Kentucky has some of the Best Glue Guys in College Basketball

There are different names in different sports for a team’s unsung heroes. In basketball, it’s the Glue Guy who makes a team’s motor run well, without always stuffing the stat sheet.

That’s what makes defining a Glue Guy difficult. You know it when you see it, but it’s hard to quantify. Fortunately, there are plenty of analytical nerds in college basketball who can find creative ways to illustrate this kind of player’s impact.

Evan Miyakawa uses BPR to measure a player’s effectiveness. He’s using this number, and limiting the scope of how much a player scores per game to just ten points, to define what a Glue Guy is.

Miyakawa ranked the Top 25 Glue Guys in college basketball and a pair of Wildcats made the cut. Kentucky C Malachi Moreno ranks No. 7 and Kam Williams comes in at No. 17.

Here are the top "glue guys" in the country, according to ratings at EvanMiya.

These are players who have a much bigger impact on their team's performance than their individual stats would indicate. Sam Hoiberg and two Zags lead the group 👇 pic.twitter.com/92rHfkMpqL

— Evan Miyakawa (@EvanMiya) February 20, 2026

I think every Kentucky basketball fan could feel Williams filling that role as he began to turn a corner in SEC play. Unfortunately, a foot injury changed those plans. Mark Pope is optimistic that Williams is able to return late in the season, but it still feels like a long shot.

As for Moreno, he delivered arguably the most memorable moment of the 2026 Kentucky basketball season when he caught Collin Chandler‘s fullcourt pass and delivered an improbable game-winner as time expired at LSU.

Most did not expect the freshman from Georgetown to emerge as a starter, but he’s been in the first five for 20 of the 26 games this season. The 7-footer has the third-most blocks in the SEC with 44 and he’s grabbing 6.5 rebounds per game. There are times when the SEC physicality affects his play, but what Mark Pope is most excited about is how he facilitates the offense, and there is still plenty of room to grow.

“Malachi is going to continue to grow in terms of his IQ with the game. I think inherently, he’s a really, really smart player,” Pope said earlier this week. “As he learns more, that’s going to be really focused, where he’s going to bring that to his team and be able to communicate guys into the right spots, right places, right reads. I think that’ll be a part of his growth as a leader.”

As injuries piled up, Kentucky has asked more from its stars. They can’t do it alone. When Moreno is at his best, this team becomes significantly harder to beat. They need more of that from the freshman with the postseason looming.