This Kentucky Wildcats’ freshman class has taken the BBN and the college basketball world by storm.
After several down years (by Kentucky standards), John Calipari decided it was time to go back to his model that worked previously: get the best of the best freshman recruits, and bet the talent will win out in the end. It is working so far this season, as the Cats head into conference play at 10-2 and are the 6th-ranked team in the country.
Now, the Cats’ young stars are getting some more national recognition as Andy Katz has released his top-freshmen to this point of the college basketball season. Get ready, BBN. You are going to love this.
Leading the list are UK freshmen guards Rob Dillingham (No. 1) and Reed Sheppard (No. 2). DJ Wagner also made the top 10 coming in at 9th overall.
It’s no secret, coming into this season many expected this to be the Wagner and Justin Edwards show. Well over a third of the way through the regular season, the talented duo has been good but not great. Luckily, Wagner and Edwards seem to have turned the corner and have both started piecing it all together.
For Sheppard and Dillingham, it is the exact opposite of that. Both players were expected to be good, and they have been fantastic through the first 12 games.
In regard to Aaron Bradshaw, the talented big man just hasn’t played enough games, but it is obvious the impact he has had in winning over the last few weeks. As we head into SEC play, you could argue he might be the most important piece if the Cats hope to win the regular season title in the conference.
This freshman class has been fun to watch. Now let’s go make some noise in the SEC.
