Kerry Blackshear picks Florida

Virginia Tech Hokies graduate transfer and Kentucky target Kerry Blackshear Jr. has picked the Florida Gators, according to Rivals.com.

After pulling his name out of the 2019 NBA Draft, the Blackshear sweepstakes heated up quickly. With former Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams (2014-2019) accepting the lead role at Texas A&M, that made it easy for Blackshear to decide it was in his best interest to find a new team, one that could not only improve his NBA stock but also give him a chance to compete for a title.

While Kentucky wanted Blackshear, Florida certainly makes the most sense, especially considering the departure of senior big man Kevarrius Hayes. Blackshear should step in to an immediate number-one role at Florida and shine in a SEC conference that is improving more each year. He’d also be playing for a talented Gators team that’s already a preseason top 25 team and now becomes a legitimate Final Four contender.

Then you’ve got the fact that Blackshear is originally from Orlando, so he now gets a chance to play close to him.

Blackshear averaged 14.9 points and 7.5 rebounds last season while shooting better than 50% from the floor. He’s also steadily improved his three-point shooting over each of the last three seasons, which is just icing on the cake for the Gators, who already shot a high volume of shots from deep.

With Blackshear set to suit up in Gator blue this season, though, what does this mean for the Kentucky Wildcats?

With graduate transfer Nate Sestina on board for the 2019-2020 season and both of EJ Montgomery as well as Nick Richards returning for another year of school, it isn’t exactly the end of the world.

However, Kentucky could have certainly used a fourth “big man” on their roster and is of course always open to adding talent.