Jacob Toppin opens up on his role, eagerness to fight for minutes next season

Jacob Toppin is a rarity for John Calipari teams at Kentucky: a senior, and a third-year player with the Wildcats. After two years as a role player defending his tail off and stuffing the stat sheer in areas other than scoring, J-Topp is ready to expand his game a little bit. All while maintaining those hustle traits that earned him playing time in the first place.

At a summer press conference, Toppin revealed how he plans to keep his role from the past two seasons while trying to develop in the other areas as well.

“My role last season and the other season was mostly like…play defense, be a defensive disruption, make open shots from two, dribble pull-ups, get rebounds, be a hustle player. None of that went away. I’m still gonna be that person. But now I’m going to be able to be an offensive threat. Be able to space the floor at the four spot. So I’m just developing my game and elevating.”

Spacing the floor was one of the few issues for the Wildcats’ offense in 2022. Sure, most college teams aren’t capable of playing 4-5 shooters. There just isn’t that much shotmaking to go around at the collegiate ranks. That’s why an uptick in Toppin’s shooting prowess, particularly from deep, could unlock the next level of Kentucky’s offense.

Jacob Toppin isn’t getting ahead of himself, though. Despite playing major minutes the last two seasons, the senior understands that, at Kentucky, you have to earn your minutes all over again every single year.

“At the end of the day, we have a different group of guys who are all fighting for position. My position isn’t solidified. No one’s position is solidified. So I’m gonna continue to work on me. My teammates are going to continue to work on them. And we’re going to continue to work as a team. Whatever comes during the season will come.”

With the Wildcats returning four members of its 2021-22 front-court in Toppin, Daimion Collins, Lance Ware and, of course, National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe, Jacob knows the competition for playing time will be even more fierce. He’s ready to go to battle, though.