Just a few short months ago, Moreno was selected to participate in the McDonald’s All-American game. Being chosen to play in this game is considered the highest honor a high school basketball player can achieve. However, he wasn’t content with just being chosen to play in this game. He wanted to show everyone that he belongs in this crowd with the best of the best.

Playing against the elite of the elite, there was never a moment in which Moreno looked as if he didn’t belong. Although Moreno and Team East didn’t come away with a victory, he looked nothing short of impressive all night long.

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In only 16 minutes of game time, Moreno finished with 9 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist. He also added 2 blocked shots on the game. Moreno, who is listed at 6’10, moves very well for his size. He has an elite feel around the rim, which is tough to find for a young big man like himself. However, his best attribute may be his shot blocking ability, as shown here.

Moreno is a very gifted shot-blocker who has a knack for timing his jump when blocking shots. This will help him fill a much-needed role next season for a Kentucky team that at times struggled defensively, more specifically with blocking shots.

His night didn’t end there, he also showcased his ability to step outside and shoot the 3 ball.

He only attempted 11 3’s during his Senior High School season, finishing at 3/11 for 27.3%, but he proves here that if left open. He won’t hesitate to let it fly.

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At the practices, On3 named him their second-best performer.

“Malachi Moreno flew to the McDonald’s All-American events this morning straight off winning a Kentucky state championship last night. This scrimmage was his first participation of the week, and he made his presence felt immediately. Moreno has legit size, listed at 7-foot-0, with good length. He also has good hands, which helps his play around the basket. Moreno is a strong rebounder, cleaning up the boards in traffic. He also had a game-clinching block at the rim, putting it off the backboard. Offensively, he plays as a roll man and out of the dunker spots. It found his spots and played within himself, and he had some very loud finishes.

Moreno is one of three exciting freshmen joining the Wildcats next season; alongside him are 4-stars Jasper Johnson and Acaden Lewis. These three highlight an exciting new young core for Mark Pope and company.

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BB Recruiting

Kentucky Has Contacted Nation’s Leading Scorer, Four-Star Transfer Jaron Pierre Who Is “Definitely” Interested in the Cats

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Jacksonville State transfer Jaron Pierre has been contacted by Kentucky.
Jacksonville State Athletics

There are more than a thousand players in the transfer portal, meaning names are flying left and right. As of April 1st, Kentucky has one commitment in Kam Williams (Tulane), and is projected to land top 25 transfer Magoon Gwath (San Diego State).

That said, the Kentucky staff has been in contact with more than a dozen players, and there is another notable player to add to that list.

KY Insider can report that Kentucky has contacted Jaron Pierre from Jacksonville State. Pierre is currently a four-star transfer prospect and ranked as the 34th ranked prospect in 247Sports‘ transfer portal rankings.

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At Jacksonville State last season, Pierre scored more points than anyone else in college basketball (777 points), averaging 21.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.8 assists while shooting 38.2% from 3-point range (9.0 attempts per game). He scored 30 points or more in six games, and only had one game where he did not score in double digits. His impressive play earned him Conference USA Player of the Year honors.

Pierre also had prior stops at Southern Miss and Wichita State, where he spent two years at each school, and will be going into his sixth season of college basketball. Pierre has also declared for the NBA Draft, but is not currently projected on any mock drafts.

While still early in his recruitment, Pierre tells KY Insider that he is “definitely” interested in Kentucky, but no Zoom meeting or visit has been scheduled.

“I love it Big Blue Nation,” Pierre said of the Kentucky program. He also really liked what Mark Pope was able to do in his first season in Lexington. “He was able to pick up right where it left off.”

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The level of competition is always a question when evaluating a mid-major talent, but Pierre’s athleticism jumps off the page and a 38.2% clip from three on nine attempts per game is nothing to slight at.

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Receives Predictions for 7-Foot, Top 25 Transfer Magoon Gwath

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7-footer Magoon Gwath, a top 25 transfer prospect, is predicted to commit to Kentucky.
San Diego State Aztecs

Magoon Gwath, the 7-foot freshman from San Diego State, has received a crystal ball to Kentucky. No, ladies and gentlemen, this is not an April Fools prank.

Gwath entered the transfer portal on Mar. 24 after he averaged 8.5 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game, and 2.6 blocks per game for the Aztecs. His play earned him Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year honors in the Mountain West Conference. Kentucky was one of the first schools to contact Gwath, and Lamont Butler is even reported to be helping recruit Gwath to Kentucky.

At approximately 12 p.m. on April 1st, Travis Branham, a 247Sports Basketball Analyst, awarded the big man with a crystal ball prediction that has Gwath becoming a Wildcat. On3’s Joe Tipton has also chimed in, following Branham’s prediction and mentioning Michigan as a top destination as well. 

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This isn’t a guess, this is a calculated report. Now, Mark Pope and his staff will await the decision of Gwath in the coming days.

According to 247Sports transfer rankings, Gwath is the No. 22 transfer portal player in the country, ranking fourth among centers. The class of 2023 recruit was unranked, and due to a foot injury, was redshirted for the 2023-24 season.

With a 7-foot, 205-pound frame, Gwath needs to fill out some to help with his strength. However, he is an elite shot-blocker with good defensive instincts. On the offensive side, he has good vision for his size, which Mark Pope loves, and is comfortable putting the ball on the deck with his face-up game.

With the departure of Amari Williams and Andrew Carr in the frontcourt, the addition of Gwath would be major for the Pope and the Wildcats.

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Get familiar with Gwath’s game BBN.

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