Kentucky basketball held its ‘Pro Day’ for NBA scouts Sunday. Here’s what we learned.

The Kentucky men’s basketball team held its annual “Pro Day” showcase for NBA scouts on Sunday evening. This edition of the event was not televised — as it has been in years past — but a handful of reporters were permitted to attend.

Since it wasn’t on TV, there was no need to pull coaches and players off the court for on-air interviews, and that meant more actual basketball than in past versions of the event. At the beginning, Coach John Calipari told the more than 50 league scouts in attendance that the off-the-air nature of this Pro Day would mean they’d get to see more of what they’d been asking to see in the past. In this case, that meant a whole lot of scrimmaging. The session lasted a little more than two hours, and about an hour of that was spent on five-on-five scrimmages with outside referees and few interruptions.

Some observations from UK’s Pro Day …

Pro Day standouts

Cason Wallace: The freshman combo guard from Texas is the top-ranked prospect in UK’s 2022 recruiting class, so he’s expected to be good. And he was certainly that Sunday evening in the Joe Craft Center. He was also incredibly poised for a player of his age and experience. Though preseason practices just began a couple of weeks ago, Wallace looked like a veteran player for most of the Pro Day event, spending the scrimmage portion of the showcase as the point guard for the White team and looking like he’d have no problems playing that role, if needed, for a team with realistic national title aspirations.

Wallace started things off in a hurry. He hit Oscar Tshiebwe with a crisp, precise pass from the perimeter that led to a bucket. Then, he filled a passing lane to intercept an Antonio Reeves pass, taking it to the other end for a contested dunk in transition. Right after that, he grabbed a defensive rebound and immediately started a break, ultimately getting fouled in transition. Those three plays happened in the span of about one minute, setting the tone for the rest of his night.

The freshman excelled at finding open teammates and was clearly a willing passer, seeming to always know where everyone was on the court at all times. Defensively, he used his length and lateral quickness to cut off driving lanes and force awkward passes. He was also a vocal presence on the floor.

Wallace even landed a “Helmet Award” toward the end of the second scrimmage session, throwing down a dunk over a Jacob Toppin, leading Calipari to stop practice so the freshman could place a UK football helmet on Toppin’s head. (To the senior’s credit, it came when he was sliding over as a help defender).

The UK newcomer did make a couple of ill-advised passes, but that’s bound to happen with that much scrimmage time at the “1” spot. On the whole, he was impressive, and it’s not difficult to see why he’s Kentucky’s top-ranked NBA prospect heading into the season.

Jacob Toppin: The veteran forward might have been on the wrong end of the dunk helmet Sunday evening, but he did a lot right over the course of the Pro Day session.

Toppin seems ready for a major breakthrough in his third season at Kentucky, and his versatile game was on full display in front of the NBA scouts. He hit a three over freshman Chris Livingston early in the first scrimmage. On that subject, Toppin made 10 of his first 11 three-point attempts from the corner to start the team’s five-minute shooting drill, a staple of Calipari’s practices. That was a major point of emphasis from NBA scouts who gave feedback to Toppin during the draft process this past offseason, and he looked like a credible deep threat here.

There weren’t a ton of “wow” moments from Toppin over the two scrimmages, but he stood out by being incredibly active on both ends of the floor and especially disruptive on defense. He also ran the floor, especially getting back in transition defense, and battled for rebounds and loose balls. The high expectations for him this season are warranted.

Daimion Collins: A McDonald’s All-American coming out of high school last season, Collins didn’t do much in year one. Now a sophomore, he looks much more confident and comfortable on the court, both on and away from the ball.

Calipari addressed the NBA scouts at the beginning and said they wouldn’t see as many non-basketball activities as in past Pro Day editions. Then he made an exception.

“Where’s Daimion?!” he yelled. Spotting him, the coach added: “Just do one jump.”

Collins strolled to the nearest basket, took a couple of nonchalant steps, and proceeded to touch the top half of the backboard as if it was nothing. (He would later measure with 46.5-inch vertical. That’s not a typo).

But we already knew he was freakishly athletic. What’s more impressive — he looked like a really good basketball player during the scrimmages. On one play, he made a dribble move to the elbow and drilled a jumper. He hit a trailing jump shot in transition. He made three-pointers. He contested shots on defense, including an emphatic block of Lance Ware as the two battled near the basket. He also made an impressive, three-quarters-court outlet pass to Chris Livingston for an easy two, putting that one right on the mark.

