Men's Basketball

Two Weeks Without Reid

Published

7 years ago

February 21, 2019

In Kentucky’s 66-58 win over Missouri on Tuesday night, Reid Travis suffered a knee injury midway through the second half as
Keldon Johnson accidentally fell into Travis’ right knee on a fast break.

Kentucky was “trapped” in Columbus until late Wednesday afternoon due to weather, and no tests could run until the Cats got back to Lexington. After much anticipation, the Cats were finally able to get back and an MRI has confirmed a right knee sprain for Travis, but there is no further damage.

According to the UK Athletics department, Travis is expected to miss 10-14 days. Fourteen days from yesterday would be March 5th, the day Kentucky is scheduled to play at Ole Miss and will make him available for senior night on March 9th.

Over the course of the next two weeks, Kentucky plays Auburn, Arkansas, at Tennessee, and at Ole Miss. Three of which are in predicted to be in the tournament and the fourth, Arkansas, in the first four teams out. This will be a challenging stretch for Kentucky and will need to at least go 3-1 to have a chance to win the SEC.

Let’s dive deeper on what Kentucky will need to do be successful without Reid and the storylines.

EJ Montgomery and Nick Richards Need to Step Up

After the news broke, Calipari said, “Now, the other thing is, one guy’s misery is another guy’s opportunity. So now you have Nick [Richards] and EJ [Montgomery], now you have that opportunity to get extended minutes.”

Richards and Montgomery have been considered x-factors in this Kentucky team making a deep run in the NCAA tournament. With Reid missing time this gives each of them the opportunity to develop and gain more confidence before the postseason.

Richards, when on, has provided some great play off the bench and Montgomery has one of the highest potentials on this team. They both need to play well enough to take attention off of PJ Washington and be effective on the defensive end. Here is a comparison between the per 40 min totals for Travis and Montgomery/Richards.

PER 40 MINUTES:

Travis – 16.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.1 blocks

EJ/Nick – 12.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 3.7 blocks

Despite taking a hit offensively, Montgomery and Richards give Kentucky more rim protection, and even the option implement more lob plays.

Improve Defensively

Kentucky has the 8th most efficient defense in the country, however, that couldn’t be seen in the final 10:24 when Travis exited the game. Kentucky was outscored 35-25 in the second half and showed plenty of mental mistakes on the defensive end.

Reid’s high basketball IQ impacts the defensive end in ways that cant be measured by numbers, which was shown on the highest stage in the LSU game in the final possession. With Travis out of the game, three players went for a block with no one boxing out for a rebound leading to LSU’s controversial tip-in win.

Calipari has completely transformed this team defensively and will need to make the necessary adjustments to stay elite on that end of the floor. While, not having as great of a basketball IQ as Travis, Montgomery and Richards do give Cal more athleticism and size to work with and provide better rim protection.

Crash the Boards

Kentucky has been one of the best rebounding teams in the country this season. The Cats rank top-30 in total rebounds per game and rank top-10 in offensive rebounding percentage. Travis is a big part of Kentucky’s success on the boards.

As dominant as Kentucky has been on boards this season they were outworked on Tuesday night, as Missouri won the rebounding battle 34-28.
Just four games ago, Montgomery had a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds against South Carolina. Last season, as a starter Richards averaged 12 rebounds per game per 40 minutes. Both big men have shown the potential to be elite rebounders, but they will need to put into action

Can PJ Maintain his Dominance without Travis?

With PJ and Travis, the best part of this Kentucky team has been their frontcourt this season. After starting the game off quick with 15 points in the first half, PJ was held to just three points in the second half. With Travis out, Missouri was able to solely focus and double team PJ making it much more difficult for him to get anything going.

If the third worst team in the SEC can hold PJ to three points in a half, what will some of the top teams in the SEC be able to do? The rest of the Cats will have to attract more attention and allow PJ to be effective.

Calipari said in a press release. “We are going to be very conservative with this, so he may be out a couple weeks. We hope he will be ready for around the conference tournament or maybe even a little bit before, but I’m happy for Reid that we’re going to get him back.”

Although it’s not ideal for Travis to miss any time, I believe this is a great opportunity for the young players on this team to grow up and mature just in time before NCAA tournament.

P.S. Can Reid Travis receive some fashion advice from Brad Calipari?

BB Recruiting

Three-Year European Professional Big Man Ousmane N’Diaye Signs With Kentucky

Published

3 days ago

April 24, 2026

Tristan Pharis

Kentucky basketball has signed European big man Ousmane N'Diaye, a former NBA Draft entry who has played three seasons in some of Europe's top leagues.

Kentucky added a major piece to its frontcourt.

Ousmane N’Diaye, a prospect with three years of professional experience in some of the top leagues in Europe, has signed with the Kentucky Wildcats for a two-year deal, per source, with the second year having a buyout option.

At 6-foot-11, N’Diaye is a mobile big man with perimeter skill, bringing a modern skillset to Kentucky. He is comfortable stepping out and knocking down perimeter shots while also possessing the length and athleticism to make an impact defensively.

N’Diaye’s name first popped up in 2016 at a Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa Camp in Angola, where former Wildcat Eric Bledsoe was an instructor. At just 12 years old, he was one of 87 participants. Fast forward to 2020, ESPN highlighted a then 15-year-old N’Diaye as “one of the best long-term prospects we evaluated” following a Basketball Without Borders Global Camp in Chicago, playing against the likes of current NBA players Josh Giddey and Josh Primo.

