Gary Parrish: Kentucky's backcourt "the most exciting in college basketball"
[caption id="attachment_207263" align="alignnone" width="2426"]
© Mark Zerof[/caption]
CBS Sports' Gary Parrish updated his Top 25 (And One) rankings this morning, and while Kentucky holds steady at #2 behind Duke and ahead of Kansas, Villanova, and Xavier, the real interesting stuff comes when Parrish makes a bold prediction about the Cats' backcourt.
"The Wildcats lost three underclassmen to the NBA Draft -- plus Alex Poythress to graduation and Marcus Lee and Charles Matthews via transfer, Parrish writes. "But, as usual, John Calipari reloaded with a strong recruiting class featuring five five-star prospects. The backcourt of De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk should be the most exciting in college basketball."
The thought of Fox's speed combined with Monk's athleticism is enough to make you drop what you're doing and run to Madness Campout right now, but I think Gary's shortchanging Isaiah Briscoe a little here too. Sure, Fox and Monk will be the stars in the backcourt, but Briscoe's defensive prowess and ability to finish at the basket will be crucial this season, not to mention his leadership.
If you're interested, here's Parrish's top ten:
© Mark Zerof[/caption]
CBS Sports' Gary Parrish updated his Top 25 (And One) rankings this morning, and while Kentucky holds steady at #2 behind Duke and ahead of Kansas, Villanova, and Xavier, the real interesting stuff comes when Parrish makes a bold prediction about the Cats' backcourt.
"The Wildcats lost three underclassmen to the NBA Draft -- plus Alex Poythress to graduation and Marcus Lee and Charles Matthews via transfer, Parrish writes. "But, as usual, John Calipari reloaded with a strong recruiting class featuring five five-star prospects. The backcourt of De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk should be the most exciting in college basketball."
The thought of Fox's speed combined with Monk's athleticism is enough to make you drop what you're doing and run to Madness Campout right now, but I think Gary's shortchanging Isaiah Briscoe a little here too. Sure, Fox and Monk will be the stars in the backcourt, but Briscoe's defensive prowess and ability to finish at the basket will be crucial this season, not to mention his leadership.
If you're interested, here's Parrish's top ten:
1. Duke 2. Kentucky 3. Kansas 4. Villanova 5. Xavier 6. North Carolina 7. Oregon 8. Michigan State 9. Virginia 10. Indiana
[CBS Sports]
Discuss This Article
Comments have moved.
Join the conversation and talk about this article and all things Kentucky Sports in the new KSR Message Board.
KSBoard