What do coaches look for in college basketball players in the modern day? Beyond dudes willing to work on a contract to an agreeable extent (a growing rarity nowadays), long-term experience is an asset becoming harder to find with two-way contracts and G League paths making transitions to the NBA easier and easier.
Yet, in seventh-year - you read that right - transfer big Franck Kepnang, Kentucky will benefit from an essentially unmatched level of experience in one of their veteran leaders. Kepnang touched on embracing his role as "the old guy in the room" in the Cats' first media availability of the offseason, per KY Insider.
"Absolutely," Kepnang started, chuckling at the notion of his "wisdom" helping out the younger guys. "One thing that I bring to this team is just experience... I've been on every single level, I've been in every single position that you can experience as a student athlete."
Kepnang noted his multiple noteworthy stops during his time with both Oregon and Washington, circling both the NCAA Tournament and the NIT to illustrate the sheer depth of his time on the college level.
Nobody on Kentucky's roster is more familiar with the way this sport works, and that asset could become invaluable for the Wildcats when the season winds down in March.
Kepnang's Experience Will Be Invaluable in March
"I can bring experience, I can bring a little sense of calmness," Kepnang continued. "Like you said, wisdom."
Kepnang's injuries have certainly thrown an unfortunate wrench in his NCAA career but, all the same, those struggles are what led to the extra years. Of course, those extra years have now led to him landing in Lexington, in a position in which he'll be asked to anchor guys more than five years his junior.
But when the NCAA Tournament rolls around, it's often the teams that have managed some level of cohesion or "been there, done that" weight that win out at the end of the day. If Kentucky isn't going all-in on highly touted freshman talent (perhaps that's coming in the future), then a piece like Kepnang becomes your next best thing.
Favoring Experience Over Raw Talent
Really, that's the case on the whole for Kentucky. Even if nobody else can quite claim Kepnang's level of experience, the only freshman looking to get significant minutes this season is guard Mason Williams. Even his exact role off the bench has still yet to be defined, I might add.
Zoom Diallo is entering his third year, Milan Momcilovic and Justin McBride their fourth, and even Malachi Moreno and Alex Wilkins are headed into year two. That's the approach for Mark Pope this season.
Will it pay off? It's hard to tell this early, as usual, but Goose Givens likes what he sees so far. I don't know about you, but I'll take positive optics from a Kentucky legend and on-paper wins like Kepnang's past as great signs, especially in the middle of the summer.
Add us as a preferred source on Google