Jacob Toppin tabbed as one of ESPN's potential breakout players

Kentucky already has the reigning national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe returning for another season, but Oscar has an impressive supporting cast around him. There are a lot of potential breakout stars on this team — Daimion Collins was the talk of Pro Day, Antonio Reeves led the team in scoring in the Bahamas — however, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello went with a different Wildcat. Jacob Toppin is one of Borzello’s 14 potential breakout stars in college basketball this season. As a junior, Toppin averaged 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds playing behind Keion Brooks. Now, with Brooks off to Washington and Toppin spending the offseason rebuilding his body in the weight room, the sky’s the limit for the bouncy senior from Brooklyn.

“Toppin is supremely explosive, especially in the open floor, and has continued to expand his game over the past couple of seasons,” Borzello wrote. “The numbers haven’t quite taken a leap yet (6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds last season), but improvement might be coming: Toppin was one of two Kentucky players to log at least 20 minutes in all four games on their Bahamas trip in August, and shot 8-for-15 from 3.”

An anonymous SEC assistant raved about Toppin to Borzello, noting that the key to him taking the next step is making outside shots consistently enough to draw defenses out. As Borzello noted, in the Bahamas, Toppin shot 8-15 (53.3%) from three.

“The thing with Toppin is he’s a program guy. … They’re going to have their influx of freshmen, so it’s good for him that he’s been there. He’s steadily improved. He’s really worked on his body. He’s added a lot of muscle mass. Plays really hard. Gets loose balls. The biggest key for him has been he’s able to make 15-footers at a really consistent rate, but can he keep the defense honest enough where he’s making 3s? That’s the key to him being a piece or being a breakout guy.”

Another familiar name on Borzello’s list: Bryce Hopkins, who transferred from Kentucky to Providence.

John Calipari, Lance Ware predict breakout season for Toppin

Yesterday at SEC Basketball Media Day, John Calipari and Lance Ware both sang Toppin’s praises. The senior leads the team in shots taken at the practice gym, as recorded by the Noah Shooting System atop the goals.

“Jacob leads the team with 2,800 shots in how long? A month or three weeks? Three weeks. He had 2,800 shots in three weeks,” Calipari said. “He’s living in the gym. Every player I’ve ever coached that lives in the gym, they’ve had breakthroughs. They had breakthroughs.”

“Jacob is always in the gym, developing his jump shot but also just being more confident,” Ware said. “Confidence is key in this game and the more confident you are the better you’ll play. I see him locked in, but like anybody, you need to have a balance. And I think Jacob found his perfect balance between being focused, locking in, and also not being too locked in where he can’t connect with the team and bond.”

Sounds like it’s time to watch some Jacob Toppin highlights.