“They are among the teams with a chance,” said DeCourcy, who also does work for the Big Ten Network and FoxSports. “A couple of things have to happen and the first one is the least appreciated but they have to be healthy. I don’t think there is a team in college basketball this year that can afford an injury to a primary player (and still win the national title).
“With the transfer portal balancing talent out across the country, you just can’t lose a player for a long stretch any more to an injury.”
What else has to happen?
“They need to continue to grow defensively,” DeCourcy said. “The introduction of Aaron Bradshaw (after his return from a foot injury) has helped. Getting Ugonna (Onyenso) helps with having more fouls to give and lets them play more aggressively.”
DeCourcy does like UK’s offensive potential in March based on what he’s already seen.
“They have to be intelligent about the way they use their offensive components.They like to shoot from deep and that’s good but they cannot get overzealous with it. They have got to get the best shots possible whether it is a 2 at the rim or a fast break layup which I like and not just rely on the easier move to flare out and shoot a 3 on the break,” DeCourcy said.
“If they do all those things, then they are going to be one of the few teams with a legitimate chance to win the national championship.”
DeCourcy understands there will be games where shooters, no matter how good they are, will miss shots like Antonio Reeves did in last season’s NCAA Tournament loss to Kansas State.
“They had to keep Reeves in and hope he would catch fire. Now they don’t have to do that,” the Sporting News columnist said. “Now if a player has one of those days where the ball is not falling, he knows he has to do other things to help the team win. He has to get on the floor for loose balls, guard harder, pass. Guys are not just going to be hunting 3’s because of the talent the team has.
“That is a real asset for this team when if a shooter has a bad day that they don’t have to force their way through that. It is not important for a guy to force things to try and get going because of how many good offensive players they have.”
DeCourcy knows if you look at the history of teams who have won national championships and if a team is going to be excellent on offense or defense, it’s better to be better on offense.
“If you are good at one and elite at the other, you want it to be elite on offense,” DeCourcy said. “It is very rare any more that a team that is just okay on offense wins the national title. If you are not in the top 20 (in efficiency) in both you are probably not winning it but it is almost always a top 10 offensive team that wins. You can’t be bad relative to the elite teams offensively and win the title.”
DeCourcy said there have been national champions that were lacking in defensive efficiency during the season but got better by tournament time. DeCourcy knows Kentucky is not anywhere close to elite defensively now but thinks that will dramatically improve with Bradshaw and Onyenso now playing.
“They are going to get beat off the bounce at times because they are small in some positions but they are also going to be destructive on offense because they are small, quick, alert and fresh,” DeCourcy said.
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South Carolina defensive back Quay’Sheed Scott was rated as a four-star recruit by On3, 29th best cornerback in the 2024 recruiting class and No. 5 player in South Carolina.
The 6-0, 190-pound Scott had 68 tackles and three interceptions for Marion High School in 2023 but also averaged 63 receiving yards and 53 rushing yards per game last season. His team finished 10-2.
He was named South Carolina’s Region 8-AA Player of the Year in 2023 and had an interception in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas.
Stoops thought it was “important” that Kentucky held on to him when other schools tried to flip his commitment late in the recruiting process.
“I think the strong relationships definitely meant something. I think the fact that we identified early on what a player he was and that's not the first time that's happened,” Stoops said. “We have a tendency to do that. We evaluate in particular some DBs pretty early and he's one that we're very high on.
“I think the relationship, the fact that we never wavered on him, he never wavered on us. I think people came in and tried to attack it late. These kids get hit with a lot. To his credit he locked in on us and he knew we were committed to him and very grateful for the strong relationships and the loyalty.”
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With the recent high school and transfer portal additions to next year’s Kentucky football team, offensive coordinator Liam Coen hopes three true freshmen on this year’s team could make a big difference on the 2024 roster.
Tight end Khamari Anderson, receiver Shamar Porter and running back Jamarion Wilcox got “tons of reps” during UK’s practice sessions before the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
“They got reps they may not have gotten on the scout team early in the year. They got some good-on-good reps with the offense and I am excited about what they can do going forward,” Coen said.
“Khamari showed flashes during the season of what he could do. I am excited to work with and develop Shamar during the offseason. Same with Jamarion. They all have to dedicate themselves to the offseason, really hit the weight room, do what they need to do academically to become the best versions of themselves.”
Porter put his name into the transfer portal before changing his mind and staying at Kentucky.
“In today’s college football world you have to stay open-minded about things that happen and I’m just glad to have him here to work with,” Coen said.
Wilcox never got an opportunity to show what he could do as a true freshman because Ray Davis became the running back workhorse. Coen likes what he could bring to the offense next season.
