NCAA Basketball: Top 25 team backcourts for 2021-22 season

The Wildcats struggled mightily in 2020, but it wasn’t for a lack of talent in the backcourt. Kentucky’s group collectively found it difficult to find a rhythm throughout the season and the lack of results followed accordingly. It was a shock considering head coach John Calipari has experienced very strong success with flattening the learning curve for his one-and-done recruiting classes. Implementing a similar offseason approach for bolstering the frontcourt, Calipari has sought both youthful talent from high school and experienced, productive options via transfer.

Kentucky’s new floor general Sahvir Wheeler brings in an instant solution to solve some of the offense’s stagnation issues from last season. The former Georgia point guard has a knack for getting downhill and thriving out of the pick-and-roll. He will be able to ignite the rest of the offense with stellar court vision and his innate ability to create opportunities for his teammates. Wheeler can also put points on the board, but his capabilities will make the arrival of fellow transfers Kellan Grady (Davidson) and CJ Frederick (Iowa) seamless.

The commitment of both players should be highly praised, not only for winning the battle for prized transfers but in how they help to propel the offense forwards. Grady has not experienced a season scoring under 17.0 points per game in his collegiate career and has done so while shooting at a consistently high rate. He can and will likely be a reliable piece for Kentucky to utilize this season. His new teammate Frederick didn’t exactly light the nets on fire in Iowa, but he operates in a smooth and efficient manner to make up for it.

The trio will be hugely important in taking the pressure off freshman 5-star TyTy Washington, who has received his own share of acclaim prior to arriving on campus. He can score in buckets and almost single-handedly handed Montverde Academy a pair of losses last season. Yet last season showed the transition to college isn’t always easy for the top prospects and the experience around him will help to ensure he navigates the season smoothly.

The Wildcats were fortunate to see the return of Davion Mintz in that regard not and won’t need to heavily rely on a freshman to find success on the court. Even without Mintz’s production though, which could be in double-digits again this year, Kentucky boasts a definite trio of 10+ point scorers on a nightly basis in addition to what they feature in the frontcourt and appear ready to rebound what the letdown in 2020.