Kentucky exhales

After much speculation, Antonio Reeves will return to Lexington. Plus, Alabama rejoices while Memphis laments.

Author

Sean Paul
June 22, 2023

The Celtics may have Kristaps Porzingis, but he isn’t the only big who made news on Wednesday. Just ask Alabama fans.

And Kentucky got good news for the first time in what seems like forever.

Let's get to it.

1. The Antonio Reeves saga comes to an end

Antonio Reeves flirted with the NBA Draft and the transfer portal over the past few months. But in the end, he’s back with Kentucky for the 2023-24 season.

And that’s welcome news in Lexington. He’s exactly what the Wildcats need next season.

A 6-5 super-senior guard, Reeves averaged 14.4 points on 39 percent shooting from deep. He enhances the floor spacing and makes defenses worry about the perimeter scoring.

Perhaps most importantly, Reeves is the only upperclassman on Kentucky’s youth-filled roster. Ball-dominant freshman guards DJ Wagner and Rob Dillingham have Reeves as a safety blanket. (Whether they use him as more than a kick-out option is another question). Reeves’ experience and shooting should secure Kentucky’s place as a preseason Top 25 team.

There’s also a question if Reeves wants to showcase more than just his shot.

For him to be a more attractive NBA prospect, he’ll need to display everything in his bag — putting the ball on the deck, playing in ball screens and potentially running the offense as a secondary ballhandler. Reeves has to show confidence and aggression with the freshmen joining him in the starting lineup.

Myriad factors contributed to Reeves ultimately returning to Lexington, namely the one-time transfer rule: Reeves enrolled in classes at Illinois State, his former institution to try to graduate this summer, likely in hopes of entering the portal without penalty. Things got hairy, and Reeves found himself back at one of the sport’s premier programs.

How the season plays out is anyone’s guess. The last Kentucky team with this much youth floundered during the 2020-21 season, winning an incomprehensible nine games. That’s unlikely in 2023-24. Probably.

2. Alabama’s frontcourt receives a boost

Kentucky wasn’t the only SEC team with positive roster news on Wednesday.

Alabama’s got a loaded backcourt entering next season. Mark Sears, Jahvon Quinerly, Aaron Estrada and Latrell Wrightsell ensure Nate Oats’ aggressive, perimeter-oriented offense can continue to hoist 3s and pressure defenses thanks to their spurtability.

But with a thin frontcourt — Nick Pringle (3.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg), inexperienced freshman Sam Walters and North Dakota State transfer Grant Nelson — they needed more in the middle. Someone who cleans up if a guard misses an assignment or holds his own on switches.

Check.

Stevenson is an athletic, rim-running and shot-blocking big who’s rated as a 5-star prospect in the class of 2024. He’ll likely fall to a 4-star upon reclassification, but Alabama is just glad to have him, no matter what the recruiting services rate him. Long considered a North Carolina lean — Stevenson grew up in Pittsboro, a stone’s throw from Chapel Hill, and his mom played at UNC — Nate Oats did excellent work courting him away from the Tar Heels.

The 6-10 power forward will benefit Alabama in several ways. One is easing the burden on Nelson, whose versatile skillset creates good floor spacing. Provided Stevenson can handle the rigors of SEC bigs, he can grow into a solid interior defender.

Is it realistic to expect Stevenson to start from day one? Probably not, given Pringle’s experience and his need for physical development. Eventually, Stevenson could take the role, but Pringle isn’t a slouch, and the two will need to provide defensive stability. The Tide’s journey to success comes down to how the new pieces mesh.

3. Penny Hardaway suspended three games

Penny Hardaway avoided any sanctions when the IARP ruled on Memphis’ involvement with James Wiseman’s recruitment.

The Tigers’ coach didn’t escape another investigation.

Hardaway will miss the first three games of Memphis’ 2023-24 season for failing to promote an atmosphere of compliance, the NCAA announced Wednesday.

"The head coach's inattentiveness to compliance − particularly at a time when his program was under scrutiny related to a different infractions case − resulted in careless violations. Head coaches must remain diligent in monitoring their staff and promoting compliance at all times and cannot delegate those responsibilities to compliance staff members and administrators."

The school also will pay a $5,000 fine and serve a one-year probationary period that extends from its penalties with the Wiseman case.

The most recent penalty was discovered during the Wiseman probe and occurred during the 2021-22 season. The school met with the NCAA in December and agreed to the penalties.

"We supported Coach Hardaway's right to work directly with the NCAA on his portion of the case, and we strongly believe Coach Hardaway never intentionally committed a violation," read a Memphis statement. "The University of Memphis is committed to compliance. We will learn from this incident and be even more diligent in our education and monitoring. Now that the entirety of this case is finalized, we will move forward in support of Coach Hardaway and our men's basketball program, as we do all our programs."

Hardaway will miss games against Jackson State (Nov. 6), Missouri (Nov. 10) and Alabama A&M (Nov. 17).

Two good

Should Charlotte take Scoot Henderson at No. 2 overall? Or should they take Brandon Miller? It’s been an ongoing debate for the last few months, but we’ll finally learn the answer tonight. What does our panel think?

Links as you do your last-minute NBA Draft reading.

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