Kentucky's leading defensive rebounder may surprise fans

Who is Kentucky basketball's leading defensive rebounder?

Feb 7, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Andrija Jelavic (4) grabs a rebound against Tennessee Volunteers forward Dewayne Brown II (6) during the first half at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Kentucky basketball has put themselves in a terrific position from where they were near the beginning of SEC play. After starting 0-2, the Wildcats have now won eight of their last nine and are about to face their hardest stretch of games yet to close out the season. Here lately, they have faced some very physical teams, ones that love to crash the glass hard for rebounds.

As for Kentucky themselves, they are starting to embrace that physicality, but rank 7th and 10th during SEC play in offensive and defensive rebounds respectively. As for the offensive side of the ball, the Wildcats, specifically Mo Dioubate, have come up with some huge boards down the stretch of games. To no surprise, he and Malachi Moreno lead the team in that category on that end of the floor. But Kentucky's leader in defensive rebounds this season will surprise you.

That player is Andrija Jelavic, who was benched earlier this season, now starting in consecutive games for Kentucky. The 6-11 forward took the floor against Mississippi State on Jan. 10 for the first time in nearly a month. Since then, he his play has been consistent and Jelavic is starting to really understand his role with his stretch-four ability, knocking down key shots in multiple games. But it hasn't just been his shooting ability that has been valuable, it has been his rebounding as well. In 20 games played, Jelavic leads the team in defensive rebounding percentage, grabbing 19.7 percent of opponents' misses.

Feb 4, 2026; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Andrija Jelavic (4) shoots the ball during the second half against the Oklahoma Sooners at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Jordan Prather-Imagn Images | Jordan Prather-Imagn Images

Jelavic is doing all of that while Mark Pope says he is continuing to learn and grasp what the physicality of the game brings.

"He's just learning the physicality of the game," Pope said of Jelavic on his radio show Monday night. "Early in the (Tennessee) game, he had a great first hit, second hit rebound on the defensive end. It was really special that we clipped up for him to kind of give him a sense of that. But you know this, we'll see it. I mean, we've seen it with Tennessee and we're going to see it times five with with Florida and then Georgia after that, is one of the most physical teams in the country. So we're going to get a full dose of that and test where we are right now. ...he has a chance to grow into a really, really special player. He really does, because he's got some innate physicality to him, it's just unleashing it."

In games where Jelavic has gotten 15 or more minutes on the court, the stat sheet tells you what kind of an impact he has been having on the glass. Even with guys like Mo Dioubate, Malachi Moreno and Brandon Garrison, all known to embrace physicality, it's Jelavic leading the team in defensive rebounds.