Sunday Headlines: Ansley Almonor ready to silence the doubters

Won’t be long before we see the stretch forward take the court.

Good morning, BBN!

It is finally time for Kentucky Wildcats men’s basketball to take the floor at Rupp Arena as Big Blue Madness tips off the season on Friday night. With a whole new roster, the Cats will be introducing themselves to the fanbase on Friday night, including transfer forward Ansley Almonor.

Almonor, a Fairleigh Dickinson transfer, came to the program as one of the few guys with NCAA Tournament experience. But with the major step up in the competition of play, Almonor is facing plenty of doubters heading into the season.

In a video introducing Almonor to the BBN, the sharpshooting forward had this to say;

“I always felt like I had that sort of talent and that drive when I was in high school and stuff like that,” Almonor said. “But me not being really heavily recruited, that definitely hurt my confidence a little bit. But I always felt like I was going to be able to play at that next level, and my work ethic has always been to the point where I feel like people didn’t really work as hard as me. Nobody really saw that until I got older.”

He continued:

“I still got stuff to prove, you know? People don’t think I can be here, people don’t think I’ll be able to succeed here, so I gotta go out there and prove them wrong. That’s been me my whole life: proving everybody wrong.”

Get to know @ansleyalmonor pic.twitter.com/ezPvJ3lNqW

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) October 4, 2024

After shooting close to 40% from three this past season, Almonor should play an important role on the UK team, especially in the unique offense that Mark Pope and his staff run.

Going to be fun to watch how he fits in.