Kentucky Briefing: In the year of the big man the Cats need players to step up

You could argue that the upcoming college basketball season is the year of the big man as Zach Edey (Purdue), Kyle Filipowski (Duke), Armando Bacot (North Carolina), and Hunter Dickinson (Kansas) were named unanimous AP preseason All-American players.

These are all teams Kentucky will face off with if they make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament, and the Cats will see Dickinson's Kansas Jayhawks early into the season.

What does this mean for the Cats?

They will need a big man to step up and be an All-American caliber player. Yes, guard play wins in March, and the Cats have plenty of talented guards, but one of these big men will need to replace what is being left by Oscar Tshiebwe.

Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso can both be the players that step up and deliver a big season, but they are fighting back from injuries, so only time will tell when they will be on the floor.

Zvonimir Ivisic could be the guy also, but he is still waiting on news from the NCAA.

Tre Mitchell will have to be the answer early in the season and in the matchup with Dickinson.

There are big shoes to be filled with Big O leaving for the NBA, and someone will have to do it in a season where all the National Championship contenders have talented big men.

The Cats need Onyenso, Bradshaw, and Ivisic on the court soon and Mitchell to carry the load while we await their return.

We wrote it

I wrote about how Antonio Reeves was named to the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award preseason watchlist.

"Antonio Reeves is going to be the motor that makes this Kentucky basketball team run, and that role will make him one of the best college basketball players in the nation."

"Reeves is in his second year in Lexington and will look to increase his numbers from a year ago in hopes of averaging 18 points or more."

Read the rest below!

Antonio Reeves is listed on the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award watchlist

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