These players have been surprises in early Kentucky basketball practice sessions
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Zoom Diallo identified Mason Williams as a surprising, hardworking freshman in practice.
- Diallo called Justin McBride a talented, hard‑working new arrival.
- Diallo highlighted Jerone Morton’s defensive energy and 94‑foot pressure in drills.
Zoom Diallo had a pretty good idea of what several of his new Kentucky teammates were capable of before he shared a basketball court with them this summer.
UK’s new point guard has been friends with Malachi Moreno, the Cats’ returning center and a potential first-round NBA draft pick, for years.
“It makes it so much easier,” Diallo said of settling into the PG1 role with Moreno at the 5.
He’s admired the game of Milan Momcilovic, the nation’s top 3-point shooter, from afar.
“You have to locate where he is at all times,” Diallo said, before a warning for future defenders. “Or you’re going to have to get it out of the net in the most humble way.”
He started watching tape on Alex Wilkins, his likely partner in the backcourt, as soon as Kentucky’s coaches started pursuing the fellow transfer.
“They’re going to have to know where we’re at at all times,” Diallo said, another warning for opponents.
And he’s spent the past two seasons with Franck Kepnang, a 7-foot, 275-pound center who also transferred in from Washington and casts a heavy presence in the paint.
“I think BBN is going to love his energy and what he brings, because he’s a force,” Diallo boasted. “A force to be reckoned with. Seriously.”
But what about the other guys? Two weeks into summer practice, who on this 2026-27 Kentucky roster has surprised Diallo the most? The 20-year-old playmaker offered up multiple candidates.
“I would most definitely say Mason Williams,” he began, mentioning the freshman point guard and son of new UK assistant coach Mo Williams, a former NBA All-Star. “I feel like he’s a sleeper. He’s a worker. But he’s been surrounded by, of course, his dad, and being around high-level basketball. A humble kid. And I feel like, no matter what situation he’s in, he’s going to be able to work and apply.
“I feel like he surprised me. Everybody may say, like, you know, he wasn’t a highly touted guy. But I feel like those guys are the most dangerous, because they have a chip on their shoulder. And I can see that on the court every day.”
Williams was an early arrival in Lexington this spring, getting to campus in late April, not long after his commitment to the Cats out of high school. His dad got to work right away, helping head coach Mark Pope on the recruiting trail. Meanwhile, Mason got to work on the court.
And once Diallo arrived, the freshman found another sounding board for future success.
“I like his leadership — the way he talks, just how vocal he is,” Williams said.
That’s what Diallo came to do.
“I feel like that’s my job. I feel like I wouldn’t be doing my job if I wasn’t doing that,” he said. “Him being a freshman coming in — the high school and the college game is a way different game. And just giving him pointers as much as I can. And he’s a guy that’s gonna listen, so that makes it even easier. But I feel like that’s my job. Just coming in here, playing two years of high major basketball and coming to the SEC — I don’t know everything, but from what I know of me playing already, I can apply that. And tell that to my teammates.”
Diallo is looking forward to providing more leadership for Williams along the way.
Another early surprise, however, is a guy with even more college experience than Diallo.
“I already knew Justin McBride, but Justin McBride is a talent, most definitely,” he said. “He’s an everyday guy. Like, you can just tell his intention on trying to get better. And I feel like he’s going to help us, too.”
McBride, who is on his fourth school in four years and most recently played last season at James Madison, is a 6-8, 250-pound forward who’s been the subject of positive buzz through the first quarter of UK’s eight-week summer session, not only for his ability on the court, which has led to speculation he could start for the Cats next season, but for his willingness to ask questions of coaches and teammates in an effort to get up to speed as quickly as possible.
Asked if there was a new teammate who pushes him on the court — a player who gets Diallo excited to compete on a daily basis — there was no hesitation.
“Jerone,” Diallo said, so quickly that he had to stop and confirm that the question was about one of his Kentucky teammates, not some past opponent. When told he had interpreted the question correctly, Diallo repeated his answer just as quickly. “Jerone,” he said.
Jerone Morton was the leading scorer on Clark County’s 2022 state championship team. He played two years at Morehead State and then transferred to Washington State, where he averaged 7.8 points per game and shot 38.7% from 3-point range last season.
Morton, who’s from Lexington, has returned home as part of UK’s 2026 transfer class. The 6-4 guard is viewed as a potential depth piece, particularly as a perimeter shooter, but Diallo has found more to his game in the early going.
“His defensive energy and his intent, I feel like, is going to push us defensively,” Diallo said. “He guards at a high level. And I feel like he takes on that role and really embraces it. And he challenged me, picking me up 94 feet, and he’s been doing that real early. So I would say he’s most definitely a guy that’s gonna give us our energy, defensively.”
As the first transfer to commit to Pope during the early stages of the offseason, Diallo had to show patience over the weeks that followed. The roster slowly came together, forming into a preseason Top 25 bunch, but there were still major question marks even late in the process.
Moreno, the longtime friend who helped bring Diallo to Lexington, appeared as though he might be on his way out — potentially headed to this year’s NBA draft — before deciding to return for his sophomore year. That was one positive development.
A little while later, Pope locked up Momcilovic, cementing the Cats’ status as a true contender.
“Me being an early guy to commit, you kind of got to wait and see,” Diallo said. “And it is a lot of patience, just waiting. Especially until Milan came. But when he committed, and you kind of see the whole roster, it made it very easy. And it made it better for me, feeling a sense of release. Like, ‘All right, now let’s do it. Let’s go hoop.’”
