Here’s my preseason “my guys” list. Be sure an let me know your thoughts/opinions as well as any questions you might have.
Adou Thiero
Adou came to Kentucky as a 6’5 180 lb combo guard. Rumors were swirling about how he could still be growing and might have crazy potential, but many saw this as a pipe dream. Here we are a year later, and now Adou is a 6’8 222 lb forward who was a legitimate chance to be a starter for a star studded UK team.
Adou’s best skills are his physical tools and the high energy he plays with. This allows him to be ultra switchable defensively. He can guard 2-4 and maybe even some 1’s. He also rebounds very well on both ends of the floor for a wing player.
Offensively everything hinges on his three point shot. His shot looks much smoother, and his release looks much quicker than at this point last year. This summer and preseason he’s been shooting it very well. This forces hard closeouts and really opens up driving lanes. This really allows him to show off his finishing ability as well as his passing.
While many are out on his on ball upside, I think there could still be something there. You can tell that he’s a little uncomfortable still handling the ball with his newfound size. At times he looks like a baby deer stumbling around, but he also makes a few plays a game that make you sit up in your chair. He had some of the most impressive misses I’ve ever seen last year, and that’s no exaggeration. His combination of length, strength, and flexibility is rare. If he can continue to develop his handle then we could have a very special player on our hands.
Spoiler alert! Adou will once again be a preseason lotto guy for me. Shoot, he’s a preseason top 10 guy for me. If your team isn’t bad enough to get Ron Holland, then Adou would be a heck of a consolation prize!
Rob Dillingham
I was a big time Terq Smith believer, so it’s only natural that I like Rob as well. He’s pretty much a supped up version of Terq. He’s truly electric with the ball in his hands. He has the green light, and you can tell he knows it. I’m not sure he’s ever seen a shot he doesn’t like. Shot selection is for sure something he’ll need to work on. He’s not just a shot chucker tho. He’s a good playmaker as well.
While playing at OTE his form was shaky, but you can already see the improvement since he’s been at UK. While he’s best with the ball in his hands, he’ll need to work on playing off the ball some. There are so many mouths to feed at UK, and there will be in the NBA too. If you’re a guy who can play well both on and off the ball then it makes it much easier to keep yourself on the floor.
My biggest concern with him is his size. He was listed at 6’1 170 lbs when he arrived at UK, but now he’s rumored to have gained 20 lbs. 6’1 190 would be a much better size, so let’s hope that is true. The added weight should help keep him on the floor, but it should also help improve his finishing and defense.
I’m not a big comp guy, but I’d you wanted one for Rob I don’t think a modern day AI would be too far off as a top end outcome. He reminds me alot of college Malik Monk.
Damion Collins
I think this is finally Damion Collins year! There’s no doubt that his time at UK (both on and off the court) was rough, but many forget how skilled of a player he is. He’s a gifted athlete who showed flashes of shooting and on ball creation while at Kentucky.
In a perfect world, Collins could slide right into the KJ Williams role in Matt McMahon’s offense. This would be a perfect role for him offensively. It would allow him to showcase his shooting ability, and would give him the freedom to attack hard closeouts off the dribble. It would also give him some touches in the post. McMahon’s P&R heavy offense will allow lots of opportunities for him to space the floor vertically.
The main thing Collins needs to work on is consistency. The flashes have always been there, but for whatever reason he’s never been a consistent producer. He could also use a considerable amount more weight. A 191 lb PF is less than ideal. Not only is it concerning from a defensive perspective, but it also is concerning from an injury perspective.
If everything bounces right for Collins he’s a first round talent. He could be a smaller version of a guy like JJJ or a better offensive version of RobWill.
Jaelen House
If this is the first time you’ve heard of House then I apologize, because you missed out on seeing one of the most exciting HS players I’ve ever seen. House was a star at Shadow Mountain HS underneath head coach Mike Bibby. He played 2 years at Arizona State before transferring to New Mexico where he will be playing his 3rd and final year.
With House everything starts on the defensive end. Despite only being 6’0 170lbs he is a menace defensively. He could be the next guy in the mold of PatBev of Alvarado on that end of the floor. He can guard multiple positions even though he is undersized, and he creates a ton of turnovers.
House is no slouch offensively either. He shot a blistering 37% from 3 while also boasting a 2.0+ assist to turnover ratio. He’s a guy who I could easily see running a second unit at the next level. Shoot he’s a guy who with the right team could end up closing games for them.
Kel’el Ware
Despite struggling some at Oregon last season, Ware still has a ridiculous amount of physical tools that make him hard to pass up on. He’s transferred to Indiana in hopes of being able to better show off those tools. He’s an athletic 7 footer who has the length and size to be a talented shot blocker at the next level.
Offensively he’s at worst an athletic lob threat. He’s shown some ability to shoot the three and make passes as a role man. Those are things I’d like to see continued improvement from him on. If he puts it all together he could easily be a top 10 pick in this class.
Sam Murray II
If you want a super deep cut, then this is your guy. Murray is a 6’9 200lb sophomore forward at Murray State university. He’s a very similar prospect to guys like Taylor Hendricks, Damion Collins, and Grant Nelson.
He played a lot on the perimeter in HS and AAU, but is now trying to play more as a PF. He still has that guard like wiggle to his game though. He didn’t get a ton of playing time last year, but he showed some major flashes in limited action. If he wants to take the next step, then he’ll need to gain some weight to help guard in the post and continue to improve on his three point shot.