2026-27 Kentucky basketball player preview: Justin McBride

The Kentucky Wildcats are set to have an electric backcourt and a frontcourt with high potential, but don't forget about the promising depth down low. In terms of fit, there aren't many on next season's roster better for Mark Pope's system than forward Justin McBride, who has the ability to really stretch the floor on offense.

That stretch-four ability is why Kentucky pursued him so quickly and if you remember year one of Mark Pope's tenure in Lexington, you know how important that type of player is to have. Think about an Andrew Carr or Ansley Almonor and that's what you get with McBride. With Ousmane N'Diaye also at the position, McBride will most likely have a bench role for Kentucky, but him coming in and providinng a huge spark with his shooting ability can make the Wildcats dangerous. It's great to have quality players, but as we saw last season, having guys that fit is extremely important.

We've talked about McBride's excellent fit, but what about the contributions he could make? Again, he will likely be coming off the bench for the most part, but don't be surprised if he gets a lot of minutes in certain games, especially if he's hot from deep. Last season for James Madison, the 6-7 forward averaged 15.3 points and 5.6 rebounds, shooting 49.4% overall and 40% from three-point range. Percentage wise, he's coming in as Kentucky's top shooter next season, with the expectation that both Kam Williams and Trent Noah will be alongside him in terms of efficiency.

What could the 6-7 forward's stats look like next season? Let's take a look.

Points: 10.4 per game

I would expect McBride to come in and knock down a number of key shots in games, and at times, stay hot as he is capable of even going for 20 points on any given night. As we saw in his time at James Madison, the 6-7 forward he can score in bunches. At Kentucky, his role is going to be as a solid contributor off the bench, similar to Ansley Almonor. A few threes per game should be expected from McBride and keep it in your mind that he can stay hot from deep. He'll be a valuable weapon for Kentucky.

Rebounds: 3.3 per game

With his minutes expected to be anywhere from 10-18 off the bench, to start the season at least, McBride shouldn't see a ton of rebounding opportunities. He has a good ability to score down low, but his shooting ability should take away from his rebounding chances and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Assists: 1.2 per game

Last season at James Madison, McBride played an average of 27 minutes per game and ended up averaging just 1.5 assists per game. At Kentucky, his minutes are not likely to be that high given his change in role, so don't expect many opportunities for him to dish the ball to his teammates. Again, his shooting will be the priority, but he can always find an open teammate in a Mark Pope offense that has a lot of off-ball movement.

You can't deny how great McBride fits in with Mark Pope's usual system and as he aims to get back to that fun style of play, the 6-7 forward will have a crucial role as a solid contributor.

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