Three Kentucky Wildcats make CBS Sports' Top 101 Player Rankings

MrsTylerKSR

The 2022-23 college basketball season starts on Monday and according to CBS Sports, Kentucky has three of the top 67 players in the sport on its roster. CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone, Matt Norlander, Gary Parrish, and David Cobb released their “Top 100 and 1” player rankings for the upcoming season. Two of Kentucky’s veterans made the cut, along with one newcomer.

Even though Oscar Tshiebwe won every single national player of the year award, CBS’ panel put Gonzaga’s Drew Timme first for the second straight season. Reading Matt Norlander’s blurb on Oscar, I’m not really sure why. Look at that first sentence.

The most irrepressible force in the sport a season ago, Tshiebwe became the fifth Kentucky Wildcat to win national player of the year. He pulled it off in consensus fashion after becoming the first player in more than four decades to grab more than 15.0 rebounds per game. The averages: 17.4 points, 15.1 rebounds, 1.6 blocks on 60.6% shooting. He’s equal parts power source and safety net for Kentucky’s national title hopes this season, and is looking to put up the best back-to-back seasons by a Kentucky big since the days of two-time All-American Dan Issel. The new Big O said his goal last season was to average 20 rebounds; he fell well short of that. Can he possibly come close one year later? We’ll have to wait and see, as Tshiebwe recently underwent a “minor” procedure on his knee and it’s still unknown if he’ll be available when Kentucky’s season begins Nov. 7.

Norlander called Cason Wallace the “next anticipated great one-and-done Wildcat” and said that if Kentucky is going to compete for a top seed in the tournament, Wallace will have to live up to his reputation. With Sahvir Wheeler likely out of tomorrow’s scrimmage with a knee injury, we’ll get to see Wallace play extended minutes at point guard.

Wallace, Livingston make ESPN’s newcomer rankings

Elsewhere on the interwebs, ESPN’s Jeff Borzello released his list of the Top 100 newcomers in college basketball. As you might expect, Wallace and fellow five-star freshman Chris Livingston are on the list, coming in at No. 17 and No. 38, respectively.

“From a physical standpoint, Livingston should have little difficulty transitioning to the college game,” Borzello writes. “He has a strong body and isn’t afraid of contact at the rim. Is aggressive, and could be used as a small-ball 4 for John Calipari.”

Even though Antonio Reeves led Kentucky in scoring in the Bahamas, he did not make the cut. Former Wildcats Bryce Hopkins and Keion Brooks did. Hopkins, now at Providence, is No. 38, and Brooks, now at Washington, is No. 82.