Kentucky may have its scoring answer in an unexpected place this season, and it starts with Furman transfer Alex Wilkins.
Wilkins arrives in Lexington with the kind of production that turns heads fast. As a true freshman last season, he put up 17.8 points, 4.7 assists and two rebounds per game, and he did it efficiently, shooting 46% from the field. His three-point number sat at 32.8%, but that’s the one area that could move the needle even more for him this year.
The case for Wilkins gets even stronger when you look at the stage he already handled. In the NCAA Tournament against UConn, he scored 21 points, a performance that showed he can step up against higher-level competition. That outing helped confirm he’s ready for SEC basketball, and Kentucky is the next stop.
Of course, if you asked around Big Blue Nation who is most likely to lead Mark Pope’s team in scoring, the popular answer would be Milan Momcilovic. That makes sense.
Momcilovic averaged 16.9 points last season at Iowa State and shot 48.7% from three on 7.5 attempts per game. There’s also the belief that Pope’s system could unlock even more from him, especially after Momcilovic said Pope wants him taking around ten threes a game.
Even with that buzz around Momcilovic, Wilkins has a real path to finishing first on the Wildcats’ scoring list. The argument is simple: he may be Kentucky’s most complete offensive player.
He can score in different ways, and if the three-point shot climbs closer to 38%, his numbers could jump again. He’s also back at the two, which fits him better than running point.
That’s why a season where Wilkins averages something like 16.8 points per game while Momcilovic lands around 16.2 isn’t hard to picture. Together, they look like the kind of one-two punch that can drive Pope’s offense.
There’s also a belief that this could be Wilkins’ only season in Lexington. The expectation here is that he puts up huge numbers, then heads to the NBA. However it plays out, don’t be surprised if Wilkins ends up leading Kentucky in scoring this season.
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The appeal is easy to see from Kentuckys side: Daughtry has looked like one of the class fastest risers, and performances like his 43-point outing in a double-overtime game only sharpen the attention around him. With Kentucky also working through a crowded backcourt board that includes Beckham Black, King Gibson, Nasir Anderson and Reese Alston, the next step will be watching which recruits start lining up visits and which names move from interest to something more concrete. [Read more 🡒]