Kentucky needs to add some shooters from the transfer portal

The Kentucky Wildcats landed their first big transfer portal addition this week, getting a commitment from point guard Zoom Diallo. They have also had several visitors who are options for Mark Pope and his staff. One thing they still need to address, however, is getting some proven shooters.

Last season, Kentucky had three players who made over 35% of their three-point attempts. One of the major criticisms of Pope’s squad was that he didn’t get enough shooters to keep defenses honest, and teams didn’t have to defend the perimeter as thoroughly as against other teams. This helped lead to random, long stretches where they struggled to score.

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Of the three 35% shooters, Collin Chandler and Denzel Aberdeen won’t return. Kam Williams does give them one solid option, but so far, they don’t have enough. Zoom Diallo was added, but like Jaland Love last year, three-point shooting isn’t his game.

So, of their targets this offseason, who can help in that area?

Jalen Cox visited with Kentucky this week, and made 36% from deep last year. Alex Wilkins is also visiting this week, but made just about 33%. Sebastian Rancik and Donnie Freeman are capable frontcourt shooters, but not difference makers as three-point shooters. Terrence Brown is set to visit, and has been a big-time scorer, but only shoots it at about 32% from range.

Cruz Davis is also set to visit Lexington, and does bring a sharpshooter’s game. He made 40% from deep last season. Isaac Celiscar doesn’t have a visit scheduled yet, but made 41% of his threes last year.

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There is no doubt that all of those players can help Kentucky in different ways. They’re good players. However, the Cats need shooters, badly. Whether it’s one of the names above, or a name that hasn’t been floated yet, Pope needs to address it, or next year’s team is going to have many of the same weaknesses as last year.

This article originally appeared on UK Wildcats Wire: Kentucky basketball is in dire need of transfer portal shooters

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/kentucky-needs-add-shooters-transfer-162049534.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-16 16:20:00

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