Kentucky
Wildcats believe they will “shock a lot of people”
The Kentucky Wildcats have a roster loaded with transfer portal players and a few incoming freshmen. It is different than the roster compilation this team has had over the past decade, but it’s one that should bode well for former BYU head coach Mark Pope.
Pope, who has been quoted saying he has added each player with a purpose, will have big shoes to fill with John Calipari now in Fayetteville. Pope immediately got to work upon being hired, adding numerous players from the transfer portal.
With the summer workouts having kicked off, we’re starting to hear from many of them.
Fairleigh Dickinson forward Ansley Almonor has been hearing and seeing Kentucky not being in many top-25 rankings. After a few practices, he has let people know of the high expectations this team has internally and that they plan to “shock a lot of people.”
“I feel like we’re going to go out there and shock a lot of people in the country,” Almonor said in a recent interview with local media. “People are underestimating us, I feel like. We have a really, really good team and a really experienced team. It’s going to be fun to watch us, for sure.
Almonor’s comments about being an underdog have been commonplace at the Joe Craft Center, as Andrew Carr believes Kentucky will surprise people with how good they are on the defensive end.
”I think we’re going to surprise a lot of people defensively,” Carr said.
A big part of that in summer practices has been how well this veteran team communicates on the defensive end, something that’s been quite problematic with Kentucky in recent years.
”Transition defense will be big for us, and that comes with communication. It’s been really cool to see not only one or two people talking, and things like that, it’s really been the whole team trying to take that next step communication-wise,” said Carr.
It also helps that Kentucky has two legitimate rim protectors in Amari Williams and Brandon Garrison.
”(Amari) has done a special job, he and BG (Brandon Garrison),” Carr said. “That center spot holds together the defensive unit and most of the time is able to see everything, has to have a very loud voice, and they’ve done a really good job kind of growing and trying to make a concerted effort to be as loud as possible.”
It also helps that Kentucky has legitimate depth at all five spots.
“I think a lot of people have done a really great job (in practice),” said Carr. “For us, it’s been really cool because it’s not just one person every day. It switches every single day. Different people have good days on different days. That’s what I’m super excited about with this team in general, the depth. We’ve got two of everything. So it’s been really fun to see that throughout practice.”
Next season can’t get here fast enough.
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Kentucky
Social media companies pay $27 million to settle Kentucky school district’s lawsuit over social media harms, records show
The Brooklyn Nets have developed their teams through a number of strategies over the decades, and their front office has put together considerable success through the NBA draft. Many of the franchise’s best players have joined the Nets either by being selected directly in the annual draft or through trades made on that day.
Moreover, it is not only the star players who have been acquired by the Nets through the draft. Several prominent alumni have been selected by the team each offseason during this annual event, with certain colleges being more prominently represented than others. An analysis of the players from different schools reveals that both prestigious programs and smaller institutions have contributed top talent to the Nets’ roster over the years.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at every player who has been drafted by the Nets out of Kentucky State University.
Gerald Cunningham – forward
Draft year and position: fifth round (first pick, 89th overall), 1977 NBA Draft
Seasons at Kentucky State University:
Seasons played with Nets: did not make the team
All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.
The best shooter in college basketball will, in fact, stay in college basketball — and Kentucky is ready to make its final push.
Iowa State star Milan Momcilovic has withdrawn from the 2026 NBA Draft and will play somewhere at his current level in 2026-27. That’s not expected to be back in Ames, as Cyclone coach T.J. Otzelberger made clear, saying that if the 6-8 forward doesn’t make the jump to the pros, “it’s important that he’s able to find a landing spot at a college that fits what he’s looking for.”
Could Lexington be that final destination? The perimeter sniper already said he’s got respect for the Wildcats and Mark Pope, watching his programs closely since his time at BYU when they competed against each other in the Big 12.
In his eyes, he could be the piece Kentucky was missing this past season in the program’s Round of 32 exit, led by Momcilovic’s 20 points and five rebounds in the Cyclones’ 82-63 victory in St. Louis.
“I think Kentucky would be a good fit,” Momcilovic told the Herald-Leader’s Ben Roberts last week at the NBA Draft Combine. “I obviously went against Pope at BYU his first year (in the Big 12), and I loved how his team played. I think we went 1-1 against them, but they killed us at their place, because they fly the ball up the court and shoot 3s. I really like the way they play.
“And obviously, Kentucky last year, he didn’t have enough shooters around him to really coach, I feel like, the way he wanted. But I think — if I were to choose Kentucky — that would be a good fit for me. I feel like I’d be a great player for him, and he’d be a good coach for me.”
Momcilovic averaged a career-high 16.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 30.5 minutes per game while shooting 50.6 percent from the field, 48.7 percent from three and 87.8 percent at the line. He knocked down 260 3-pointers, good for 3.7 makes on 7.5 attempts per contest.
The former four-star recruit has been Kentucky’s dream portal target all offseason. Now, he’s officially a free agent, pulling out of the draft ahead of the withdrawal deadline.
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