Paul Biancardi on Kentucky's loaded backcourt

Jay Bilas brought his colleague Paul Biancardi on today’s show to discuss Kentucky’s incoming freshmen, specifically, all those guards. Here’s what ESPN’s recruiting analyst had to say about Immanuel Quickley, Tyler Herro, and Ashton Hagans, who will share the backcourt with sophomores Quade Green and Jemarl Baker this fall.

“[Immanuel] Quickley is a high IQ point guard. Not a great athlete, but he’s really fluid, he makes open shots, he’s steady and he’s consistent. That’s what I like most about him. He’s going to bring it every day. He doesn’t wow you with athleticism, he doesn’t create a lot of space for himself to get shots. He hits the open man off the screen, he drives, he finds the open man. He makes very good decisions and that’s going to help a lot.

“[Tyler] Herro, he’s the shooter of this class in terms of making a three-point shot. Great elevation and he’s, in my mind, got the best middle game coming into college. Inside the arc, outside the paint, this guy has a tremendous pull up game. He’s going to get Calipari buckets. He’s the guy you want to run off screens and Quickley’s the guy that’s going to find them. It’s a very good combination.

“But the guy for me, they just got, is Ashton Hagans, who reclassified from 2019 to 2018. He’s a bullet. He’s speed in the open floor. He’s a great two-way player. Point guard as well. They’re going to be really deep next year at that point guard position. Ashton Hagans is going to be outstanding for them.”

All of those guards…who will start? Biancardi likes a backcourt of Hagans, Herro, and Keldon Johnson.

“I like Hagans to start at point guard, I do. I don’t think he would reclassify and come in this late if he wasn’t going to start or have a great chance to start. I’d say he would start at the 1. I think Keldon Johnson, he’s the young man from Oak Hill, he’s one of the hardest playing dudes in high school last year. He’s going to put himself on the floor, he’s going to put himself in the starting lineup. I’d say those two guys will start and probably Tyler Herro, because of his shooting ability, would be at the 1, 2, and 3.”

For more great insight on this year’s roster from Paul and Jay, check out today’s podcast:

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