If you needed another reason to be annoyed with this Kentucky basketball season, ESPN just delivered it to your doorstep like an unwanted Amazon package.
Myron Medcalf and the team at ESPN released their list of the Top 50 players in college basketball at the midway point.
You would think that the "most expensive roster in college basketball history," a squad that reportedly cost the boosters north of $20 million, would be littered across that list. You would expect to see at least two or three guys getting national respect.
You would also be utterly wrong. Only one single Kentucky player made the list. And he didn't even crack the Top 35.
$20 million for this? ESPN's Top 50 list proves Kentucky's roster is overpriced and overrated
To make matters worse, you can tell Myron wrote his blurb about Otega Oweh about 24 hours before the Cats got run out of the gym in Nashville. The praise for Oweh, who came in at No. 40, reads like a cruel joke after what we watched on Wednesday night.
Here is what ESPN had to say:
"The SEC Preseason Player of the Year spearheaded a roster that reportedly cost Kentucky brass more than $20 million to sign. So the criticism was warranted when Oweh and the rest of the team struggled early. That narrative has changed in recent weeks, however. Oweh led the Wildcats to five straight wins entering the week... And just like that, Kentucky has gone from bubble team to SEC contender."
"SEC Contender." Yeah, Myron definitely hit "publish" on that before Vanderbilt punched Kentucky in the mouth.
Empty calories
The article praises Oweh for averaging 19.2 points during the win streak, and to his credit, Oweh did get his 20 points against Vanderbilt. But if you watched the game, you know those were empty calories. It took him 19 shots, mostly forced, contested drives into traffic, to get those points.
For a team that started the year with legitimate National Championship aspirations, seeing a Top 50 list devoid of blue and white is disheartening.
It screams that this team is a collection of expensive parts that don't fit, rather than a cohesive unit of stars.
Onto the ex
Now, this "SEC Contender" has to drag itself to Fayetteville. Kentucky heads to Bud Walton Arena on Saturday to face John Calipari in the only regular-season meeting with Arkansas.
If they play like they did in Nashville, Calipari might just put 100 on them. The long Razorback on the list is freshman Darius Acuff Jr., coming in at number 11.