SI.com has tried to predict the top 10 high impact freshman of the upcoming college basketball season and the SEC has 40% of the ones listed.
Kentucky has 2 of those in Skal Labissiere and Jamal Murray.
Here is why they picked the two international stars who live in Lexington:
2. Skal Labissiere, center, Kentucky
Kentucky’s frontcourt won’t intimidate opponents defensively the way it did last season, but that’s only because last year’s Wildcats boasted an embarrassment of riches in the post, including departed seven-footers Willie Cauley-Stein and Dakari Johnson. Although as recently as a month ago it seemed that Labissiere would be shouldering a huge load in the paint, the addition of Australian forward Isaac Humphries should ease his transition. A true 7-footer, Labissiere is known as a rim-protector and has a surprisingly good jump shot. He could progress along the same trajectory as Karl-Anthony Towns did a season ago in the same uniform. By the end of the season, Labissiere should be a dominant force on a team that will be eyeing its fifth Final Four in six seasons.
6. Jamal Murray, guard, Kentucky
Murray’s stock is soaring after an impressive past few months. In April, he led all scorers with 30 points (on 12-of-23 shooting) at the Nike Hoop Summit. In June, he decided to reclassify from 2016 to ’15, and by the end of the month he had committed to Kentucky. In July he took the court as the second-youngest player at the Pan American games and led Canada to a silver medal. Kentucky will be deep again this year, and how Wildcats coach John Calipari sorts out playing time between sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis, incoming freshman point guard Isaiah Briscoe and Murray will be interesting to watch. Murray and Briscoe are both excellent shot creators, so Calipari may employ some small-ball lineups if the offense needs energy. After the summer he’s had, it seems a safe bet that he’s in store for a big winter.
The SEC players listed are:
1. Ben Simmons, LSU
3. Malik Newman, MSU
Click here to read the entire list.
