Braydon Hawthorne knows this UK team is talented

Freshman wing Braydon Hawthorne has been compared to former UK All-American Tayshaun Prince not only by UK coach Mark Pope but also by his former high school coach.

Hawthorne has downplayed those comparisons but won’t shy away from how talented his teammates are.

“Jasper (Johnson) has really — he’s just so shifty and he can shoot the ball so well,” Hawthorne said. “Otega (Oweh) is very impressive using his body, get’s to his mid-range. That’s very impressive.”

He said he could “go on and on” about Alabama transfer Mo Dioubate because of what he can do on both offense and defense.

“Trent (Noah), he doesn’t miss. Kam (Williams) doesn’t miss. Jaland Lowe’s real crafty with the ball,” Hawthorne said. “Collin Chandler, he can shoot. Reece (Potter) rebounds and shoots. Malachi (Moreno) blocks shots, rebounds, dunks. He does everything. Denzel Aberdeen, he shoots, plays defense, scrappy. He does everything.”

Hawthorne likes the way all his teammates have tried to help him and each other during summer practices and workouts.

“We all encourage each other every day even when we make mistakes. We lift each other’s heads up. It’s been fun,” the freshman said.