N’Diaye began to play for professional clubs in 2019, starting with Dragons Rhoendorf, a German professional club that competes in the country’s third-highest division. After three seasons with them, N’Diaye moved to Saski Baskonia, which plays in Spain’s top division, Liga ACB. This past season, he played for the Italian club, Vanoli Cremona, in the LBA, Italy’s top basketball league. There, he averaged 10.2 points and 6.7 rebounds on 32% shooting from three. He entered his name into the NBA Draft in 2025 as a potential second-round selection, but went undrafted.

N’Diaye will now make his way to Lexington, where he will look to showcase his athleticism, physical tools, and floor spacing, and work on his decision-making and on-ball perimeter defense.

BB Recruiting

James Madison Transfer Justin McBride to Visit Kentucky on Tuesday

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2026

Tristan Pharis

Kentucky will host James Madison transfer James McBride for a visit on Tuesday, after communicating with Mark Pope and the staff via Zoom video call.

James Madison Athletics

While much of the attention in the transfer portal goes to the top targets, you need to build a full roster. Still with starting spots to be claimed, Kentucky also looking at depth pieces. The most recent, James Madison transfer Justin McBride.

After talking to the staff this week via Zoom video call, McBride is scheduled to take a visit to Lexington on Tuesday.

A three-star transfer, ranked 201st overall according to 247Sports, McBride is being recruited by multiple power conference teams including Baylor and Cal, as well as SEC foes Mississippi State and Ole Miss.

Out of high school, McBride was a four-star recruit, ranked in the top 150 nationally.

“He is a versatile player who has that IT factor about him. You can tell by the passion he plays with that there is a huge chip on his shoulder,” 247Sports asked program director Vonzell Thomas said as he evaluated McBride out of high school. “What I like about his game is his will to win. He does whatever it takes to win and not every kid has that mentality.”

From Texas, McBride committed to Oklahoma State over the likes of Kansas and Arkansas, where he played alongside former Wildcat Bandon Garrison. There, he appeared in just 24 games, averaging just over five minutes per game.

Seeking a larger role, McBride entered the transfer portal and dropped to the mid-major level, committing to Nevada. With the Wolfpack he nearly tripled both his minutes and production, averaging 7.8 points and 4.2 rebounds in just under 20 minutes per game. His most recent stop, James Madison this past season, McBride had a breakout year, averaging 15.3 points and 5.6 rebounds on 40 percent shooting from deep.

Entering his senior season, the 6-7, 240 pound McBride is eyeing a jump back to the power conference level, prioritizing fit at his next stop.

Will that be Kentucky?

McBride has good size and athleticism, and has an inside-out style of game. Meaning he can work his away around the paint, but can also space the floor with his shooting, grading fairly well as a catch and shoot guy. Overall, he ranks in the 97th percentile in scoring volume. That said, there is come consistency to be lacked on the defensive side.

BB Recruiting

Multiple Transfers Meet With Kentucky on Wednesday

Published

3 weeks ago

April 8, 2026

Tristan Pharis

The transfer portal is active, and Zoom stock is going up as college coaches are video chatting around the clock to build their rosters, including Kentucky.

On Wednesday, Mark Pope and the Kentucky staff added three more names to the Zoom list.

Alex Wilkins (Guard, Furman), 4⭐️, 46th-ranked transfer

Class: Sophomore
Physicals: 6-5, 175 lbs
Last season averages: 17.8 PPG, 4.7 APG, 46% FG, 32.8% 3P

An underrated prospect coming out of high school, Wilkins splashed on the scene this year at Furman. As a freshman, he led his team to the NCAA Tournament, averaging 17.8 points and 4.7 assists and earning second team All-SoCon honors.

There were few players as critical to their team’s success as Wilkins, leading the SoCon in possession usage (34.4%) and shot usage (31.7%). That does lend some explanation to his poor shooting splits and turnover concerns (3.8 turnovers per game).

A quick, wirey guard, Wilkins is a capable scorer at all three levels, and can create for his teammates. However, he needs to add some muscle for power conference competition, and needs to have more consistent effort on the defensive end.

A freshman, those are both correctable things.

Isaac Celiscar (Forward, Yale), 4⭐️, 84th-ranked transfer

Class: Junior
Physicals: 6-6, 210 lbs
Last season averages: 13.2 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.2 APG, 57.3% FG, 40.7% 3P

Isaac Celiscar is one of the most efficient, versatile players in the transfer portal.

The first takeaway, averaging 13.2 point per game with 57.3 percent shooting, he is extremely efficient on limited opportunities. Shooting nearly 41 percent from deep, he is a threat from deep as well. That efficiency carries over to his passing, as he averages more than three assists per game, on just 1.3 turnovers per game.

Celiscar grades out as a glue-guy with great offensive skills and good feel for the game, but he does have limitations in terms of his athleticism and shot creation.

Jalen Cox (Guard, Colgate), 3⭐️ , 149th-ranked transfer

Class: Senior
Physicals: 6-3, 180 lbs
Last season averages: 17.9 PPG, 5.3 APG, 5.0 RPG, 52.1% FG, 36.5% 3P

Jalen Cox is the lowest ranked player Kentucky has reached out to, but the Wildcats need depth and Cox is a experienced guard with proven production.

Averaging 17.9 points and 5.3 assists (2.0+ assist-to-turnover ratio) per game on 52 percent shooting from the field, Cox is a versatile and efficient offensive player. He has also multiple conference All-Defense selections too, making him a two way player.

The biggest concern with Cox is his athletic ceiling and how that translates to power conference competition. However an experienced two way player is a great rotation piece.