Rob Dauster of NBC Sports has taken a look at the X Factors in college basketball and he thinks the Kentucky Basketball role players are very important for the Wildcats this season.
He focuses on Marcus Lee and Alex Poythress.
Specifically, I’m talking about Marcus Lee and Alex Poythress. Poythress has been snake-bit throughout his career with the Wildcats, being asked to play out of position as a three and tearing an ACL. He’s a senior now and will finally have a chance to thrive as a purely effort guy at the four. That’s his best role. And as for Lee, he’s impressed in his limited minutes over the last two years, but playing well for spurts and proving to be a worthy starter on a team with national title aspirations are two very different things.
But they aren’t the only piece to the X Factor puzzle.
Charles Matthews and Isaiah Briscoe can also be lumped in here as well. Matthews has earned a rep for being a gritty, athletic wing defender that will fit will along side Tyler Ulis and Jamal Murray quite nicely. If the newly-slimmed down Isaiah Briscoe can embrace that role as well, it will make UK just that much more dangerous. I’m not as high on Briscoe as some others, but I love the idea of him being the fourth option in an offense.
You can read all the X Factors by clicking here.
Who is your X Factor for Kentucky’s chances to get back to the Final Four this season?
My X factor isn’t an individual player, but I believe foul shooting is Kentucky’s prime stat that will decide if they are contenders or pretenders.
