By Aidan Joly
Kentucky always has one of the top recruiting class in the country, and 2020-21 will be no different in Lexington.
Last season, they went 15-3 in SEC play under the guidance of freshmen Immanuel Quickley and Tyrese Maxey, as well as underclassmen Ashton Hagans, Nick Richardson and EJ Montgomery. They all left for the NBA Draft, but there is no fret for John Calipari and co. as they get the new crop of freshmen coming in for this season.
That group is being led by backcourt duo BJ Boston and Devin Askew. Boston is the bigger name of the two, the No. 5 prospect in the nation according to 247 Sports. Plenty of eyes have already seen him as he was the teammate of Bronny James at Sierra Canyon High School, but he obviously garnered less attention than James did.
Boston is probably better fitted to play small forward, but with the sheer number of forwards that Kentucky has, which will be discussed later, he’s likely to slide in at shooting guard.
On the other side of the backcourt is Askew, who ranks at #32 in the 247 rankings for the Class of 2021 before reclassifying and joining the Wildcats a year early. He will be trying to join in a long list of successful Kentucky point guards who were one-and-done, most notably John Wall. He should be the starter and see a big role day one.
Really, the only bench piece at the guard position is Davion Mintz, a grad transfer from Creighton. Mintz, a former three-star prospect, is a great fit for Kentucky with how he plays his game. He missed all of the 2019-20 season due to a high ankle sprain but averaged 9.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per contest with the Blue Jays in 2018-19, starting 34 games.
The glut in the frontcourt starts here. Terrence Clarke, the No. 8 prospect in the class, will be starting at the three. Clarke was initially the top recruit in Kentucky’s class before Boston passed him. He is known as a great defender and can switch to shooting guard, so expect Calipari to experiment with him and Boston during the season.
At the other guard position, you have Keion Brooks, one of the few returners on the roster. He averaged 4.5 PPG as a freshman last year in 15.1 minutes per contest and is expected to have a larger role this year.
The depth at the forward position is great, with Rhode Island Jacob Toppin having received a waiver and will be eligible for this season. Redshirt freshman Dontaie Allen will see minutes off the bench as a three-point threat, as will Isaiah Jackson. Another pair of freshmen, Cam’Ron Fletcher and Lance Ware, will probably not see minutes at the beginning of the season, but may at some point during the season depending on how things fall and how other players develop.
In the middle is Wake Forest transfer Olivier Sarr, who also recently received a waiver and is eligible to play this season. This was a huge addition for Kentucky as they lacked a seven-footer in the middle. He will probably play about 30 minutes per game this season after he averaged 13.7 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest last year with the Demon Deacons, and blocked 1.2 shots per game, despite only playing in half of their games.
Like how it is every year, the Wildcats are filled to the brim with freshmen. It’s expected to be another great season in Lexington while getting their stars ready for the NBA.
AJ Hoops 