NCAA Basketball: Ranking of top 25 team backcourts for 2023-24 season

10. Kentucky Wildcats

As is the annual ritual, Kentucky lost most of its backcourt players. Freshman Cason Wallace is off to the NBA, while seniors Sahvir Wheeler and CJ Fredrick opted to transfer out. The good news is that after a long offseason filled with rumors and drama, the Wildcats brought back Antonio Reeves, the SEC 6th Man of the Year.

Reeves averaged 14.4 ppg and shot 40% from deep in his first year with the program. When he became a starter in league play, the 6’5 guard had several 20+ point games, including a 37-point outing against Arkansas. The other key returning piece is Adou Thiero, a 6’5 guard who’s an elite athlete who should get more playing time as a sophomore.

The rest of the rotation are all freshmen, part of the No. 1 incoming recruiting class. Five-star ball-handlers DJ Wagner and Robert Dillingham are talented scorers, while Reed Sheppard and Joey Hart are quality shooters. Plus, three-star wing and former Ole Miss commit Jordan Burks has a reputation of putting the ball in the basket at a high rate.

How good this freshmen class is will ultimately determine the fate of Kentucky this season. But there’s a lot of promise all-around and with Reeves having a large role at the start, they have an all-league player to build around.