Men's Basketball

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

Published

2 years ago

November 4, 2022

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Men's Basketball

CBS Sports: Kentucky Has “ended pursuits” in Transfer Portal Following Aberdeen Commitment

In the wake of yet another addition to Kentucky’s incoming roster, CBS Sports reports that Coach Pope and staff may have closed the portal.

Published

2 days ago

April 23, 2025

Lane Mills

Mark Pope and staff may have everything they need from the transfer portal.

Chet White | UK Athletics

Following another flurry of transfer portal additions in his second year at the helm, it appears that Mark Pope and staff are satisfied with their sophomore haul. The portal in Lexington may be officially closed for the 2025-26′ season.

Right after Kentucky received the surprising commitment of Denzel Aberdeen, Matt Norlander, an analyst for CBS Sports, posted the following on X (Twitter):

“Barring any portal defections, Kentucky has ended its pursuits of all other portal targets, sources told CBS Sports. Getting Aberdeen today [April 21] meant they’ve moved off Andrej Stojakovic, Rylan Griffen, etc. Otega Oweh going through pre-draft process-but I expect him back in Lex”.

With the addition of Aberdeen, the Wildcats’ roster ballooned to near-max capacity for next season. Seeing two of the team’s walk-on players, Grant Darbyshire and Walker Horn, enter the transfer portal seemed to all but confirm this suspicion, too.

Losing One of Our Own

That is, until last night. With less than two hours remaining for players to do so, Travis Perry shocked much of the Big Blue Nation by throwing his name into the hat. This came just weeks after a string of comments from the Kentucky-native point guard seemed to confirm his return for a sophomore season.

Though all the same, given Kentucky’s bulk of back-court additions this offseason, his departure makes sense for the sake of playing time alone. The Lyon King will be sorely missed.

So while the Kentucky staff may still be very much content with their current roster, with hundreds of players remaining in the portal and an unexpected spot on the roster coming open, another grab is far from out of the question.

Who Coach Pope and company would go after is entirely unclear, as that potential player would likely have to accept a minimized role off the bench for a stretch of his time in Lexington. If anything, the logical replacement would be a direct fill-in at the PG2/PG3 spot in Perry’s absence.

Either way, the ‘Cats are set to come into next season as one of the most exciting teams in college basketball with a ceiling far out of view. Mark Pope continues to prove his prowess in the transfer market, too, easing the worries of Wildcats fans and closing the door on many supposed “insiders” who’ve spent the last month suggesting otherwise.

Men's Basketball

REPORT: Travis Perry Enters Transfer Portal

Published

3 days ago

April 22, 2025

Tristan Pharis

Kentucky basketball Travis Perry talks about growing more comfortable on the court.

Jordan Prather | IMAGN

The transfer portal has been kind to Kentucky in the Mark Pope era. Last season, the staff was able to build a Sweet Sixteen roster almost exclusively from the portal, and this offseason have put together a top-five portal class.

While the portal giveth, it also taketh. Just hours before the deadline to enter, Kentucky native and fan favorite Travis Perry has entered the transfer portal, per multiple reports.

Coming to Kentucky as the state’s all-time high-school scoring record holder, fans were excited to see how his career would unfold in Lexington.

Not expecting to play much freshman, he was called upon due to injuries and played some key minutes for the Wildcats into the postseason. He averaged 2.7 PPG and .6 APG on 32% shooting from three.

Looking at the depth chart, it was difficult to see where Perry would get much playing time next season, leading to his decision to enter the portal.

Perry has yet to release an official statement, but all the best to him in his future.

Men's Basketball

Top Transfer Guard Denzel Aberdeen Commits to Kentucky

Former Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen commits to Kentucky, likely closing the transfer portal for next year’s roster.

Published

3 days ago

April 22, 2025

Lane Mills

UF Athletics

Another day, another “boom.” Denzel Aberdeen has officially committed to Kentucky for the 2025-26’ season.

A soon-to-be senior guard fresh off his championship win with Florida, Aberdeen spent his first three years of eligibility in Gainesville. Now, following an apparent conflict in the Gators’ rotation, he’s swapped teams in the southeast.

At 6 ‘5”, 190, Aberdeen spent much of this past season beating defenders off the dribble and making them pay at the rim. His speed and size made him a nightmare off the bench for opposing teams, and for the short stretch of play that he started during the year, Florida didn’t miss a beat.

In 19 minutes, Aberdeen averaged 8 points, two rebounds and one assist per game. His consistent contribution to the Gators’ title run made him one of the most coveted transfers in the cycle this season, and given his big blue commitment just days after entering the portal, Mark Pope clearly wasted no time in Kentucky’s pursuit.

Aberdeen slots in as yet another addition to what was already one of the strongest portal classes going into next season. His SEC experience and combo-guard intangibles make Aberdeen one of the most exciting portal players to come through Lexington in a long while, reinforcing Kentucky’s back court to what may be the final degree.

Whether or not Mark Pope is officially done for next season, nobody is sure, but this commitment only further cements the fact that he knows exactly what he’s doing. Just like the fanbase behind him, Coach Pope seems to never sleep.