Kentucky still No. 4 in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early rankings after Bahamas trip

Kentucky went right down to the Bahamas earlier this month and gained all 4 exhibition video games by a median of fifty factors. However it wasn’t sufficient to maneuver the Wildcats into ESPN’s high three.

On Tuesday morning, ESPN up to date its “Means-Too-Early” Prime 25 rankings for the upcoming 2022-23 males’s school basketball season. Kentucky remained at No. 4 behind No. 1 North Carolina, No. 2 Gonzaga, and No. 3 Houston. Duke rounds out the highest 5.

Senior ahead Jacob Toppin was talked about by identify as one in every of three gamers followers ought to anticipate to listen to extra about as soon as the season begins. Moreover, since ESPN’s final replace in late July, head coach John Calipari has added one other five-star freshman to the roster, 6-foot-11 Ugonna Kingsley Onyenso, who arrived on campus final week.

Right here’s what ESPN’s Jeff Borzello needed to say about Kentucky after this system’s journey to the Bahamas:

Maybe the most important takeaway from Kentucky’s journey to the Bahamas in early August was the play — and position — of Jacob Toppin. He was one in every of simply two gamers to log at the least 20 minutes in all 4 video games on the journey (consensus Nationwide Participant of the 12 months Oscar Tshiebwe was the opposite). He additionally performed 33 minutes within the last sport in opposition to the Bahamas, when John Calipari used principally a seven-man rotation.

The previous Rhode Island switch has at all times impressed along with his capacity in transition and across the rim, however it was his perimeter sport that drew curiosity in the course of the worldwide tour. He went 8-for-15 from 3 within the 4 video games, together with a 5-for-6 efficiency in opposition to Carleton. If Toppin can persistently make pictures from exterior, he opens up new potentialities for Kentucky’s frontcourt.

Jeff Borzello, ESPN

The place do you suppose Kentucky ought to begin the season within the rankings?