Ugonna Onyenso says he wants to 'get buckets' on offense

Kentucky returned just two players to its roster this year who received regular minutes last season — Adou Thiero and Ugonna Onyenso. Both enter their sophomore seasons expected to take on larger roles than they did previously — and it seems they’re both ready for the challenge.

After finishing his true freshman season averaging 2.5 points, 2.6 rebounds and a block per outing while participating in just 16 of Kentucky’s 34 games last season. Onyenso wants that to change in 2023.

“I’m trying to get buckets,” Onyenso said. “I’m trying to be like the other guys, I’m trying to get buckets. When I get someone smaller than me in the paint, what do I do when I’m up top? It [comes down to] decision-making. Those are the things that I’m looking forward to working on. When you get the ball up top, what are you doing with the ball? … Those are the things that I’m really working on.”

Onyenso said what Big Blue Nation sees next week in Toronto, Ontario, Canada during the 2023 GLOBL JAM will be a mere glimpse of what fans should expect out of this group during the 2023-24 college basketball season. After all, they’ve only been together for a handful of practices to this point.

Seeing how the chemistry flows through the team in its early stages and afterward being able to dissect the live game tape over the rest of the offseason to work out the kinks will be invaluable for this young Wildcats squad.

Regardless of his role last season, Onyenso is one of the few experienced Wildcats on this roster. That means that multiple five-star recruits — Justin Edwards, Aaron Bradshaw and DJ Wagner Jr. — and four-stars Robert Dillingham and Reed Sheppard will all be looking at him and Thiero for guidance throughout the season.

The class landed Kentucky head coach John Calipari another No. 1 overall recruiting class, per the On3 team rankings. Once the roster filled itself out, which didn’t happen overnight, fans are excited to see how this Wildcats team will perform together. After all, Big Blue Nation is pleading for a national title after an 11-year drought.

With Onyenso leading the charge, Kentucky is guaranteed at least three games representing Team USA in the event. They tip off action on Wednesday, July 12 against Team Germany at 1:30 p.m. ET. After that, they’ll play Canada the following day and Team Africa on July 15. The championship game will be held on July 16 at 8 p.m. ET, but the matchup is to be determined depending on how well the Wildcats do in the tournament.