The Kentucky basketball roster is taking shape. Kentucky has added three transfers this week and we’re going to look at all three of them to see how they fit. The first one up is Brandon Garrison. A former McDonald’s AA who is coming in from Oklahoma State. If you missed our other previews you can find them here:
Offensively
Garrison is an intriguing pick up because most of profile is kind of theoretical. Garrison was not asked to be much more than a rim-running big on the offensive and he showed real promise. He is a good finisher around the rim and drew a ton of fouls. He shot just 65% from the FT line but I’d expect that to tick up as he develops. Most of his points came as a roller where he consistently showed his mobility while also providing a big target for his guards. That is something Kentucky has struggled with in the past in regards to bigs. We’ve grown accustumed to bad screens, not being quick enough on the roll, and then struggling to catch the ball when they do everything else. Won’t be a problem with Garrison.
The most exciting thing in Garrison’s game the moments he flashed some real passing chops at the top of the key in dribble hand-offs. Pope loves to have passing bigs and Garrison has shown some of that in limited minutes at Oklahoma State. His AST% stands at 13% which is pretty high for a big. I’d expect that aspect of his game to really develop under Mark Pope.
Defensively
The mobility that Garrison flashes on offense stands out on the defensive end. Brandon has good defensive instincts and is able to protect the rim (he’s blocked shots with both hands which is rare for young bigs). At 6’11” 245 lbs. there are few bigs who can push him around in the paint which has been another problem with Kentucky’s bigs in the past.
Garrison also improved over the season in his positioning when placed in ball-screens. He still has work to do but the footwork and mobility is good enough that there is no reason to believe he can’t be an elite defensive big. The rebounding numbers also show promise. A DRB% of 20.5 shows he can finish off possessions.
2024 Outlook
It’s hard to figure out how he fits with Carr and Williams already in the fold but having depth is never a bad thing. I would expect that Garrison shares the 5-spot with Williams with very little drop-off. If it’s not a 50/50 split, it’ll be something close. Having that position on lock allows for a lot of flexibility on spots 1-4 and I’m excited to see what Pope designs around them.
