Kentucky Basketball Player Breakdown: Ugonna Onyenso

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It still remains to be seen what Kentucky’s roster will look like next season. For the most up-to-date information on that front be sure to follow the Kentucky Basketball Roster Tracker brought to you by our very own Jack Pilgram. Also, we’ve already broken down the five incoming freshmen as they committed. You can find KSR Film Room breakdowns of each of them below.

Now that some stay-or-go decisions are being made we will also take a look at the returning talent on Kentucky’s roster. This series will begin with possibly the most exciting news of the offseason so far, the return of Ugonna Onyenso. A high-level recruit who reclassified into the class of 2023, Onyenso was never counted on to contribute during what should have been his senior year of high school. However, he got some opportunities early and for the most part played pretty well. In the final 15 games though the 6’11” center played just once for a total of three minutes. Onyenso would finish the season averaging 2.5 points, 2.6 assists, and 1.0 blocks in just 6.9 minutes per game.

For the bouncy big man with a 7’5″ wingspan, the upside is obvious. A full offseason of skill development, adding strength in the weight room, and simply now having college games under his belt could catapult Onyenso into a breakout sophomore campaign. His rim protection skills are undeniable and he is a constant lob threat around the basket offensively. However, the game simply happened too fast around him at times during the 2022-2023 season.

Let’s step inside the KSR Film Room and take a look at what Ugonna Onyenso must improve in year two. Also, we will see why he has the potential to be such a key piece of an old-school John Calipari roster.

Rim Protection

The Ugonna Onyenso story begins with rim protection. Whatever his ceiling ends up being may be determined elsewhere, but his floor is set by being an elite shot blocker. He has already showcased sound instincts for a young big man around the basket. Onyenso routinely is the second jumper, closes space quickly, and aggressively goes after the ball. However, he also fouls too often due to keeping his non-shot blocking hand down. He must learn to get vertical with two hands more often to avoid going to the bench with fouls. Here are some examples from his freshman season at Kentucky.

We didn’t get to see Ugonna Onyenso play against much high-level competition as a freshman. Admittedly a big reason for that was he simply wasn’t ready. There is a major difference in the physicality of players sometimes five years older and 40 pounds heavier. However, with his 7’5″ wingspan and great timing he doesn’t need to be in perfect position in order to block shots. Here, while guarding All-American Hunter Dickinson, he gives up too much ground and is standing too lock-legged at the end of the drive. Despite less-than-ideal footwork, he is still able to block the shot because of his length. That is exactly what makes the best shot blockers so valuable. Their execution doesn’t have to be perfect, nor does your perimeter defense, for them to still impact the game at the rim.

For a near 7-footer, Onyenso has impressive short-range closing speed. Take a look here as he comes from well behind the play to block this layup attempt. This is also another example of imperfect defense that is covered up by elite shot-blocking. Antonio Reeves allows the ball handler to reject the ballscreen and Onyenso is playing too high which allows his man to slip. However, it doesn’t matter because he closes down from behind to swat the attempt away. You simply can’t teach guys to make plays like this.

If you want to have elite shot blocking you have to live with a couple of extra fouls here and there. However, the very best learn a balance between trying to block every shot and simply making sure they miss the attempt. That is the delicate balance between “shot blocking” and “rim protection.” Ugonna Onyenso is very good at both, but he needs to learn to be more vertical around the basket. Too often he goes up to block the shot with one hand while letting his “off-hand” travel into the offensive players’ body. That gets him called for fouls like you see in this clip despite clearly altering the shot. Getting more vertical with two hands will be the next step in his development defensively.

This is a good example of Onyenso’s ability to consistently be the second jumper when blocking shots. Due to his size and length, he doesn’t leave the floor until well after the offensive player has jumped. That helps avoid fouling and obviously cuts down on biting on shot fakes as well. He is a quick jumper and has a knack for timing around the basket.

Weight Room Development

In terms of becoming a real contributor next season, this is where Ugonna Onyenso must take the biggest leap. Billed at 225 pounds, the 6’11” center is rail thin and routinely was pushed off of his spot as a freshman. However, that isn’t overly concerning as he really should have been a high school senior. A full year of Kentucky’s strength and conditioning program should hopefully get him more ready physically for Southeastern Conference basketball. Getting stronger will greatly help Onyenso’s development on both ends of the floor. He does have a long way to go through.

