Three Kentucky Wildcats make ESPN's Top 100 College Basketball Players Rankings

More college basketball preseason content is rolling out, including some more recognition for your University of Kentucky Wildcats. ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf released their list of the Top 100 players in college basketball; three Kentucky Wildcats made the top 50.

Otega Oweh is the highest-ranked of the three, coming in at No. 12. The Preseason SEC Player of the Year was Kentucky’s leading scorer last season (16.2 PPG), scoring in double figures in the first 26 games. Oweh dealt with turf toe during a good portion of the offseason, but is ramping back up ahead of the season opener. Medcalf expects him to once again be the center of Kentucky’s offense.

“Kentucky dealt with injuries all of last season, and Oweh’s durability helped stabilize a team that reached the Sweet 16. He should remain an anchor.”

Next up is the player with the highest NBA Draft stock. Jayden Quaintance is No. 28 in the rankings, and would probably be higher if he weren’t rehabbing from ACL surgery in March. Quaintance had a good freshman season last year at Arizona State, winning All-Big 12 Defensive and Freshman Team honors; Medcalf believes he could be the key to No. 9 depending on when he returns to action.

“According to coach Mark Pope, Quaintance has had a miraculous recovery after tearing his ACL in February and having surgery in March. If Quaintance (9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 2.6 BPG) can be healthy — the team hasn’t announced a return date — he might be the missing component for a Kentucky squad that craves a ninth national title.”

The final Wildcat in the rankings is the one who will run point. Jaland Lowe is No. 42 on the list. Lowe had to do it all on a bad Pitt team last season. With a much-improved supporting cast in Lexington, Medcalf expects Lowe to make a big jump.

“We saw two versions of Lowe at Pitt last season: the smart playmaker who affected the action on the court as a strong ballhandler (16.8 PPG, 5.5 APG) … and the 6-1 guard who rushed shots and never seemed to demonstrate the poise he has shown to be capable of. In coach Mark Pope’s system, Lowe will have enough talent around him to take a lot of pressure off his shoulders, which should lead to more consistency.”

We’ll probably only see one player from this list in action vs. Purdue on Friday night, as Quaintance continues his ACL rehab and Lowe takes it easy after injuring his shoulder in the Blue-White Game last week. Oweh played limited minutes in that scrimmage, but should take the floor against the No. 1 Boilermakers, who have FOUR players in the Top 100, including No. 1: Braden Smith (No. 1), Trey Kaufman-Renn (No. 10), Oscar Cuff (No. 70), and Fletcher Loyer (No. 91).

Should be a heck of a show tomorrow night at Rupp. If you can’t be there in person, you can watch on the SEC Network at 6 p.m. ET.