It’s talking season in the world of college basketball. The 2024-25 season is just under two months away, but we’re in desperate need of some more hoops conversations. Andy Katz is here to get us babbling.
Over at NCAA.com, Katz ranked his top 16 wing players going into the upcoming season. While he certainly has an interesting interpretation of what a “wing” player is, a current Kentucky Wildcat did crack the list. Katz tabbed graduate student Jaxson Robinson as the 10th-best wing in the country.
“Robinson is kicking off the 2024-25 season on his fourth team in five years,” the article says. “He started his collegiate career with Texas A&M, then Arkansas, before spending the last two seasons with BYU. The 6-foot-7 wing followed former Cougars head coach Mark Pope to Kentucky, looking to rebuild Big Blue Nation in the post-Calipari era.”
Robinson caught wind of the ranking, and must not agree with his spot. On his Instagram Story, he wrote “Yeah aight” with a laughing emoji over a picture of Katz’s rankings.
Expectations going into the season are relatively high for Robinson, who is the only piece on the roster to have played under Pope before. On a team with 12 brand-new players, his chemistry with Pope has been key in the offseason and will be even more important as the season rolls along. Robinson was the Big 12 Sixth Man of the Year in 2023-24 — he’s more than capable of being a go-to scorer for the Wildcats.
Former Kentucky player Bryce Hopkins, now at Providence, came in ranked No. 12.
It’s not a huge shock to see Robinson make Katz’s list. Robinson’s best stretch of play came last season as a senior at BYU when he averaged 14.2 points per game on shooting splits of 42.6/35.4/90.8. He’s played 66 total games under Pope and was considered Kentucky’s prize commitment in the transfer portal.
But what was a shock was who else made Katz’s list of the 16 best wings in the country. He had Duke freshman Cooper Flagg at No. 1, which is understandable, but then you see names such as Dawson Garcia (6-11, Minnesota) and Johnell Davis (6-4, Arkansas), players that most wouldn’t label as “wings”. Katz clarified in a post on social media that a wing is — in his eyes, at least — anyone who is not a point guard or a center (which still doesn’t fully match up with his choices).
But I digress. It’s not all that important in the grand scheme of things anyway. Katz’s thought process might actually favor Kentucky too — he believes that Robinson is the 10th-best non-point guard/center in the nation. That’s something to look forward to for the Big Blue Nation.
Andy Katz’s Top 16 wings (2024-25)
- Fr. Cooper Flagg (Duke)
- Alex Karaban (UConn)
- Ace Bailey (Rutgers)
- Dawson Garcia (Minnesota)
- Liam McNeeley (UConn)
- Tucker DeVries (West Virginia)
- Johnell Davis (Arkansas)
- Hunter Sallis (Wake Forest)
- AJ Storr (Kansas)
- Jaxson Robinson (Kentucky)
- Payton Sandfort (Iowa)
- Bryce Hopkins (Providence)
- Tyon Grant-Foster (Grand Canyon)
- Tyson Degenhart (Boise State)
- Rylan Griffen (Kansas)
- Tramon Mark (Texas)
