Kentucky in the Top 5 of latest ESPN Preseason Poll

Marvin Bagley heading to Duke makes the Blue Devils the definitive preseason No. 1 team in the country, but what about everyone else? ESPN’s Myron Medcalf just released his “Way-Too-Early Top 25” and Kentucky made the top five, behind Duke, Arizona, Kansas, and Michigan State. Medcalf said that while the Cats are loaded with talent, he has two major concerns: shooting and leadership.

“The class Calipari put together resembles his past assemblies. They’re young, gifted and athletic. But he must overcome a pair of significant questions with this group. Can the Wildcats shoot?”

“The other question for Kentucky: Who will lead this squad? Calipari’s best teams featured elite veterans. He had Willie Cauley-Stein on the 38-1 squad in 2014-15. He had Darius Miller on the 2012 national championship squad. Based on experience, Calipari’s 2017-18 group looks like the team that failed to make the NCAA tournament the year after that title run. But this season doesn’t come with an abundance of guarantees. Question marks decorate this entire top-25 list.”

Both valid concerns, although I worry more about the latter than the former. Even last year’s team had veterans. Here’s where Medcalf ranked Kentucky’s opponents this season:

3. Kansas
6. Louisville
7. Florida
8. West Virginia
14. UCLA
23. Missouri

Check out his thoughts on each over at the Worldwide Leader.

[ESPN]