Fifteen Kentuckians (and more) to watch in the 2023 NCAA Tournament

There’s no shortage of star power when it comes to Kentuckians playing in the 2023 NCAA Tournament.

Half of Northern Kentucky’s 16-player roster competed in high school in the Bluegrass State, including its three leading scorers — Marques Warrick, Sam Vinson and Trevon Faulkner.

Kentucky will be hoping CJ Fredrick can get hot from long range to help lead a run at a ninth national championship.

And given this is the era of the transfer portal, there are several players who have found a second — or third or fourth — home to complete their college careers after a stop in Kentucky. Familiar names among those include Bryce Hopkins, now at Providence and with the Wildcats, his former team, on tap for the first round; and Johni Broome (Morehead State) and Wendell Green Jr. (Eastern Kentucky) at Auburn.

Here are 15 players — active and averaging more than 5.0 points per game — to watch (plus 12 more) with ties to the state of Kentucky:

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Johni Broome, Auburn: The 6-foot-10 sophomore forward from Plant City, Florida, was the 2021-22 Ohio Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team All-OVC selection before transferring from Morehead State to play for the Tigers. Now he leads Auburn in scoring (14.0 points), rebounding (8.4) and blocked shots (2.3). He was a second-team All-SEC selection. Back in 2020-21 with the Eagles, Broome was named the OVC Freshman of the Year and first-team All-OVC, and went on to lead Morehead to the OVC Tournament championship and an automatic NCAA bid.

Sean East II, Missouri: The 6-3 point guard from Louisville played across the Ohio River for New Albany High School in Indiana before a prep season at Combine Academy in North Carolina, then college at Massachusetts, Bradley, John A. Logan Community College and now Missouri. He averages 7.3 points, 2.6 assists, 2.0 rebounds and 23.2 minutes for the Tigers.

Trevon Faulkner, Northern Kentucky: The 6-4 fifth-year guard out of Mercer County was named the Horizon League’s Sixth Man of the Year. The 2018 Kentucky Mr. Basketball winner is third for the Norse in scoring at 8.6 points and also contributes 2.8 rebounds in 24.9 minutes. He shoots 82.7% from the free-throw line. Faulkner was a second-team Horizon League selection in 2020-21.

CJ Fredrick, Kentucky: The 6-3 senior guard, who starred in high school at Covington Catholic, started his college career at Iowa before transferring to play for the Wildcats. He sat out all of last season with a hamstring injury. He has played through injuries this season for UK, starting 15 of the 24 games he has appeared in. He averages 6.7 points and shoots 32.0% from three-point range and 92.0% from the free-throw line. Despite some struggles with his shot this season, he’s still 41.4% from long range for his career. He led Covington Catholic to a state title in 2018 and was named Sweet 16 MVP.

Wendell Green Jr., Auburn: A first-team All-OVC selection while a freshman at Eastern Kentucky, Green is now in his second season with the Tigers. The 5-11 point guard from Detroit, who was a second-team All-SEC selection, averages 13.8 points, 4.2 assists and 3.3 rebounds. He’s solid from the free-throw line (83.5%) but struggles from three-point range (29.5%).

Bryce Hopkins, Providence: The 6-7 Kentucky transfer, a sophomore forward, leads the Friars in scoring (16.1 points) and rebounding (8.5). Hopkins, a first-team All-Big East selection by both the league’s coaches and media, shoots 37.8% from three-point range and 76.3% from the free-throw line. His success with Providence came after he averaged 6.4 minutes, 2.1 points and 1.4 rebounds as a freshman at UK.

Tre King, Iowa State: The former Lexington Christian standout has started four of 22 games he’s played in this season, averaging 6.9 points and 4.1 rebounds in 17.5 minutes. King started his college career at Georgetown University, though he didn’t play there. He then spent three seasons at Eastern Kentucky — he was first-team All-OVC in 2020-21 and second-team All-OVC in 2019-20 — before sitting out last season as a transfer.

Adam Kunkel, Xavier: A 6-4 senior guard out of Cooper High School, Kunkel started his career at Belmont (he was first-team All-OVC in 2019-20) before transferring to play for the Musketeers the next season. He’s Xavier’s fifth-leading scorer with 10.5 points per game to go with 3.0 assists and 2.7 rebounds. He shoots 39.6% from three-point range and 89.2% from the free-throw line.

Nick McMullen, UNC Asheville: He played two seasons at Murray State (2020-21 and 2021-2022) before transferring to play for the Bulldogs (27-7), this season’s Big South Tournament champions. The 6-8 junior forward from Greensboro, North Carolina, is fourth on the team in scoring (8.0 points) and second in rebounding (5.6). He had seven points and six rebounds in UNC Asheville’s Big South Tournament title game victory against Campbell.

