Kyle Wiltjer to Transfer; Not Really a Surprise

After rumors early in the off-season about Kyle Wiltjer transferring,  yesterday news broke about his departure and I gotta say, I'm disappointed to see him go. Kyle was the type of player most teams would love to have had he just hit the gym, work on his body and speed two things that he had not improved upon during his time in Lexington. Kyle always struggled with his defense and rebounding to the point where if he wasn't hitting his outside shot he became somewhat of a liability.

However, Kyle had the potential to have a Darius Miller type of year being one of the most experienced players on this years team something that could prove very important with this incoming freshman class. Kyle had abilities that someone 6'10 usually doesn't have and the most prominent was his ability to shoot the ball from long range. It was a well known fact by opposing teams, if you leave Kyle open he would make you pay, but it was also known that if you go at him when he's on defense, you had more than a advantage.

There was several things that led to Kyle's decision to transfer, but the main thing was the fact that he was simply recruited over with this incoming class and rightfully so. Calipari gave Kyle his opportunity last season to prove himself when Nerlens Noel went down with an injury and I can only think of one game where Wiltjer took advantage of that chance, all the others where less than impressive. So, Calipari decided that he wasn't going to get caught depending on someone who wasn't ready to be "the man" hence the massive recruiting class this year. Now, that's not to say that Calipari forced Wiltjer out, as a matter of fact Cal and his staff tried everything they could to get Kyle to stay, but in the end Kyle decided that a transfer was in his best interest.

Once you really look at the situation, it's no surprise that Kyle decided a transfer was his best option. So on that note, I wish Kyle nothing but the best wherever he goes (no school has been selected as of this post) and I firmly believe with a little work in the gym, Kyle can be one of the best players on whatever team he decides to join.