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Posted by catmandoo (Member # 1284) on 07-19-2016, 09:42 PM:

He's not a player being talked about all that much by most Kentucky basketball fans, but freshman forward Wenyen Gabriel brings a lot of skills that coach John Calipari likes.

Mike Mannix, his coach at Wilbraham & Monson Academy in Massachusetts the last two years, said Gabriel got better driving the ball to the basket against smaller, quicker defenders last season.

"He used to have a lot of difficulty doing that. He worked a lot on his ballhandling and footwork on the perimeter and it paid off. He got better. He continued to rebound at a high level like he has for two or three years. He didn't let that slack."

The 6-9 Gabriel also improved his shooting range, something that could pay big dividends for Kentucky.

"He definitely had more confidence which played into his range improving," Mannix said. "His junior year, his first year here, he was more of a guy who would shoot an open 3. This year he knocked down contested 3's. He did not take a shot all year that was not contested," Mannix said. "He definitely showed what he could do off screens and cuts. He was turning the corner and making jumpers.

"Not only did he improve his shooting range, but we was making different shots from different parts of the floor. Having more weapons makes him a lot, lot better."

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