Kentucky Basketball: Pair of Wildcats listed among Sports Illustrated's Top 20 newcomers in 2023-24 season
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John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats may not have utilized the NCAA transfer portal as often as many of their peers, but that doesn't mean they don't have new key players joining the squad ahead of the 2023-24 college basketball season.
A recent article from Kevin Sweeney at Sports Illustrated listed the 20 best players joining new teams this year, and a pair of Kentucky freshmen cracked the list in Justin Edwards and DJ Wagner.
Edwards came in at No. 7, with only USC's Isaiah Collier ranked higher among true freshmen.
Meanwhile, Wagner was just a few spots down the list at No. 12, with only UCLA freshman big man Aday Mara separating the Kentucky duo among the class of 2023.
Hunter Dickinson, a former All-American who transferred from Michigan to Kansas, was top on the list, while Ryan Nembhard (Creighton to Gonzaga), L.J Cryer (Baylor to Houston), Collier, and Steven Ashworth (Utah State to Creighton) rounded out the top five.
Edwards and Wagner were two of just three SEC players on this list, with the other being guard Walter Clayton Jr., a transfer from Iona who will join Todd Golden and the Florida Gators this year. He came in at No. 13, just one spot behind Wagner.
Calipari's team will need Edwards and Wagner to play like two of the five best freshmen in the country if they want to eradicate their recent NCAA Tournament failures, although veterans Antonio Reeves and Tre Mitchell will play huge parts as well.
Kentucky tips off the season at Rupp Arena against the New Mexico State Aggies on Monday, November 6 at 8:00 PM ET.
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