Roundtable: Will Olivier Sarr be the best transfer of the Calipari era?

The prospect of Olivier Sarr being deemed eligible for the Kentucky Wildcats during the 2020-21 season is one reason fans will be excited about the upcoming college basketball season.

Today's roundtable puts the focus on the Wake Forest transfer.

Will Sarr be the best UK transfer of the John Calipari era?

Jeff Drummond: It's hard to argue with that, based on Sarr's production at Wake Forest last season. Some may say, "Well, Reid Travis was Pac-12 Player of the Year, and it didn't totally translate to the same kind of productivity at UK," but I think this situation is different because Sarr is a true 7-footer whereas Travis was always trying to compensate for a lack of true big man height and length.

David Sisk: Let's look at the stat lines of the three transfers who have come to Kentucky in the John Calipari era. Julius Mays averaged 9.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.9 assists as a senior in 2013. He also shot 37.1% from deep. Reid Travis came aboard in 2019 with 11.2 points and 7.2 rebounds. He shot 57.1% from inside the arc on a stacked starting lineup. This past season, Nate Sestina averaged 5.8 points and 3.8 boards. His strength was the three-point shot where he made 40.7% of his attempts.

Taking those numbers into account, I have no doubt that Olivier Sarr can put together the best numbers of the group. He went for 13.7 points and 9.0 rebounds last season at Wake Forest. He may not get the touches he did in the ACC, but he definitely should be more efficient. With this talented roster, there will be no more double teams. He will also get more point blank looks at the rim due to creation from these dynamic perimeter players. The thing I really love about Sarr is the fact that he would fill a need. Kentucky has plenty of help at the power forward spot, but there are no true centers. He would give the Cats a much needed five. Also the way John Calipari wants his big to play on the offensive end fits right into Sarr's wheelhouse. He likes his back to the bucket, and he is at his best in the screen and roll. If he is eligible, Kentucky goes into the preseason top five overnight.

Justin Rowland: I will say that Sarr will be about as impactful as Travis. I'm not quite ready to say he will be definitively better. Don't forget that Travis was essentially a 20/10 type guy at Stanford, statistically one of the best players in the country before he arrived at Kentucky. It was inevitable that his numbers would drop at UK because he didn't need to do as much on a much better team than he had known, but everyone saw how essential Travis was to the success of an Elite Eight team that was one overtime period away from the Final Four. He and PJ Washington were the strength of a front line that was one of the nation's best and the reason UK was as good as it was.

The fact that Sarr is a 7-footer and trending upward quickly -- as one of the sport's most improved players last year -- means that he probably won't run into matchups that are as difficult as some that Travis saw. But in terms of Travis' communication, being in the right place all the time, and the little things he did, I wouldn't sell him short.

The fact that I expect Sarr to be that good on a team with so many other parts is a compliment.

Travis Graf: As much as everyone loved Reid Travis, I’ll have to say that I expect Olivier Sarr to be better when everything is said and done. Sarr isn’t an elite shot blocker, but he’ll almost certainly alter more shots in the paint than Travis ever did, a key component to a John Calipari defensive system. Sarr averaged 20.6 points and 13.5 rebounds per 40 minutes in 2020 and had some of his best games against elite competition, despite playing in a horrific offensive system. These include 21 points and 13 rebounds vs Arizona, 25 points and 14 rebounds vs Duke and 16 points and 10 rebounds vs Louisville to name a few, on top of a 30 point, 17 rebound outing against Notre Dame. Sarr will be able to roam the paint and operate in space due to the talent surrounding him at Kentucky. He’ll be a guy that John Calipari looks to give a touch to consistently in key situations, just as he did with Nick Richards last season.