Since the turn of the century, a whopping 56 Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball players have been chosen in the NBA draft. In all of UK’s storied hoops history, there has never been a higher level of talent than there has been in the first quarter of the 21st century.
Given that reality, only a nincompoop would try to select an All-Quarter Century Team (2000 through 2025) for UK men’s hoops.
Well, you’ve got one reporting for duty.
Below you will see my opinion on the players who have had the biggest impact on Kentucky men’s basketball during the first quarter of the current century.
The criteria I used in evaluating players are as follows:
1.) How great was a player’s influence on the UK program, a formulation that admittedly favors multi-year players over Kentucky’s multitude of 21st century one-and-dones;2.) How much UK team success did players contribute to?
3.) While at Kentucky, did players achieve things that were unique and/or special?
If I had been purely selecting the most talented players to play for UK in the 2000s to date or the players who played at Kentucky who went on to have the greatest NBA success, my list would have looked very different.
My All-Quarter Century Team for Kentucky basketball’s opening quarter of the 2000s consists of a first and second team, chosen with positional integrity, and also includes sixth men selected from among players who played an off-the-bench role while at UK.
First Team
Small forward: Tayshaun Prince (1998-2002) — The willowy 6-foot-9, 213-pound product of Compton, California, scored the second most career points (1,775) of any UK player in the 21st century, which is good for eighth all-time in Kentucky basketball history.
The 2001 SEC Player of the Year (both coaches and AP), Prince was an AP Second Team All-American in 2000-01 and a Third Team AP All-American in 2001-02.
Power forward: Oscar Tshiebwe (2021-2023) — In his first season of eligibility after transferring from West Virginia, the 6-9, 260-pound Tshiebwe became the first UK player ever chosen as the consensus national player of the year. In spite of only playing two seasons for UK, Tshiebwe has the most career rebounds (952) of any player to play at Kentucky in the 21st century.
Tshiebwe was a consensus First Team All-American in 2021-22 and a unanimous Second Team All-American in 2022-23.
Center: Anthony Davis (2011-12) — The 6-10, 220-pound Davis packed the accomplishments of four years into his single season at Kentucky. Six different organizations, including the AP, chose Davis as national player of the year. He was named national defensive player of the year by the NABC and national freshman of the year by the USBWA.While leading UK to its eighth NCAA title, Davis was named Final Four Most Outstanding Player. With 186 blocked shots in his one Kentucky season, Davis set a UK single-season record that may never be broken.
Shooting guard: Keith Bogans (1999-2003) — Underappreciated in UK lore, Bogans is the leading career scorer (1,923 points) among 21st century Wildcats and stands seventh in rebounds (552), fifth in assists (314) and fourth in steals (155).
A 6-5, 213-pound wing, Bogans was the best player on Kentucky’s 2002-03 team, which won 26 games in a row, finished 32-4 and reached the NCAA Tournament round of eight.
Point guard: John Wall (2009-10) — What Jamal Mashburn was to Kentucky basketball in the 1990s, Wall was to UK in the 21st century — the star player whose choice of Kentucky reinvigorated a brand that had gone stale. At UK, Wall was a consensus First Team All-American, was named SEC Player of the Year, SEC Freshman of the Year and SEC Tournament MVP.
He also launched a dance craze.
A 6-4, 195-pound dynamo, Wall was the best player on Kentucky’s 2009-10 team, which won 19 games in a row, finished 35-3 and reached the NCAA Tournament round of eight.
Sixth man: Darius Miller (2008-2012) — After starting his previous two seasons, the former Mason County star came off the bench as a senior in 2011-12 and supplied clutch shooting to what remains Kentucky’s most recent NCAA title run.
Among 21st century UK players, the 6-7, 235-pound Miller ranks seventh in career points (1,248), ninth in assists (278), ninth in steals (214) and is tied for 13th in blocks (99).
In six games in the 2012 NCAA Tournament, Darius Miller averaged 11.7 points a game off the bench for Kentucky to help the Wildcats claim their eighth men’s basketball national championship.
Second Team
Small forward: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (2011-12) — With an engine that always ran wide open, the 6-7, 232-pound Kidd-Gilchrist was the heart and soul of Kentucky’s 2012 NCAA title team.
In his one season at UK, the product of Elizabeth, New Jersey, was a consensus Second Team All-American and was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2012 NCAA Tournament South Region.
In his one season at Kentucky in 2011-12, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (14) scored a career high 24 points twice, once against Louisville and once against Indiana.
In his one season at Kentucky in 2011-12, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (14) scored a career high 24 points twice, once against Louisville and once against Indiana. Charles Bertram Herald-Leader File Photo
Power forward: Chuck Hayes (2001-2005) — The value of the 6-6, 242-pound Hayes is best shown by this: In his final three seasons in a Kentucky uniform, the Wildcats went a combined 87-15; in the first two years after Hayes graduated, Kentucky slipped to 44-25.
Among 21st century Wildcats, Hayes stands second in career rebounds (910), second in career steals (170) and 10th in career blocks (128).
Kentucky went 87-15 combined in the final three seasons (2002-2005) that Chuck Hayes, right, was on the Wildcats roster.
Center: Willie Cauley-Stein (2012-15) — For Kentucky’s 2014-15 team that started its season 38-0, the 7-foot, 240-pound Cauley-Stein was a consensus First Team All-American, SEC Defensive Player of the Year and SEC Tournament MVP.
On the lists of 21st century Kentucky players, Cauley-Stein is the fourth-leading career rebounder (655), is second in blocked shots (233) and has the sixth highest field goal percentage (59.3).
Shooting guard: Jodie Meeks (2006-09) — No other Kentucky player this century has had an offensive season as explosive as the 6-4, 208-pound Meeks produced in 2008-09. While averaging 23.7 points a game, Meeks scored more than 30 points in a contest seven times, and went over 40 three times.
Most memorably, Meeks broke one of the most-revered records in Kentucky history on Jan. 13, 2009, when he dropped 54 points on Tennessee, shattering Dan Issel’s previous single-game UK scoring mark of 51.
Point guard: Tyler Ulis (2014-2016) — After serving as a valued, clutch-shooting reserve on Kentucky’s 38-1 team as a freshman, the 5-9, 160-pound Ulis put together one of the best individual seasons ever by a UK lead guard the following season.
As a sophomore, Ulis averaged 17.3 points a game, set a Kentucky single-season assists mark (246), was a consensus First Team All-American and was named SEC Player of the Year, SEC Defensive Player of the Year and SEC Tournament MVP.
In his sophomore season (2015-16) at Kentucky, point guard Tyler Ulis was named SEC Player of the Year and SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Jonathan Palmer
Sixth man: Reed Sheppard (2023-24) — While spending what turned out to be a one-and-done year at Kentucky mostly coming off the bench, the former North Laurel star produced one of the best all-around seasons of any 21st century UK player.
The 6-3, 187-pound Sheppard hit a robust 52.08 percent of his 3-point tries, the best mark by any Kentucky player this century. His 82 steals were the second most by a Wildcat ever (Rajon Rondo 87 in 2004-05). Sheppard’s 148 assists were a team high.
As a result, Sheppard was named national freshman of the year by both the USBWA and the NABC.
In spite of mostly coming off the bench, Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard was named national freshman of the year by both the USBWA and the NABC in 2023-24.
