With rosters turning over on an annual basis, due almost entirely to the transfer portal and NIL era of college athletics taking hold, some players new to any given team naturally fall under the radar upon their arrival. When it comes to Kentucky this offseason, that player has been Jerone Morton.
Morton, who is transferring in for his senior season from Washington State, has long been perceived as a depth piece with the reliable ability to run the floor. But what if I told you that we could have the return of DeAndre Liggins on our hands? I know the Big Blue Nation just perked their ears.
Well, legendary Kentucky radio personality Tom Leach sees just that. T.J. Walker posted about Leach's comparison (made on his own show) on X, fittingly adding: "Sounds like he's a DOG defensively."
Whoa. Tom Leach just compared Jeron Morton to DeAndre Liggins.
— T.J. Walker (@TJWalkerRadio) July 10, 2026
Sounds like he’s a DOG defensively. I was not familiar.
Liggins, who is set to run it back with the La Familia alumni team this summer, was the sort of role player that you just don't come by these days.
He did his job and did it well, and for multiple years, at that. If Morton ends up anything like Liggins for Kentucky, to say that we have a "dog" on our hands may even be an understatement.
DeAndre Liggins Was Kentucky's Ultimate Role Player
Liggins' biggest accomplishment from an optics perspective his SEC All-Defensive Team nod in 2011, but in the same season, he nailed a corner three that buried North Carolina in what became a historic Elite Eight win for Kentucky.
From 2008-11, Liggins was Kentucky's everyman. He averaged 8.6 points, four boards, 2.5 assists, and 1.2 steals in his final campaign in the blue and white.
His five-season NBA career that followed played to a similar tune; for seven different teams, the journeyman Liggins served as a plug-n-play defender across the professional scene. When it comes to Morton, even given his smaller build, the styles of play are promisingly similar.
Morton's Similar Style of Play
While Morton's ability to shoot the long ball (38.7% from three last season) stretches his game a little further out than Liggins' most of the time, his early yield from summer practice aligning with the former Wildcat makes statistical sense otherwise.
Morton averaged 1.3 steals per contest in the 2024-25 season, following that up with just under one this past season. He carries a similar nose for the ball and, even (assumedly) relegated to the bench, should have the impact opposing offenses in the same way.
At this point in the offseason, prior to seeing Kentucky play in any kind of competitive environment, it's virtually impossible to espouse any real certainties about the roster. But if Tom Leach sees DeAndre Liggins in anyone, that's more than enough reason to hone in on that guy.
Big Blue Nation, keep your thumb on Jerone Morton. Even the quietest portal pickups have the potential to take off.
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