THE SCULPTOR

Why is Momcilovic a bad fit? Defensively, Momcilovic is thin for a 4-man, but too slow to guard SEC threes consistently. He played alongside elite defensively personnel at Iowa State. Diallo + Wilkins + Moreno is nowhere close to Lipsey + Toure + Jefferson on that end. Momcilovic's rebounding numbers are non-existent. This is largely because he played with some elite rebounders at ISU and didn't have to crash the glass. But Momcilovic, Moreno, and Kepnang all had negative defensive rebounding on/offs at their respective stops last year. Ndiaye is young and very thin. Momcilovic is an absurd spacer, but there were also just two players with 300+ shots in the country last year who had a lower rim rate, both small guards. He is extremely one-note. This is of course fine if you're playing on Iowa State and its 44% rim rate to compliment his game, but Kentucky just doesn't have downhill guys to drive and kick and create space for Momcilovic. Moreno is the only projected rotation player who ranked in the 60th% or better in rim rate for their respective position. Because Diallo and Wilkins are more shot creators, their passing largely consists of dump-offs vs. drive and kicks. Both were below the 30th% amongst all guards in % of total assists coming via 3-pointers. This is something that downhill guards thrive in. Lastly, I just think Momcilovic and Ndiaye is a very bad fit. Ndiaye's 30% rim rate is awful for his physical profile, and his brutal 0.5 AST:TO suggests his on-ball feel is super minimal. Between that and the rebounding, I don't think both can play together. In summary: This Kentucky roster is not good enough defensively and on the glass to compensate for Momcilovic's flaws, and not good enough at downhill attacking to create great shots for Momcilovic to stay uber-efficient. It's a tough combo for someone who will be one of the five highest-paid players in the country. Had Kentucky been able to land Milan FIRST, I think this roster would look somewhat different. That said - if either Diallo/Wilkins can up their rim touch frequency that + Momcilovic + Moreno (who I think absolutely rocks) remains a really strong nucleus.