Collins still has plenty of room to grow, but he should see the court quite a bit this season.

Oscar impresses

Reigning national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe could have easily been singled out in the “Pro Day standouts” section, but … he’s the reigning national player of the year. Everyone already knows what to expect. That said, he impressed mightily.

Tshiebwe hit a jumper from about a foot inside the three-point line early in the first scrimmage. He nailed a pick-and-pop jumper a short time after that. Predictably, he battled around the basket, getting second chances on offensive rebounds and drawing fouls as the other side’s bigs tried — without much luck — to stop him.

It was, for the most part, a typical Tshiebwe performance. One interesting wrinkle was how well he passed the ball. Tshiebwe had 36 assists in 34 games last season. He had a total of 18 assists in 41 games over two seasons at West Virginia. On Sunday night, he did a great job of recognizing double teams and quickly getting the ball to an open teammate in those situations. He also looked to pass, in general, often kicking the ball out quickly on offensive rebounds and utilizing touch passes when teammates fed him in the post. Those decisions led to easy opportunities and points for his team, and it helped keep the opposing defense moving.

Scrimmage lineups

It’s probably too early to glean much from a lineup perspective, but here’s who John Calipari had on each side of things for Sunday’s scrimmages:

White team: Cason Wallace, Adou Thiero, Chris Livingston, Daimion Collins and Oscar Tshiebwe.

Blue team: Sahvir Wheeler, Antonio Reeves, Jacob Toppin, Lance Ware and Ugonna Onyenso.

Obviously, it would be a shocker if either of those teams is ultimately Kentucky’s starting five, but the matchups made for some nice battles on both ends of the court. (For the most part, the players defended the opposing team’s player in the same order listed here. So, Wallace and Wheeler matched up, as did Thiero and Reeves, and so on.)

Best guess from this two-hour session on a possible UK starting lineup to begin the 2022-23 season? Wheeler, Wallace, Reeves, Toppin and Tshiebwe.

The biggest question mark there is likely Reeves’ spot. Collins will get plenty of minutes, and starting him could make for a super-long lineup. Livingston will be tough to keep off the court. But Reeves is UK’s most-dependable three-point shooter of the players who were on the court Sunday night, and defensive shortcomings should be covered by his teammates in that lineup. So, this seems like a logical starting five, but it’s clear that Calipari will have options.

CJ Fredrick update

Veteran guard CJ Fredrick transferred from Iowa to Kentucky last offseason, but he missed the entire 2021-22 campaign with the Wildcats due to a major hamstring injury. He still wasn’t at 100 percent for the team’s trip to the Bahamas in August, though he played well over the first three games — earning adulation from John Calipari after Game 1 — but he sat out the final game of the exhibition tour.

Fredrick was a two-year starter for a very good Iowa program — although he also had some nagging injury issues there — and he’s one of the best three-point shooters in the country, so he’ll obviously be a player of great interest for Kentucky’s upcoming season.

He didn’t participate in Pro Day on Sunday evening.

Calipari announced earlier in the day that Fredrick would miss UK’s Pro Day event and be sidelined for “a few days” after turning his ankle in practice. The Kentucky coach added that Fredrick “has been playing as well as anyone — making shots, low turnovers, great defensive presence” through the team’s early preseason workouts.

“Unfortunately, the scouts won’t be able to see him and the incredible progress he’s made. Happy it’s not serious!” Calipari tweeted.

The Kentucky coach continued that praise before the showcase started. He told the NBA scouts in attendance that Fredrick suffered a sprained ankle in practice and would be back soon. He added that the shooting guard wanted to play Monday — when the scouts will be back to see Kentucky’s players for day two of the Pro Day trip — but Calipari wasn’t going to put him out there until he’s healed.

“He’s as confident as any player that we have,” Calipari told the scouts, then saying that Fredrick has been a tremendous post feeder, and Oscar Tshiebwe always wants to be teamed up with him as a result.

Fredrick stood to the side of the court during the Pro Day session, talking with coaches and teammates. He had a small wrap on his ankle, and — by all appearances — it did look like an injury that won’t keep him out for more than a few days. He most recently played for Iowa during the 2020-21 season, averaging 7.5 points per game and shooting 47.4 percent from three-point range.

How did Ugonna look?

Ten of Kentucky’s 11 scholarship players were on the court during the team’s summer exhibition trip to the Bahamas.

The only one who wasn’t: late arrival Ugonna Onyenso, who got to UK’s campus in late August and didn’t turn 18 years old until a couple of weeks ago.

