Kentucky basketball: 5 most underrated players in Kentucky Wildcats history

4. Randolph Morris, F, (2004-2007)

Another very underrated big man, Randolph Morris was quietly a solid player for the Kentucky Wildcats. A highly-touted recruit out of high school, Morris considered going one-and-done after his freshman year but was undrafted, resulting in a return to school.

The NCAA made Morris sit out the first half of his sophomore year in order to regain his eligibility. That made no difference to Morris, who increased his scoring average by nearly five points per game.

Morris really made a big leap as a junior, averaging 16.1 points per game and 7.8 rebounds a night. The Wildcats didn’t have much luck in the NCAA Tournament that year, falling to Kansas in the Round of 32.

The closest Kentucky got to the Final Four in Morris’ tenure was during his freshman year when they lost in the Elite Eight to Michigan State. The mid-2000s was not the finest hour for Kentucky basketball so it makes sense that players like Morris tend to slip through the cracks of history.

After his time at Kentucky Morris spent four years in the NBA and another nine overseas. Morris did make basketball history as the first player to ever go from the NCAA to the NBA in the same week since his undrafted status in 2005 made him a free agent and he signed with the New York Knicks five days after Kentucky was eliminated from the 2007 NCAA Tournament.