Finding Kentucky's Next Big Star

Seemingly every single year Kentucky brings in an absolutely stunning recruiting class. From John Wall and Demarcus Cousins to De’aaron Fox and Bam Adebayo, in recent years there’s always a bunch of hype around the new cats. However, we have been seeing the transfer portal be a bigger and better place to find the next big thing. For this reason, Kentucky’s recruiting class this year is weaker than years prior with just 3 signed players right now. This consists of one 5-star recruit and two 4-star recruits. Let’s take a look at the 3 future Wildcats. 

 Daimion Collins 

     Collins is the lone 5 star recruit in this year's recruiting class. Daimion is ranked as the 11th best player in the country and the fourth best PF in the class. The Atlanta native is averaging 34.3 points, 14.8 rebounds, 7 assists, and 5 blocks so far throughout his senior season. Collins' incredible defense draws comparisons to the likes of Anthony Davis and Isaiah Jackson. Could Daimion Collins be the next amazing shot blocker at Kentucky?


 Bryce Hopkins 

 The first four star recruit in the 2021 class is yet another PF. Out of Oak Park Illinois, Hopkins is listed at 6'7 and the 27th best player in the nation. The Illinois product had played at Small forward until his senior season. It is definitely a possibility that he switches back to SF for Kentucky. 


 Nolan Hickman 

     Hickman is listed at 6’2 and plays the point guard spot. As we all know, point guard was Kentucky’s biggest weakness last season. Hickman has high expectations coming in as he is ranked as the 31st best player in this year's recruiting class. The Utah-made point guard averaged 16 points and 3 assists in his final year at Wasatch Academy. As much as I may hate to admit it, Hickman’s game reminds me a lot of Devin Askew’s. We’ll see if he can be any better. 

 It is not a secret that playing at Kentucky is one of the hardest places to play for college basketball. We’ve seen many players succumb to the pressure and others excel in the pressure. Coach Calipari recruited this group of guys for a reason so in the end of the day, all we can do is hope to have a much better season next year.


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