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Kentucky Basketball: Who Are the Cats’ Best NBA Prospects?

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benpfeifer
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benpfeifer Sports Editor

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Sports Editor

Updated10 hours ago on January 14, 2025

image via The Score

Kentucky head coach John Calipari’s departure for Arkansas muddied the Wildcats’ immediate future. They snatched Mark Pope from BYU and haven’t missed a beat, boasting a better record than Calipari’s Razorbacks. The Wildcats sit at 13-3 with ranked wins over Duke, Gonzaga, Florida and Misssipppi State.

They’ve succeeded despite nearly all of Calipari’s top-ranked recruits jumping ship to Fayetteville. Pope rebuilt the roster with a quality bunch of transfers and has won despite their lack of big-name talent. Kentucky relies on their collective strength to win games — six Wildcats average at least 10 points per game (including Amari Williams’ 9.9).

Historically, Kentucky has been an NBA prospect factory under Calipari. Will Pope’s ‘Cats produce any impact pros? Let’s evaluate the merits of Kentucky’s three most promising pro prospects. 

Koby Brea, Wing, Kentucky

Brea, who transferred from Dayton this offseason, might be the biggest name on Kentucky’s roster from a draft perspective. He’s the NCAA’s best shooter at 6’7, shooting an absurd 48% on 14.3 triples per 100 possessions. This isn’t a single-season fluke either. Throughout his career, Brea’s converted 44.2% on 616 3-point attempts.

Dynamic, tall shooters like Brea tend to find NBA homes. He’ll sprint off of screens to set for his shots from well beyond the NBA line. Brea is a flamethrower off of the dribble, shooting 52.5% (21-40) this season on his threes off of the bounce. There’s very little doubt surrounding Brea’s shooting translation to the league.

Beyond his shooting, Brea’s NBA projection is murkier. His assist-to-turnover ratio (2.8) is a career-high, but it’s fair to attribute some of that to Mark Pope’s system. Brea almost never gets to the line (5.9% free-throw rate) and doesn’t add much value on the defensive end.

Brea’s lack of ancillary skills beyond his ceiling as a 22-year-old will limit his draft ceiling, but size and shooting alone have helped worse players reach the NBA. It’s easy to imagine a team spending a late first or early second-round pick on Brea for his special shooting alone.

I’ll shout out Jaxson Robinson here, another wing shooter with a strong college profile. He’s not as dynamic as Brea with similar issues as a defender, but with a bit more inside the arc scoring juice. Those limitations make him a longer shot NBA prospect, but size and shooting alone could earn him a Two-Way deal.

Brandon Garrison, Center

Despite not playing as much as Kentucky’s other bigs, Garrison boasts a few major advantages over them from an NBA perspective. Garrison is a sophomore with phenomenal size, length, movement skills and vertical explosion. Those tools pop most on the defensive end, where he’s blocked shots (4.0% block rate) and protected the rim.

Pope asks Garrison to move and recover in space, capitalizing on his impressive mobility for his size. There’s plenty to clean up in terms of technique, decision making and fouling (5.0 fouls committed per 40 minutes), but Garrison’s defensive potential is clear.

His passing touch and skill pops more on Kentucky than it did last season at Oklahoma State given Pope’s motion offense. Garrison processes the floor smoothly for his age, especially passing to cutters. It’s possible he develops into a capable hub big at the NBA level.

Garrison isn’t receiving much NBA draft buzz this cycle and likely will remain in college. If he can sharpen his defensive play, add strength and continue playing physically, Garrison could end up as a first-round pick down the line.

Otega Oweh, Guard

Oweh spent his first two seasons at Oklahoma as a hard-nosed, defensively slanted guard without much offensive utility. His defensive contributions transferred over to Kentucky as expected. Oweh sticks to defenders like glue, sliding around screens and mirroring with his quickness and strong base. He’s generating turnovers as always, posting a strong 3.3% steal rate.

His offensive improvements this season have moved Oweh closer to NBA Draft radars. He’s posting career highs in true shooting (59%), 3-point volume (5.2 per 100 possessions) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6). Oweh flashed some basic movement shooting, which would be hugely beneficial for his projection as an off-ball guard option at the next level.

To stick in the NBA, Oweh must shoot consistently from deep and prove his passing improvements extend beyond Pope’s system. If Oweh can become a reliable shooter, there’s a path for him to make the league as a 3-D utility guard.