Brian Davis

Something nobody is talking about with the Diallo and Wilkins additions that I think is really important. Zoom Diallo shot 31.5% from three at Washington. Alex Wilkins shot 32.8% from three at Furman. The reaction from fans in both cases was some version of "he can't shoot" or "this is a concern." And on paper those numbers look underwhelming. I get it. But here's what people aren't asking: WHY were those numbers what they were? At Washington, Diallo was the engine of the entire offense. 4.5 assists per game, 15.7 points, the primary ball handler and shot creator for a program that leaned on him to make everything go. He was the guy defenses keyed on, the guy running pick and roll, the guy manufacturing offense out of nothing. He wasn't getting catch and shoot threes. He was creating for everyone else and taking whatever was left over. That's a completely different shot diet than what he'll have at Kentucky. Same exact story with Wilkins at Furman. 4.7 assists per game as a true freshman leading a mid-major program. His usage rate was in the 98th percentile among all guards in the country. He was the entire offense. Defenses knew it. He was pulling up off the dribble, creating from nothing, manufacturing his own looks because nobody on his team could create them for him. His three-point shot came under the most contested, most difficult conditions possible. Now put these two together at Kentucky. Diallo sets up Wilkins for catch and shoot looks off screens instead of Wilkins creating everything himself. Wilkins creates drives and kick-outs that give Diallo open pull-up threes he never had at Washington. Both of them suddenly have someone else on the floor who can create pressure, which means the defense can no longer sag and load up on one guy. This is what happens when two shot creators play together instead of each carrying an offense alone. The shot quality goes up. The shot difficulty goes down. And those 31% and 32% three-point percentages from this past season tell you almost nothing about what these guys will look like when they aren't the only person on the floor a defense has to worry about. Before you bury either of these guys for their three-point percentages, ask yourself what those numbers would look like if someone was actually setting them up. As @BRamseyKSR has pointed out many times....both of these guys shot 37% on catch and shoot. They just didn't have anyone to pass to them for good looks.