In case you were unaware, ESPN recently selected the Kentucky Wildcats as one of the 20 “simmer buzz” teams they profiled. A lot of you may have missed it because it was a portion of ESPN’s paid “Insider” section, but with a slow Friday night for UK sports, I decided to spare the DeAndre Daniels speculation for a bit and take a look at the ESPN outlook on our Wildcats and some of the newcomers headed to Lexington:
"Welcome to CampusBrandon Knight, 6-foot-3, PG (No. 4 overall ESPNU 100) Knight is next in the Calipari-led lineage of sensational point guards, but don’t bother comparing him to any of his predecessors who left for the NBA.“He’s different. Derrick [Rose] relied on that seven-footer and he made jumpers and all that. John Wall got all the way to the rim. Tyreke [Evans] was 6-6 with long arms. They’re all different,” Calipari says. “[Knight is] not going to be one to overpower you, like Rose would, but he’s going to have the ability to still get by you and use his passing ability to create for his teammates. Maybe more than the others.”Further bolstering the backcourt will be freshmen Stacey Poole and Doron Lamb. Having played with the newcomers over the summer, junior and returning starter Darius Miller has already taken a liking to them, dubbing the explosive Poole the best athlete among the newcomers and praising Lamb for his composure and in-your-grill D.Enes Kanter, 6-9, C(No. 25 overall ESPNU 100)Kanter figures to play a key role in replacing the size lost in the June draft exodus — if he’s available. Eligibility concerns hang over his head after he spent time playing with a pro team in his native Turkey. While some think he could get clipped and spend at least the first part of the season on the sideline, Calipari expects Kanter will be available to offer his boulder-like body and playmaking finesse from day one. It’s a combo that’s already impressed Miller.“He plays really good when we play open gym,” Miller says. “He’s just so strong and big, but he has good footwork. He sees the court really well.”Terrence Jones, 6-9, PF (No. 9 overall ESPNU100)Like Kanter, Jones — who reneged on a verbal commitment to Washington to join Kentucky — offers a big frame and an outside game.“His versatility is going to be a matchup problem for people. He’s so big but, at the same time, he has guard skills,” Miller says. “He brings something new to the table.”Indeed he does. Whereas Patrick Patterson spent most of his time planted in the post before Calipari’s arrival pushed him toward the perimeter, Jones has always been comfortable away from the basket. That should make him, as well as 6-10 junior college transfer Eloy Vargas, a much better fit for the dribble-drive offense.Hole to Fill: ReboundingLast season the Wildcats’ frontcourt exploited a big rebounding advantage — No. 5 nationally in offensive rebounding percentage — to the fullest, but that edge may have left campus with DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton and Patterson. By himself, Cousins cleaned the glass so well (19.6 percent of available offensive rebounds) he could have squeegeed the Empire State Building by sundown. But no returning player averaged more than three rebounds per game last season, and the departing boarders accounted for 82 percent of the Cats’ caroms.Junior Josh Harrellson’s limited playing time (88 minutes all of last season) and Jones’ position on the perimeter could further hinder the cause.“What was a huge advantage last year was that we were the best defensive team in the country by the numbers,” Calipari says. “And we’re going to lose 85-90 percent of our scoring and rebounding. We’ve got a lot to do. I’m looking at our team and saying we’ve got a lot to prove.”"
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