Donnie Freeman has been the latest darling of the transfer portal for Kentucky, with fans pushing seemingly as hard as the staff to land the NBA-upside forward. Zoom Diallo’s commitment was a solid first step, but the Wildcats need significantly more help.
Yet, as Freeman’s recruitment grinds to a current stall, Mark Pope and his staff aren’t out of answers at the four-spot. Regardless of what happens with Freeman, Sebastian Rancik is a solid name that Kentucky should keep pushing for.
And they are, closing up a visit with the stretch big in the immediate aftermath of Freeman’s own trip to Lexington. Yet Rancik also visited Florida State; it appears that Pope is in a battle with the Seminoles to land what is, in my opinion, perhaps the sneakiest winner on UK’s list of transfer hopefuls.
Sebastian Rancik is an Underrated Prospect
Before coming to Kentucky, Pope was known for his offensive proclivities and, specifically, his favor for running things through a big at the top of the key. After using Amari Williams in that role in his first year, Pope struggled to replicate that success due to his second team's structure.
In Rancik, though, that system could return. The four-star, six-foot-11 forward has all the makings of a perfect Pope big man; his jumper is mechanically sound - most recently he shot a respectable 33% clip from downtown - and he scores and rebounds more than well enough to force a defense to stay close, at any level.
A big doesn't have to be a knockdown shooter to stretch the floor. Rancik, in fact, would be more dangerous than Williams was at the top of the key. In turn, he'd be able to open the paint for Diallo to slash (as he does best) which would, again in turn, further open things up for shooters on the wing.
A Sensible Addition on Offense
Kentucky needs to add more talent on the wing in order for things to fully open up, but that should come naturally as the offseason progresses. For now, Rancik makes perfect sense as an offensive-specialist addition in a system that has lacked his traits.
Going into a critical third year for Pope, he needs to play to his strengths. Regardless of the limited noise around Rancik, he checks all the boxes for Kentucky's particular needs and, regardless of where things end up with other recruits, should be prioritized for that reason.
Add us as a preferred source on Google