After the season, Mark Pope admitted the injuries and roster construction left Kentucky desperate for playmakers. The Cats' offense stalled out way too often; just look at the 20 turnovers against Iowa State. So, the coaching staff is doing all they can to correct that.
First, they reached out to Dedan Thomas Jr, and while I am not a fan of that move, I am a huge Zoom Diallo fan.
Thomas is not a great defender or shooter, and against Florida and Arkansas last year, he was a combined 8-for-28 from the floor with 8 assists and 3 turnovers. I use those two games because those are the only two major SEC games the point guard was able to play. He was shut down because of injuries.
Diallo on the other hand had 3 double digit assist games on a Washington team that was just 16-17.
Shooting is still a concern
One of the things that really hindered last year's team was shooting. If you take away Collin Chandler (who still hasn't announced his plans), Kentucky shot just 31% from deep last season, and Diallo shot 31% from deep on 2 attempts a game last season. That is pretty substandard for a starting point guard.
But that is also the biggest draw back on Thomas, who only shot 30 percent from deep. Part of the numbers will be explained away by both guys just being on bad teams, but I don't buy into that. Sometimes you just aren't a great shooter. And that seems to be the case here for both.
But Diallo is a legit 6'4, and a much better defender than Thomas is right now. But even if everything else is equal, Diallo isn't coming off a foot surgery.
Dedan Thomas Jr injury history is a worry
Don't get me wrong, Dedan will be a very good college player. But over the last two season he has missed time with a shoulder injury and is coming off foot surgery. He will not be ready for the beginning of the summer workouts, and that is going to be a key factor here.
With Kentucky essentially starting over from scratch, having all the players together for summer ball is imperative. That is where the habits are built on the court. And that is where Diallo really pulls ahead.
Kentucky can not have more injured superstars next year. You can chalk up some of the injuries to bad luck. But if you are taking a guy who has missed time during the last two seasons, you are asking for it to blow up in your face.
Kentucky needs good players, but they also need healthy ones. Diallo is expected to have a Zoom call at some point with the staff, and that will reveal a lot. As always, stay tuned because the Transfer Portal never sleeps.