SEC and ACC coaches talk about the impact of Olivier Sarr

As you know, Olivier Sarr has now officially been ruled eligible for the 2020 college basketball season turning the Kentucky Wildcats into a real Final Four contender.

But just how impactful can Sarr be for the Cats?

Jeff Borzello of ESPN released a story where he asked coaches from the ACC that has faced Sarr in his career, coaches in the SEC, and coaches from other parts of the country to see what the expectations are for Sarr this season.

Each coach was able to remain anonymous, but there was a mixture of negative and positive quotes.

Here is a quote from a fellow SEC coach that praised John Calipari for the job he does at Kentucky.

“I don’t think Cal gets the credit that he deserves as a coach,” an SEC coach said. “He makes it look effortless, he does it every year at Kentucky. It’s become normal. People don’t realize how good he has to be to do it every year. He has a unique ability, in a very, very short window, to get guys to come together as a unit, play for the greater cause and get them to play for one another.”

Another coach was also very positive on the impact Sarr can have on the Cats.

“The way Calipari utilizes their big guys, Sarr will be a lob threat, roll to the rim, get on the offensive glass. They run continuous pin-downs to have guards curl into the lane, so he can screen and release to the rim for a lob or a free run at the glass,” an opposing coach said. “He moves his feet, contests shots on the perimeter. Extend on the floor a little bit. He can give them a lot of what Nick Richards gave them last year.”

However, not everyone had positive things to say about the Cats’ newest addition.

Here is a quote from an ACC coach that seems to think Sarr won’t make much of a difference.

“All these transfers, particularly the immediately eligible ones, they’re not going to make that much improvement,” a third ACC coach said. “He was the centerpiece on a team that finished last in our league, so the numbers are always a little bit skewed. Somebody’s gotta score on the bad teams.”

Not only was Sarr ruled eligible, but so way Rhode Island transfer Jacob Toppin and he came up in some conversations as well.

You can check out the full story from Borzello with all of the quotes here.