Takeaways from Kentucky Basketball Pro Day

We’re all eating up all the Kentucky Football content with Will Stein having the Wildcats at 4-1 and No. 10 LSU on deck in a Power K throwback at Kroger Field. 

The reality is, we’re at the point in the sports calendar where everything will be in full effect soon. Big Blue Madness and Fan Fest already passed, and Kentucky Basketball’s annual Pro Day was tonight in Rupp Arena, just ten days away from tip-off of Kentucky’s first exhibition. 

Big Blue Madness was fun, and Fan Fest was incredible for those in attendance, but let’s talk Pro Day!

Here’s some news and notes from Tuesday night’s event. 

To start the evening, we were able to see the new Director of Player Development, John Pelphrey, in and around the program in full effect. We learned at Media Day that senior guard Jerone Morton suffered a knee injury that would be reevaluated in a few weeks, and tonight we saw him sporting a brace on his left knee while being sidelined for tonight’s action. 

In other injury-related news, we got to see Kam Williams (foot) participate in shooting drills, and it was wonderful to see the junior back in action, knocking down 3s, and looking like himself while we await his return. However, he didn’t take part in scrimmages, and Trent Noah (hamstring) didn’t do anything tonight.

This team is going to shoot a ton of 3s and make a ton of them. A few of the expected names were knocking down shots from 3, Milan Momcilovic, Alex Wilkins, Kam Williams, among others, but we got to see a lot of 3s knocked down by names like Malachi Moreno, Zoom Diallo, and others who may not have as high expectations as the others. 

Physicality will be a strength in the backcourt. To be frank, some of the drills were against managers or scout-team guys, but the physicality shown by Zoom Diallo and Mason Williams stood out. Always on balance with a strong frame. Whether it was being the screener or the ball-handler using a screen, the strength of those guys shows. 

Pope has said on numerous occasions, “length is our strength,” and that’s certainly the case. Unlike the couple of backcourt names I mentioned, the frontcourt isn’t overflowing with physicality outside of Moreno and Franck Kepnang.

One note is that on the offensive end, specifically on the glass, Justin McBride made his presence felt with some grown-man rebounds and putbacks. Overall, much of the frontcourt doesn’t have overwhelming strength, but the length will be a concern for opponents in 2026-27. Even Momcilovic, a guy viewed as being a poor defender, created some difficulties at times in passing lanes. 

Diallo is going to give guards on the schedule headaches before, during, and after games. He brings endless energy, a junkyard dog type. The only occasion you would see him get beat in a one-on-one situation this evening was a situation where Moreno actually knocked down 3s with a hand in his face, but even with that, nothing was easy.

Mason Williams is the guy who has turned heads the most this offseason; whether it was winning drills or hearing inside information, the freshman’s name kept popping up. Tonight at Pro Day, that remained the same. I mentioned his physicality, but he also brings a level of IQ that I think could surprise some folks, even though his father played in the NBA alongside LeBron James. Williams has a great touch on his passes and makes a ton of them in great spots, and knocks down a ton of shots from all over the floor, especially from 3-point range. 

Braydon Hawthorne took a lot of 3s. I’m not completely sure what I expected to see from the sophomore, but 3s were taken, and a lot were hit. With a 6’8 frame and shooting ability, he is able to get a lot of them off, no matter what the defense has for him. There were numerous occasions when he shot the ball repeatedly in a short period, whether in a single possession or across repeated possessions. I think we now know what we can expect this year with the lengthy forward. 

Ousmane N’Diaye will have some stretches at Kentucky that make the nation turn its head. When he is on, he shines brightly. Whether it’s a 3 or a rack attack, he is unguardable. One could argue that N’Diaye was the biggest takeaway of the day and the MVP of Pro Day.

The first hour or so was mainly just drills, some three-on-three, and other things like that, while the rest of the evening was full of five-on-five scrimmage. 

Five-on-five provided a great takeaway for Zoom Diallo: Dude is a winner. The team was split into two teams: Alex Wilkins, Zyon Hawthorne, Milan Momcilovic, Justin McBride, and Malachi Moreno on Team White, and Zoom Diallo, Mason Williams, Braydon Hawthorne, Ousmane N’Diaye, and Franck Kepnang on Team Blue. 

The games lasted six minutes, and Team Blue won the first game 18-13. Following that game, a free agency move happened in Rupp Arena when Alex Wilkins and Zoom Diallo were traded for one another.

Game 2 resulted in a Team White victory, 19-7. The one common denominator in the two games was Diallo. Not that he was scoring every play, but he provided physical defense and conducted the offense so well.

Game 3 switched things up, bringing Mason Williams, Zyon Hawthorne, Milan Momcilovic, Justin McBride, and Reece Potter together on Team White. Zoom Diallo, Alex Wilkins, Braydon Hawthorne, Ousmane N’Diaye, and Franck Kepnang made up Team Blue in Game 3. Team White won that one, 8-6.

Game 4 featured the same lineups, and although we didn’t get to see Momcilovic shoot the rock much throughout the scrimmages, he did provide some great assists in Team White’s offensive actions, which is pretty encouraging to see. Team Blue would win Game 4, 10-7, making my point hold true that Diallo just brings a winning culture when provided with the right talent, something Washington didn’t necessarily bring. Diallo would go 3-1 through four scrimmages, and the teams he was part of would win 53-35 in a 24-minute game, split into four six-minute quarters. 

A pretty talented young basketball player was in attendance as well. No. 3 DeMarcus Henry was sitting courtside with his family. Joe Tipton of On3 reported today that Henry is continuing to move closer to making his college decision, with North Carolina, Ohio State, Kentucky, Arkansas, BYU, Louisville, and UConn being the schools under consideration. We’ll see if this visit goes so well that Pope can land Henry over some of the biggest rivals. 

Overall, a great evening in Rupp Arena. We unfortunately didn’t get to see a Momcilovic nuclear night with live reps, but he didn’t show many misses in any of his shooting before the scrimmages, and he did hit this beauty.

I loved seeing Moreno show some upgraded physicality from his freshman season, and Ousmane N’Diaye provided some moments worth noting. A night of competitiveness, good hoops, and hopefully a great display of talent in the eyes of the NBA scouts in attendance.