Say what you will about Kentucky's lack of a commitment thus far - and, truly, plenty has been and will continue to be fairly said - but Mark Pope remains sleepless in his pursuit of a commitment. Not only is leading forward Donnie Freeman currently on his visit to Kentucky but, according to KSR, Kentucky leapt Indiana in order to secure an earlier visit with another power forward.
Sebastian Rancik, hailing from the Colorda Buffaloes out west, is also on campus in Lexington. While Rancik isn't a surefire starter or high-level contributor upon first look, he does have the tools to serve as a solid rotational piece in a Mark Pope offense that needs floor-stretching scorers.
To boot, the statistical jump he exhibited from his first to second year with Colorado could be indicitave of a sizable third-season leap wherever he lands next. That alone may be enough to warrant the risk in bringing him to Lexington.
Warranting a Risky Commitment
In his sophomore season as a Buffalo, Rancik put up slightly north of 12 points per game on average, adding just under six rebounds and two assists on the dot. His size and length, towering at an inch below seven-foot, offers an alluring fit as a potential Andrija Jelavic replacement with more experience at the collegiate level.
Even if he doesn't start, if Kentucky adds the aforementioned Freeman and brings Rancik off of the bench behind him? That's a seriously solid rotation at the four spot, at least as far as the optics go.
On top of that, Rancik's skillset as a scorer would help balance Kentucky's frontcourt in any clock he gets alongside the paint anchor that is Malachi Moreno. His respectable 40.4%/33.1% shooting split is a few ticks of improvement away from rendering him a seriously dangerous player.
And while Kentucky still has a long way to go in regard to filling out a starting lineup, especially when it comes to the all-important point guard position, it's not at all a bad idea for the team to begin work on their depth pieces, too. After all, those sorts of spots may be easier to fill than landing a "big fish" who'll warrant a team-changing paycheck.
It's hard to stay patient, BBN, I get that. But pieces are moving and being pushed together and, in due time, they'll click into place. For better or worse? Well, we won't know that until November.
Add us as a preferred source on Google