It's "learn your roster" season for Kentucky fans, and with Mark Pope's third-ever blue and white team being entirely comprised of new faces, that task is taller than ever. A metric that allows folks to get acquainted faster is one of comparison; if a new guy reminds you of an old guy, you may get a pretty good idea as to how he plays prior to the season.
In a video for UK Sports Network where he had just 30 seconds to describe his team, Pope's comparison for Alex Wilkins stood out above the rest. "SGA vibes," he said simply, and Big Blue Nation responded with a firestorm of excitement.
Correct me if I'm wrong (this is rhetorical), but it'd probably be pretty hard to drump up a loftier comparison than a two-time MVP and recent NBA champion that is on track to go down as one of the most accomplished professional Cats to ever do it.
If Alex Wilkins can come close to the heights of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, even while he's in Lexington, we may be in for a very special player.
Inside the SGA/Wilkins Comparison
This may read to some like a simple attempt to fire fans up for a fresh face, but this comparison goes beyond the optics. Where there's smoke, there's fire.
Not only do Wilkins and Gilgeous-Alexander share similar builds (Wilkins is 6-foot-5, 175 lbs to SGA's 6-foot-6, 195 lb frame that was slimmer in college), but their freshman statistics are eerily similar, too. Wilkins averaged just under 18 points and five assists to go along with two boards at Furman. He shot 46% from the field, paired with a 32.8% clip from range.
SGA, against admittedly steeper SEC competition, posted 14.4 points, 5.1 assists and 4.1 boards on a nightly basis. His shooting percentages were better, but the similarities in the two players' respective games could help close the gap in efficiencies.
Similar Styles of Play
Wilkins, much like SGA was at Kentucky, is a shifty combo guard with the ability to lose defenders off the dribble. He passes the ball at a high rate and is always moving when he isn't dribbling; he's got the tools of a primary scorer with a penchant for getting downhill.
The difference in superstar potential is obvious, but Pope wasn't claiming these are the exact same player. He said Wilkins has SGA "vibes." That, to me, is hard to deny.
It's a worthy comparison on paper and one that Kentucky fans should be happy to recognize, so long as we don't raise our expectations to an NBA-MVP-level. Wilkins could very well be "the guy" on this Kentucky team if he keeps developing at a breakneck rate.
In the future, too, he's got real professional potential. Don't sleep on our starting guard Big Blue Nation, based on both what he's capable of now and what he could be capable of down the road.
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