Kentucky Basketball: Wildcats land quality grad transfer Nate Sestina
Rather than hope for a five-star big to come at the last minute, Kentucky Basketball made the move to land grad transfer Nate Sestina for next season.
After losing to Auburn in a thrilling overtime game in the Elite Eight, Kentucky Basketball has now started to look towards the 2019-20 season. However, for a program like the Wildcats, it’s hard to make early observations. A number of players have decisions to make regarding the upcoming NBA Draft.
There’s a great chance that sophomore forward PJ Washington will depart after leading the team in points and rebounds. In that case, he’ll join senior Reid Travis in leaving Kentucky’s frontcourt, creating a big void for the upcoming season. Big men EJ Montgomery and Nick Richards are likely to return (unless they transfer) but the duo combined to score just eight points a game this year.
There aren’t many high-caliber big men left from the 2019 recruiting class that can make an instant impact, so head coach John Calipari decided to go back to the grad transfer market to get one. Even though the season hasn’t completed yet, there are around 400 players in the transfer portal. There are several key guys that power conference teams are after but Kentucky was able to grab one of the top ones early on in Nate Sestina.
After losing a combined 35 ppg and 16 rpg from departing seniors Zach Thomas and Nana Foulland, Sestina went from a reserve forward to a starter for Bucknell. The Bison didn’t miss a beat, with the senior forward averaging 15.8 ppg and 8.2 rpg this season. Sestina scored in double figures in all but three games, posting up a career-high 32 points on a perfect 11-11 from the field against Holy Cross. The 6’9 big man shot 54% from the field and 38% from long-range. None of the current Kentucky big men could stretch the floor, which hurt their offense overall.
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Due to a shoulder injury as a freshman, Sestina was granted a medical redshirt to get a 5th year. He’s elected to use the extra year at one of the biggest college basketball schools in the country. It’s unclear what the frontcourt will look like for the Wildcats at the start of next season but they will have a player in Sestina who’ll play a big role for them. There will be hundreds more transfers but not many will be as impactful as the one from Bucknell will be.