Kentucky basketball coach breaks down UK’s three new signees for next season
All three of Kentucky’s early basketball commitments for the class of 2021 officially signed with the Wildcats’ program Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period.
That means UK’s coaches are now free to publicly discuss those commitments, and Wildcats assistant Joel Justus delivered some comments on each of the team’s new recruits via the “Behind Kentucky Basketball” podcast Wednesday.
Justus spoke on UK coaches saw in the trio of Daimion Collins, Nolan Hickman and Bryce Hopkins, and what each will bring to the Wildcats next season.
Collins — a 6-foot-10 power forward from Atlanta, Texas — averaged 24.6 points, 13.7 rebounds and 7.7 blocks per game as a high school junior last season and is the No. 19 overall player in the 2021 class, according to the 247Sports composite rankings.
Justus on Collins: “I think when you see Daimion Collins, you see a guy that has got tremendous size, tremendous ability, quick off his feet. He can block shots, can rebound, and his offensive game is continuing to get better. He’s a guy that’s gone from being able to score around the basket to now where he’s being able to play off of elbows, he’s being able to play at the top of the key. He’s got good ball skills. And he’s going to be a guy that — when he shows up in the summer — we’re going to see a better player than we’ve seen to this point. He’s a guy that just continues to get better. He’s a guy that continues to evolve as a player on both ends of the floor. And, for us, that’s what we look for. We look for the guys that are getting better — that are hungry, that are driven — and Daimion is that guy.”
Hickman — a 6-3 point guard from Seattle — averaged 17.3 points, 3.4 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game and made 38 percent of his three-point attempts as a high school junior. He’s the No. 42 player nationally in the composite rankings.
Justus on Hickman: “Nolan is a guard of the kind of future that we’ve talked about. He’s a guard that can play on the ball; he can play off the ball. He’s a guy that makes his teammates better. And that’s who we look for when we recruit backcourt players. You look for guards that can create for themselves. You look for guards that can create for others. And they have to have an unselfish nature about them, but they also have to have a sense of ‘killer.’ That they can go and create — they can disrupt on the defensive end — and Nolan is that guy. He’s a guy that we feel can come in and have an impact for us and our team and be a great teammate. And every time we’ve seen him, he keeps getting better.”
Hopkins — a 6-6 small forward from Chicago — averaged 24 points, 10 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game as a junior and is ranked No. 29 in the 2021 class.
Justus on Hopkins: “I think Bryce is another guy that when you talk ‘positionless’ basketball — he’s a guy that can play multiple positions. He’s a guy that can play in different areas of the floor. When you’re looking at the geography of the offensive and the defensive end, Bryce is a guy that can be moved all over the place. When you talk about the way that basketball is going — it’s with size, it’s with skill, and he has both of those. And he’s a guy that really wanted to be here. And that’s important to Coach Cal. That’s important to our staff. And we’re excited to get him here. He’s hungry. He’s changing his body. And he’s going to be a guy that’s going to be able to contribute in different areas for us.”
