“I see myself fitting in perfectly, especially after the way the coaching staff spoke to me. But even more important than how they see me fitting in is how I see myself,” Almonor said. “I feel a perfect big, I will be able to come in and contribute big minutes and to winning.”
He averaged 16.4 points per game last season and shot almost 40 percent from 3-point range to give Pope a 6-7 wing who can stretch the floor.
Almonor is one of nine transfers on Pope’s first UK teams and he sees that as a plus, not a minus.
“That is what Coach wanted when he recruited this team. That is why I came here,” Almonor said. “Everybody will be fighting for minutes and to be better in practice. I love that kind of environment.
“That’s how you get the best out of your team and that’s how teams stay great when teammates go at each other. It makes for a great environment to have a great team.”
The Fairleigh Dickinson transfer also believes the experience UK has will pay off in close games.
“When it comes to closing out games in general, experience usually is a deciding factor,” Almonor said. “We have so much experience to help us. We do not have to worry about someone being in a position for the first time in a close game.
“Everybody here has played in big games. You do not have to worry about us having to learn how to close out a close game because we have already learned. We will go out there and execute to close out wins because of our experience.”
