Malachi Moreno is expected to come back to Kentucky this season and take a massive sophomore leap. After almost taking a swing at a first-round selection in the NBA Draft, Moreno's return to Lexington comes with true All-SEC expectations. But the man behind him on the bench has a weight almost as severe to carry.
Seventh-year transfer Franck Kepnang will be Moreno's lone backup this season, and that position group's scenario is eerily reminiscent of the mess Kentucky had at point guard last year.
With Jasper Johnson essentially standing alone at the one-spot when Jaland Lowe went down with a shoulder injury before the season, Mark Pope had to tackle his floor general spot with a committee approach. What resulted was Denzel Aberdeen playing out of position, Johnson being thrust into an uncomfortable role as a freshman, and ultimately, a disheveled Cats backcourt.
Kentucky can't afford that kind of inconsistency in the paint this fall. Even if Moreno remains healthy as hoped, the usual SEC foul trouble could render Kepnang's secondary role more important than previously thought down the stretch.
Franck Kepnang will have to punch up at Kentucky this year
Kepnang has long fit the bill of a complimentary five-man, but in Lexington, he'll be expected to punch up on a different level.
In his most recent run with the Washington Huskies, Kepnang averaged just north of six points, six boards, and two blocks per game, teaming up with fellow new Wildcat Zoom Diallo to produce a high-low combo that the BBN would love to see replicated at Kentucky.
It's hard to pinpoint exactly where those numbers should be in Lexington, but it wouldn't be a surprise to see Kepnang's 22-minute normal balloon a little. At least, he's likely to surpass that number on occasion.
Kepnang has the potential to fill this demanding role
Between Moreno finding himself in inevitable foul trouble and Pope running Moreno and Kepnang together - a two-center style that he's become evidently fond of at Kentucky - the Cats' most experienced transfer will have his fans full in a way that he hasn't before.
That's saying a lot for someone who has spent the better part of a decade playing college basketball. Still, as a brute, 6-foot-11 center who has the momentum of a wrecking ball and is one of the most weathered paint defenders in the country, Kepnang has the tools to make this work.
In light of more surefire pickups like Milan Momcilovic and Alex Wilkins, for example, Kepnang looks like one of Coach Pope's riskiest plays of the offseason. Even so, no team is perfect in every facet.
Coming off of more than a decade of John Calipari betting on freshman every single season, Kentucky fans should happily take a swing on a year-seven transfer set to spell minutes for one of college basketball's biggest rising centers.
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