College Basketball Power 10: Time To Give Gonzaga Some Love
By Jeremy Karll
6. Kentucky (13-2)
Kentucky landed another five-star recruit last week in Hamidou Diallo. He will be attending Kentucky next semester, but is unlikely to play with them this season. In fact, Diallo could leave for the NBA after this year without ever putting on a Kentucky jersey.
Kentucky won’t need him to run the table in the SEC, though. The SEC is never a great basketball conference, but outside of Kentucky and 23rd-ranked Florida, it’s a complete mess this year.
The Wildcats showed how much better they are by opening conference play with 23, 42 and 26 point wins.
Only time will tell if a weak schedule will help or hurt Kentucky come conference play. It could be hard for a young team to step up against elite competition in the NCAA Tournament after months of playing in blowouts.
That said, De’Aaron Fox is starting to step up as Kentucky’s leader. Against Arkansas last week, and Jaylen Barford stepped on Isaiah Briscoe and Fox did not take it kindly. He got into his face and had to be held back.
Having young players stick up for each other, especially in conference play, is huge to see.
Kentucky travels to Vanderbilt and hosts Auburn this week.