Brandon Garrison (Vicky Graff Photo)
The Athletic’s CJ Moore recently wrote about the winners and losers in the college basketball portal now that the transfer portal has closed and players can no longer enter the portal.
He listed Memphis, UAB, Baylor, Georgia Tech, Central Florida and Arizona State as the biggest losers with Michigan, Louisville, Iowa, Arkansas and Auburn along with Kentucky as the biggest winners. The Cats have added Jayden Quaintance, Jaland Lowe, Denzel Aberdeen, Kam Williams and Mouhamed Dioubate so far in the portal and lost Kerr Kriisa and Travis Perry.
Moore said that coach Mark Pope has so many options that he might have to use a hockey line change strategy that former UK coach John Calipari used in 2015 when he platooned his top 10 players.
“The Wildcats will have healthy competition at just about every position. The only lock is that Otega Oweh, if he returns, should be a starter. Outside of that, it looks like Pope is trying to give himself options everywhere,” Moore wrote.
“The Cats appeared locked into Lowe at point guard, but that’s murkier after the addition of Aberdeen, a surprise late portal entrant who would have finally been a starter at Florida after spending this season as a super sub for the national champs. It’s possible both start together. Incoming freshman Jasper Johnson and Collin Chandler are also candidates to start on the perimeter, especially if Oweh stays in the draft.”
He expects Dioubate or Jelavic to be the power forward even though he could go smaller with Williams but notes Williams could also play small forward in a bigger lineup.
“Brandon Garrison will likely be the starting center early on while Quaintance recovers from ACL surgery, but the Arizona State transfer is a projected lottery pick and was an All-Big 12 defensive selection. Malachi Moreno, a consensus top-30 player in the 2025 class, is yet another option at center,” Moore wrote.
Moore believes Pope’s experience playing at Kentucky on a talent-rich rosters that coach Rick Pitino had will help him manage the competition and playing time.
“Offensively, I’m betting on Pope figuring it out. The less proven side of the ball in his coaching career is the defense, and that’s what seemed to be the priority during this portal cycle. I love the Dioubate addition because he has the kind of facilitating abilities on the offensive end that fit Pope’s system, and his effort and defensive versatility are huge positives. He’s the type of player everyone seems to feed off,” Moore said.
“Lineups that include the foursome of Aberdeen, Oweh, Dioubate and Quaintance would be extremely hard to score against. The 2024-25 team, while awesome offensively, was not a legitimate title contender because of its defense. This roster seems to have everything on paper. Now we’ll see how it meshes.”
3 Responses
Jelavic will play the 4 spot. Dioubate is only 6’7", 215 which should have him playing the 3 spot with Williams. We need another guy at the 4 spot who could also play at the 5 spot if foul trouble or injuries occur. We are 3 deep at the 1 spot and 2 spot. Chandler could also play at the 2 if needed and Noah could also play at the 3 if needed. Garrison and Moreno will have to hold down the 5 spot until Quaintance is ready to play and who knows when that will be. Pope should use Perry’s scholarship on the 4 spot where we are thin.
I agree but if we get another post player we need someone who plays great defense. Garrison was a liability on defense last year although I do think he gets better all around how much better is the question? The Croatian will probably need close to a year of American basketball until he gets the speed of the game down. Moreno is a freshman and he needs to gain at least 10 pounds of muscle. If not he will get pushed around. MoD will be better suited at the 3 than the 4 the same goes for Williams. We need someone who can rebound and play defense. The Croatian checks all the offensive boxes but we need a glass eater.
Should be a top ten defensive team. A spot duty 3 point specialist would be nice .