Connect with us

Wenyen Gabriel has opened a lot of eyes

Wenyen Gabriel produced a solid stat line in Kentucky’s first exhibition: 9 points on 3-of-3 shooting, 2 rebounds, a block and an assist in 17 minutes.
Wenyen Gabriel - photo by Walter Cornett

Wenyen Gabriel – photo by Walter Cornett

Ask most Kentucky fans to name five Wildcats on the 2016-17 basketball team and they might not get to Wenyen Gabriel. That’s not because the 6-9, 213-pound freshman forward isn’t talented. He’s just on a loaded team.

Fellow freshmen De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk and Bam Adebayo are all projected first-round NBA draft picks, with sophomore Isaiah Briscoe, the team’s leader, not far behind. Senior Derek Willis is Kentucky’s best 3-point shooter.

But ask Clarion coach Marcess Williams who jumps out on a team that throttled his by 57 points in Sunday night’s exhibition game at Rupp Arena and Gabriel gets plenty of love.

“My favorite,” Williams said. “I love that kid. That kid, he might be the best one of them all.”

Read full article here.

Related Topics

Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter’s Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.

On This Day in UK Basketball History

On March 1, 1912, Kentucky defeats Georgetown College, 19-18, to complete the season with a perfect 9-0 record and earn its first title as Southern Champions.

 

On March 1, 1921, Kentucky upsets Tulane, Mercer, Mississippi A&M and Georgia to win the first Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association basketball championship. Bill King's free throw with no time left on the clock lifted the Wildcats to the SIAA Championship over Georgia.  Hundreds of Wildcats fans await “play-by-play” via telegraph, and greet the team’s train with a celebration and parade in downtown Lexington. It is believed to be the first college basketball tournament ever played.

 

On March 1, 1952, Cliff Hagan scored 42 points against Tennessee.

 

On March 1, 1969, Dan Issel scored 31 points at Vanderbilt.

 

On March 1, 1969, Mike Casey joined the 1,000-point club.  He did it in 51 games.

 

On March 1, 1979, the 1979 SEC Tournament quarterfinals featured Kentucky and Alabama.  In a scintillating display of fast-paced basketball, Kentucky hit 68.3 percent of its shots (43-of-63) and outlasted Coach C.M. Newton’s Crimson Tide and star Reggie King (38 points) behind stellar guard play from Truman Claytor (25 points, 11-of-14 field goals), Kyle Macy (22, 9-of-16) and Dwight Anderson (19, 7-of-11) before 16,300 in the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center.

 

On March 1, 1981, on Senior Day, No. 9 Kentucky defeated No. 2 LSU 73-71.  Kentucky denied LSU’s bid for an unbeaten SEC season when Sam Bowie blocked Howard Carter’s potential game-tying jumper just ahead of the final buzzer before 24,011 in Rupp Arena.

 

On March 1, 1987, Richard Madison's basket with eight seconds left enabled the Wildcats to upset the No. 12 Sooners.

 

Wildcats Born on This Date

More in Kentucky Basketball