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#1 Skal Labissiere
Height: 6'11
Weight: 225
Position: F/C
Year: Freshman
High School: Lausanne Collegiate School
Hometown: Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Recruit rankings: # 3 overall by Scouts.com, #4 overall by rivals, #7 overall by 24/7sports, and #11 overall by ESPN.
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Skal Labissiere committed to the Cats last year on the 13th of November, the same day as fellow Kentucky freshman Isiah Briscoe. Ironically, UK's regular-season opener comes a year to the day of their announcement. Skal moved to the USA after surviving the devastating earthquake to his home country, Haiti. If you haven't heard that story I strongly suggest reading it.
Skal was seen by many fans for the first time at the Nike Hoop Summit where he would stand out with 21 points and six rebounds. Since that time Kentucky fans have been very excited to get the big man on campus, even worrying over his eligibility. As expected, Skal is fully eligible. In Kentucky's two exhibition games, Skal is averaging 20 points, seven rebounds, an assist, a steal, and 1.5 blocks per game in 19.5 minutes.
2015/2016 Outlook: To say that Skal is going to make a big impact this season is an understatement. On the offensive end of the floor, he is going to provide UK's guards an athletic big to throw lobs to and he is a very good mid-range shooter as well. He is very comfortable facing up to his defender and shooting over them and also has soft touch with his right hand ten feet and in. He shot 75% from the floor in the two exhibition games and 80% from the free throw line.
On the defensive end of the floor, Skal will help to protect the rim. While his wingspan isn't as long as guys that we've had in the past, he is athletic enough to make up for that. On screens, he is capable of switching and guarding any position on the floor because he is so fluid in his movement, especially for a big man.
The biggest negative about Skal is the same one that people had for Anthony Davis while he was at Kentucky and that's strength. He has put on some weight in his short time at Kentucky and will need to continue to bulk up as the season progresses. Look for a big year from #1 in blue.
Go Big Blue.