The University of Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball team will have an entirely new roster from just a season ago.

One player who seems to be sliding under the radar this offseason is Fairleigh Dickinson transfer Ansley Almonor.

The 6-foot-7 forward from Spring Valley (NY) will bring a tremendous amount of experience and versatility to Mark Pope’s squad.

But will he be able to carve out a significant role in what will be his final season of college basketball?

Ansley Almonor

• Height: 6-foot-7
• Weight: 244 Pounds
• Class: Senior
• Hometown: Spring Valley, NY
• Position: Forward
• Recruiting Ranking: Almonor wasn’t a ranked prospect out of high school but was graded as a 3-star transfer by 247 Sports.

Background

Almonor began his college career as an unranked class of 2021 recruit out of Our Saviour Lutheran School in New York. He played sparingly as a true freshman, appearing in 24 games while averaging 3.5 points and 1.7 rebounds.

Over the next two seasons, Almonor became one of the best shooters and overall players in the Northeast Conference. In the 2022-23 season, he averaged 13.6 points on 43.4% field-goal shooting (38.1% on 3s), 4.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game.

The Knights made it to the NCAA Tournament as a 16-seed, beat Texas Southern in the play-in game, then took down 1-seeded Purdue in the Round of 64, becoming just the second 16-seed all-time to take down a 1-seed before falling to Florida Atlantic in the Round of 32.

In the win over Texas Southern, Almonor recorded 23 points on 5/11 shooting (5/8 on 3s) and eight rebounds. But in the games vs. Purdue and FAU, he was held to eight points on 2/12 shooting (2/8 from deep), with 10 boards, one assist, one block, two steals, and four turnovers.

Last season, Almonor scored 16.4 points on 43.6% field-goal shooting (39.4% on 3-balls), 5.1 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game. He was named First-Team All-NEC.

Here’s what Coach Pope had to say about adding Almonor to his roster back in May.

“Ansley is one of the best shooting mid-major bigs out there and he is a tremendous mover without the basketball. He’s a fearless competitor with great leadership qualities. Ansley is a finance major who comes from an unbelievable family from Haiti. He’s a great addition to this roster as a veteran presence with a lot of college basketball under his belt.” Pope said.

Now, you may want to buckle up for this one — Almonor drained 93 3-pointers last season, tying the FDU all-time record.

Almonor would score in double-figures in all but three games last year and tallied 20 points or more in seven of those games.

His best performance came during an early season match-up with the Le Moyne Dolphins when he dropped 30 points as a result of going 6/8 from behind the arc.

Another notable performance saw Almonor go for 20 points on 7/16 shooting (4/9 from deep) and three rebounds in a road defeat to an Illinois team that made it to the Elite Eight.

Projected Role

With so many new faces, it remains unclear just how Almonor will fit in on this 2024-25 Kentucky basketball roster, though his veteran presence will be a welcome addition, regardless of how much he plays.

At 6-foot-7 and a beastly 244 pounds, he should be able to add size and physicality at the 3 positions while also being able to hold down the 4 spot when the Cats are playing small ball.

We all know that Mark Pope wants to play fast and shoot a bunch of 3s. When you look at a player like Almonor, you can instantly see why he chose Kentucky. His skill set should fit Pope’s strategy very well.

We often talk about an “x-factor” in basketball, calling mention to a player who could put a team over the top or give them a somewhat unexpected advantage.

I believe that Almonor could fit that mold and ideally give the Cats an extra jolt of various contributions from game to game.

For what it’s worth, Almonor had a good showing in UK’s exhibition games. Against Kentucky Wesleyan, he went for 15 points on 5/7 shooting (all from deep), for rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block. Against Minnesota State, he recorded seven points on 3/6 shooting (0/3 from deep) and five rebounds.

For now, look for Almonor to get about 7-10 minutes per game as the 8th/9th man while trying to hold off guys like Collin Chandler, Trent Noah, and Travis Perry for playing time throughout the season.

Like most of you, I’m anxious to get the season underway so we can see exactly how Almonor and others fit into Mark Pope’s system.

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