NCAA Basketball: 10 biggest position battles to watch for 2023-24 season

1. Kentucky Wildcats

Position battle: C – Aaron Bradshaw vs Ugonna Onyenso vs Zvonimir Ivisic vs Tre Mitchell

For those that haven’t been following closely, the roster construction for Kentucky has been one of the top storylines in all of NCAA Basketball. It was mainly with the frontcourt, having to replace former National Player of the Year, Oscar Tshiebwe. Thanks to the incoming No. 1 overall recruiting class, the backcourt and wing positions are set.

And in the frontcourt, West Virginia transfer Tre Mitchell is going to be the projected starting power forward, giving them both needed experience and the ability to stretch the floor. That makes things interesting regarding Bradshaw, a five-star and top-5 overall prospect that reportedly wants to play at the four-spot. However, if the 7’0 skilled big man wants to start, it would have to be at the five-spot.

It’s wide open overall, thanks to some injuries. Both Bradshaw and sophomore center Onyenso are dealing with foot issues, though both should be fine on opening day. And Kentucky made a big late splash, landing Ivisic. He’s a 7’2 center from Croatia that can block shots and spread the floor from three-point range. How long it takes him to adjust to NCAA Basketball will determine his path to a rotation spot.

And there’s also a chance that Mitchell himself slides to the five for some small-ball lineups, while Justin Edwards and Antonio Reeves play the traditional forward positions. There are many different scenarios that can occur but like with Duke, there’s a lot of mouths to feed, and someone or two is going to be disappointed.