Kentucky coaches and players have described the battles between Onyenso and Oscar Tshiebwe in recent weeks, and those were on display throughout the scrimmage sessions. Onyenso didn’t get much over on the older, more experienced national player of the year, but he never backed down either, continually going at Tshiebwe physically and trying to contest his shots. The highlight for the freshman center was a turnaround jumper from about 10-12 feet, with Tshiebwe unsuccessfully contesting.

It’s unclear how much he’ll play this season, but it was apparent from watching Onyenso in the team drills that he possesses a high ceiling as a post player, and he certainly looks the part of a possible future NBA Draft pick. He runs the floor extremely well, and he should show some major offensive skills once he gets more comfortable with the ball in his hands.

Onyenso will need some time to come along, but battling Tshiebwe every day in practice should be key to unlocking some of that potential, setting him up for an important role on the 2023-24 team.

Pro Day measurements

Some superlatives from the measurements on Pro Day …

Max vertical jump: Daimion Collins (46.5 inches), Jacob Toppin (45 inches), Cason Wallace (42 inches). Walk-on guard Kareem Watkins turned heads with a 43-inch jump here, too.

The ¾-court sprint: Toppin (3.09 seconds), Sahvir Wheeler (3.18 seconds), Collins and Tshiebwe (3.2 seconds).

Shuttle run: Wallace (10.03 seconds), Antonio Reeves (10.45 seconds), Wheeler (10.49 seconds).

Wingspan: Tshiebwe and Onyenso (7 feet, 4 inches), Collins (7-3), Lance Ware (7-1).

Heights of interest: Tshiebwe measured at 6-8 (so he had a plus-8 wingspan). Collins was 6-8.5, with Toppin at 6-7.5, Livingston at 6-6, Reeves at 6-5, Wallace at 6-3.25 and Wheeler at 5-8. Freshman Adou Thiero, who might still be growing, measured at 6-6 with a 6-11 wingspan.

NBA Draft projections

Amid all the buzz over projected top-two NBA picks Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson playing on the network, ESPN updated its 2023 mock draft last week.

That list included four Kentucky Wildcats.

Freshman guard Cason Wallace goes into the final weeks of the preseason as UK’s top NBA Draft prospect, landing at No. 13 overall on ESPN’s new list. The Texas native is expected to play a combo guard role this season, and this projection puts him just inside lottery-pick range.

Fellow freshman Chris Livingston is No. 27 overall in ESPN’s mock draft, placing him a few spots within the first round. In the second round, Oscar Tshiebwe is projected as the No. 39 overall pick, with sophomore forward Daimion Collins posted at No. 42 overall.

The most notable UK omission from the ESPN list is Jacob Toppin, who is entering his third season at Kentucky — after playing his freshman year at Rhode Island — and appears primed for a breakout campaign with the Wildcats.

Wembanyama and Henderson top ESPN’s mock draft as the No. 1 and 2 picks, respectively, with Overtime Elite’s Amen Thompson, Arkansas freshman Nick Smith Jr., and Villanova freshman Cam Whitmore rounding out the top five.

Obviously, there’s a lot of basketball to be played between now and the June 22 draft.

Chances to see the Cats

The Pro Day showcase Sunday was not televised, but Kentucky fans will have a couple of chances to catch the Cats in action on TV over the next two weeks.

Big Blue Madness will air on SEC Network at 7 p.m. Friday, and that event always features a (relatively loose) scrimmage at the end. The annual Blue-White Game is scheduled for Oct. 22, and that scrimmage will be shown at 6 p.m. on SEC Network Plus.

Madness is already sold out. Tickets for the Blue-White Game will go on sale this week and can be purchased at Appalachian Wireless Arena or through Ticketmaster.com. Ticket proceeds from the event will go toward the flood relief efforts in Eastern Kentucky.

A presale event for residents of Eastern Kentucky counties and UK students will begin at 10 a.m. Monday. Residents with billing zip codes in the counties of Bell, Breathitt, Clay, Floyd, Harlan, Jackson, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Magoffin, Martin, Owsley, Perry, Pike, Whitley and Wolfe will be able to purchase tickets beginning Monday. Fans within those counties may enter their zip code to gain access to the presale.

Tickets will be available to the general public starting Wednesday.

The Cats’ first exhibition game of the 2022-23 season — against Missouri Western State — is scheduled for Oct. 30, with a 7 p.m. tip time on SEC Network.

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