“He is fast, he is shifty, he can stick his foot in the ground and go,” Coen said. ‘He needs to work on getting stronger and add some weight.”
However, Wilcox has special skills already.
“He can really run. He gives you a burst that is exciting to see. I have not seen him a ton live but he can run and he can roll. Hopefully he can run hard for us and be special next season.
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Kentucky freshman Brooklyn DeLeye had an amazing first season for coach Craig Skinner and clearly established herself not only as one of the best freshmen in the Southeastern Conference but as one of the nation’s rising stars.
She led Kentucky in both points and kills. Wofford coach Lynze Roos called her a “special player” after DeLeye had a game-high 13 kills in her first NCAA Tournament appearance.
Her first season did not surprise her father, John, except for how long it took her to emerge as a big-time player.
“I was more surprised at how mediocre she played at the beginning of the year. I had never seen her play that bad before,” John DeLeye said. “She has played five sports at the highest level and I had never seen her rattled.
“I think some of it may have been coming in and out (the lineup) early. She had never done that before but she pulled it through when she needed to.”
Brooklyn DeLeye started playing soccer at age 4 and then added softball before picking up golf.
“She’s actually pretty darn good at golf even though she didn’t start until sixth grade,” John, a former collegiate golfer, said. “In junior golf she was tearing it up just playing in the summer and then she started playing basketball.”
She has an older sister who plays volleyball at Drake and volleyball became her sport of choice even though she also continued to excel at basketball. She was a McDonald’s All-American nominee her senior season.
“She excelled at basketball at the highest level. She never rests. She is always ready for the next thing and whatever it is, you see her giving it her all,” John DeLeye said.
The 6-2 outside hitter helped her team win a state high school basketball title — she was named the MaxPreps Player of the Year — and she was also on a state runner-up soccer team.
“In basketball, she flew all over the country playing at the highest level. Her volleyball coach played at KU (Kansas) and was fundamentally-driven,” John DeLeye said. “We lived in Topeka about an hour west of Kansas City. All the big clubs in Kansas City were blowing up her phone wanting her on their team but she was playing so many sports that she could not go. If not for her grandparents we could not have gotten her around Topeka to all the different sports she had.”
Her father remembers at age 7 when she was on a rec league volleyball team and he thought about having her play up two or three years on a club team because she was already six or seven inches taller than classmates. Instead, she went with a coach who stressed fundamentals and that helped make her the effective passer she was last season at UK.
DeLeye handled most of her recruiting process and kept a notebook on her top eight potential college choices. She went to camps at Nebraska and Kansas but going to Kentucky’s camp after the Cats won the national title put UK No. 1 on her list.
“All she said after visiting Kentucky was, ‘This is probably for me.’ She didn’t get the same vibe when she went to Nebraska. She liked the team spirit at Kentucky,” Delete’s father said. “(Coach) Craig (Skinner) is a class act. He’s fabulous.”
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Kentucky signee Boogie Fland of Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.) was named to the City of Palms all-tournament team along with future Kentucky teammate Travis Perry of Lyon County.
Fland had 22 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals in one game and then put up 23 points in front of over 5,000 fans in a loss to Montverde Academy and Duke signee Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 player in the 2024 recruiting class.
Kentucky coach John Calipari likes the way Johnson’s play rubs off on teammates.
“He’s one of those point guards that makes everybody better. He can score and he’s a good shooter. He finds people.,” Calipari said. “What I’ve seen, there are times that he’s off the charts. Like he’ll go to these events, all-star stuff and he ends up being the best player on the court.
“And my thing is, why isn’t that you all the time? You come here, (and) that’s our challenge … It’s not making shots. It’s not that you don’t ever turn it over. But you play at a pace and at an intensity level. When he’s that, he’s as good as there is.”
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Quote of the Week: “Where he comes from (Belle Glade, Fla.), I have great respect for a lot of tough guys that come from there, guys that can run. He has all of the skills you’re looking for at wide receiver. A great young man, always has a smile on his face, always works hard,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops after signing receiver Hardley Gilmore.
Quote of the Week 2: “It’s always our number one priority. No matter how many there are, no matter the numbers, we want the right players here and we want to keep them in state. That's our priority. We were fortunate to get some really big-time players out of the state this year,” Stoops on in-state recruiting after signing six high school players from Kentucky.
Quote of the Week 3: “I am so glad we got him back and he got a two-year (contract) extension. That dude is one of the best defensive line coaches in college football. He is just a technician. He is a really good coach,” UK associate coach Vince Marrow on defensive line coach Anwar Stewart.
