catmandoo
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Member # 1284
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posted 10-21-2021 06:34 PM
A simple question — asked of nearly a dozen Kentucky basketball players and coaches at the team's annual Media Day event Wednesday — kept getting the same response.
"Who's been surprising you the most in these early practices?" they were all asked. There was additional explanation that this could be a player who was better than expected, a player who had already progressed more than previously predicted, or simply a player who had been impressive in these early practice sessions.
Some guys brought up multiple names. Others singled out just one Wildcat.
Point guards Sahvir Wheeler and TyTy Washington were mentioned more than once.
Freshman Daimion Collins has been wowed by Wheeler's creativity as a passer, while junior forward Keion Brooks didn't know the Georgia transfer was so quick until he saw him every day in practice. Veteran guard Davion Mintz noted that Washington, a freshman, plays with a pace usually reserved for older players, that onlookers would think he'd been playing college ball for a while now.
Collins — a 6-foot-9 power forward with next-level athleticism — also worked his way into that honorable mention category. Teammates and coaches spoke of his raw ability — he can touch the top of the backboard, a few pointed out — while also talking up his actual basketball skills.
But the players who mentioned just one teammate all came up with the same name, usually shooting a head nod across the Memorial Coliseum court in his direction. And none of those who said more than one Wildcat had been "most surprising" left him off their lists.
That player was Bryce Hopkins, a four-star prospect who came to Lexington as the least-touted signee in UK's three-man recruiting class, a freshman often overlooked alongside his more highly ranked peers and the talented transfers and returnees on this Kentucky team.
Once the offseason hype ended and the practices began, Hopkins started turning heads.
UK Coach John Calipari has brought him up more than once already during the preseason — and he did so again Wednesday — noting that Hopkins was better than expected and talking positively of the way he plays a physical brand of basketball.
Listed at 6-6 and 220 pounds, Hopkins is no giant, but he is one of the bigger players on this Kentucky team, and his teammates are getting the sense that he's one of the strongest on the court. He's also been showing off perimeter skills.
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http://www.ukfightsong.com/
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