Kentucky basketball: Player grades for 2017-2018 season

Wenyen Gabriel played light years better in his second season at UK. Gabriel’s minutes, scoring, three-point percentage, rebounding and blocks all increased from his freshman to his sophomore season.

Gabriel appeared to find his fit this season for John Calipari. Cal kept saying he wanted Gabriel to “be Derek Willis”. Willis was a senior on last year’s team. In some respects, Gabriel filled the void left by Willis. As the season progressed, Gabriel seemed to figure out that his best offense was as a spot-up shooter.

Gabriel increased his three-pointer percentage from 31.7% to 39.6%. If Wenyen can get in the gym over the summer and continue to work on his outside game, he could be a big time weapon for the Cats next season. Gabriel’s game against Alabama in the SEC Tournament was out of this world. He was 7-of-7 from downtown and finished with 23 points and a smile on his face.

Gabriel knows his role. He’s the sixth-man. He brings energy on defense, he can rebound and shoot. There’s not much more Cal can ask of Gabriel except consistency. Gabriel has a lot of talent, but some games this season it just appeared that he made a few too many mental errors.