Markquis Nowell, Kansas State: The Wildcats’ second-leading scorer, a 5-8 senior guard from Harlem, New York, averaged 5.5 points at Cordia as a seventh grader when former Kentucky basketball player Rodrick Rhodes was head coach at the school in Knott County. He went on to play high school basketball in New York and New Jersey before three collegiate seasons at Little Rock. This is the transfer’s second season at K-State, and he’s averaging 16.8 points and team bests in assists (7.6) and steals (2.4) while shooting 34.6% from the three-point line and 88.5% at the free-throw line. He was named first-team All-Big 12 by both the league’s coaches and media.

Dylan Penn, Vermont: The America East Tournament champions are led by Penn, a Bellarmine transfer and second-team all-league selection who averages a team-best 13.5 points and shoots 84.2% from the free-throw line. Penn, a 6-3 fifth-year guard from Evansville, Indiana, played four seasons for Bellarmine, including being named ASUN Tournament MVP and second-team All-ASUN in 2022. He was a first-team All-SUN selection for the Knights in 2021.

Demond Robinson, Kennesaw State: The 6-8 senior forward from Montgomery, Alabama, spent two seasons at Murray State (2019-20 and 2020-21) before transferring to play for the Owls (26-8), who earned an automatic NCAA bid by winning the ASUN Tournament championship. Robinson is the team’s third-leading scorer (11.1 points) and second-leading rebounder (5.8). He scored 10 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the ASUN Tournament title game victory against Liberty.

Tolu Smith, Mississippi State: The 6-11 senior forward from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, played his freshman season at Western Kentucky before ending up with the Bulldogs. A first-team All-SEC selection, Smith leads Mississippi State in scoring (15.8), rebounding (8.5) and blocked shots (0.7). He shoots 57.6% from the field.

Sam Vinson, Northern Kentucky: The 6-5 sophomore guard out of Highlands was a third-team All-Horizon League selection and was named to the conference’s all-defensive team. He’s the Norse’s second-leading scorer at 11.7 points and also averages 4.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2.4 steals. In 2021-22, he was the Horizon League Freshman of the Year. In high school, he was the 2021 Sweet 16 MVP for state champion Highlands.

Marques Warrick, Northern Kentucky: The former Henry Clay star, a 6-2 junior guard, was named second-team All-Horizon League for the second straight season and averaged a team-best 19.1 points to go with 2.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists. He shoots 39.1% from long range and 81.1% from the free-throw line. He earned MVP honors for his performance in this year’s Horizon League Tournament — 20.7 points in three victories — as the Norse earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Warrick was the Horizon League’s freshman of the year for 2020-21.

THROUGH THE FIELD

Brennan Canada, Kentucky: The 6-5 senior guard, who played at Montgomery County and then George Rogers Clark, has averaged 0.6 points in the five games he has appeared in.

Jake Evans, Northern Kentucky: A 6-1 junior guard who played at Male, Evans has played in 17 games with averages of 0.7 points and 0.7 assists.

Noah Hupmann, Northern Kentucky: The 7-1 junior center played his senior year of high school at Covington Catholic. He has appeared in three games, averaging 0.3 points and 1.0 rebounds.

Aidan Igiehon, Grand Canyon: The Louisville transfer, a 6-10 junior from Dublin, Ireland, who grew up in Brooklyn, New York, averages 10.1 minutes, 2.6 points and 3.4 rebounds for the WAC Tournament champions.

Isaiah Mason, Northern Kentucky: The 6-4 sophomore guard is a former Bowling Green High School star who has played in 11 games and averaged 0.4 points and 0.6 rebounds.

Dieonte Miles, Xavier: The 7-0 junior forward out of Walton-Verona has played in 11 games, averaging 6.5 minutes, 1.0 points, and 1.4 rebounds.

Mitchel Minor, Northern Kentucky: The 5-10 freshman guard out of Scott High School has appeared in one game for the Norse.

Hogan Orbaugh, Indiana: Previously a walk-on for Louisville, the 6-8 junior forward from Zionsville, Indiana, has not played in a game this season.

Cole Sherman, Northern Kentucky: The 5-11 freshman guard played in high school at St. Xavier. He has appeared in one game for the Norse.

Quinn Slazinski, Iona: The only player with Kentucky ties on Rick Pitino’s roster started three of the seven games he played in. The 6-9 senior forward, a transfer from Louisville, averaged 11.3 points and 5.7 rebounds before being sidelined for the rest of the season by a foot injury.

Isaac Stansbury, Mississippi State: The 6-1 senior guard out of Greenwood High School is the son of former Mississippi State and Western Kentucky coach Rick Stansbury. He has appeared in eight games.

KyKy Tandy, Xavier: The former University Heights star averages 10.5 minutes and 2.2 points. He has been sidelined by a foot injury and hasn’t played since Feb. 18. Tandy was a Big East All-Freshman Team selection in 2019-20 and was sixth on the team in scoring the next season. But then he only appeared in five games last year before a season-ending surgery.

This story was originally published March 12, 2023 at 9:20 PM.

Dennis Varney

Lexington Herald-Leader

Dennis Varney is a former journalist for the Herald-Leader