This play is the perfect representation of where Ugonna Onyenso must improve to take his game to the next level. If he can get stronger and consistently make a right-hand, left-shoulder hook shot it’ll help him become a serviceable role player in the SEC. However, last season, he was still being pushed around by low-major big men at North Florida. You can see that when he gets the ball the slightest bump from behind made him pick up his dribble. Then, his feet are far too narrow when he gets into his shot. He needs to play with his feet apart, and therefore a stronger base, to help absorb contact and become more efficient inside. These are baskets that need to be converted to play significant minutes as a sophomore.

Being as tall and thin as Onyenso is makes it really easy to push him off of his spot. Last season, he played far too straight up and down as opposed to lowering his center of gravity into a stronger position. The early part of this clip is exactly what makes Onyenso so intriguing. He runs the floor like a gazelle. When he enters the paint he is perfect position to receive the entry pass for a dunk. However, he ends up getting buried below the backboard and then airballs his shot attempt. The next level of progression will be throwing his butt into his defender at the SEC logo, getting the catch, and then dunking it with two hands.

If he isn’t blocking shots or dunking the ball, Ugonna Onyenso was not very comfortable on the basketball floor last season. Again, he was essentially a high school senior trying to play high-major basketball so that shouldn’t be shocking. However, there needs to be serious development between year one and year two. He simply wasn’t comfortable taking more than one dribble to get into a post move when there was any sort of physicality. It also didn’t take much to get him off balance which led to errant passes like the one you see here. If he can’t function in the post against South Carolina State, then he is a long way away from contributing in SEC games.

Lob Threat

If we are waiting for Ugonna Onyenso to turn into Hakeem Olajuwon in the post we are likely to be disappointed. However, that doesn’t mean he is without upside on the offensive end of the floor. He has already proven to be a good rebounder and his lob threat potential is through the roof. When playing with excellent guards his skills above the rim could be just what the Wildcats need from their five-man. Let’s take a look at some of the plays he made offensively as a freshman.

There is no denying Ugonna Onyenso’s ability as a lob threat in the pick-and-roll. What really stands out in this clip is how quickly he dives to the rim. As soon as he ballscreens he is in an all-out sprint to the rim. That puts a lot of pressure on the defense to make a quick decision and it allowed the big man to get behind the defense for the alley-oop dunk.

This is exactly what peak performance from Onyenso will look like next season. He shows some ability as a ballscreen or handoff and roll man from the perimeter. On this possession, he sets a good screen off of the handoff, rolls hard to the rim, and does a great job of staying on balance to finish. If he can just score one or two baskets on the roll and one or two baskets off of offensive rebounds per game he will be exactly what Kentucky needs next season.

It was in a small sample size against mostly lower-level competition, but Ugonna Onyenso flashed some serious offensive rebounding chops as a freshman. In fact, his 18.6% offensive rebounding rate wasn’t too far off of Oscar Tshiebwe’s 19.6% mark. If he can even begin to approach those numbers in an expanded role next season it’ll be huge for the ‘Cats. Just like on defense, his length covers up some deficiencies offensively. He is not in position to get this rebound but pure length allows him to stretch out and corral the miss. Then, he gets back up quickly to finish. These are the plays Kentucky needs from Onyenso in 2023-2024.

What Does All This Mean?

Expectations are likely to frame what fans think of Ugonna Onyenso in year two. Expecting an All-SEC five-man to blossom will likely lead to disappointment. However, it is very conceivable that Kentucky has a more-than-serviceable center capable of playing 15-20 minutes per game in a reserve role. Onyenso’s rim protection and ability as a lob threat on the roll are already there. Expanding his game as a low post scorer would just be icing on the cake. Much of his development going into his sophomore season will be dictated in the weight room. The physicality of high-major basketball on the block doesn’t fit with Onyenso’s thin frame currently. He must get stronger in order to take his game to the next level and see his role expand.