Mo Williams is sold on Kentucky’s new backcourt: 'You can’t find a better fit'

Mo Williams played point guard at the highest level of basketball, spending 14 years in the NBA, a run that included All-Star honors in 2009 and a championship with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. Now the newest assistant coach on Mark Pope’s staff at Kentucky, Williams played a key role in recruiting Zoom Diallo and Alex Wilkins, the Cats’ starting backcourt next season. He is confident they have what it takes to succeed at Kentucky and in the SEC and will create headaches for their opponents next season.

Diallo was Kentucky’s first offseason addition, announcing his commitment to Kentucky on April 15. He played two seasons at Washington, averaging 15.7 points and 4.5 assists as a sophomore. Williams raved about Diallo, whom he predicts will win all-conference honors as a Wildcat.

“Veteran kid, obviously been on this level, played on this level, ready for this moment. He was very excited, and it says a lot when someone wants to come. So, I’m excited about him. I expect him to be really, really good for us. I expect him to be in a position where they’re talking about him at the end of the season on one of these three All-SEC teams. So I expect huge, huge dividends from Zoom. I think he’s going to be terrific for us.”

Willkins committed to Kentucky just three days later. Williams reportedly played closer on that recruitment, flying to South Carolina to seal the deal with the 6’5″ 175 lbs. freshman, who averaged 17.8 points and 4.7 assists per game for Furman. Wilkins turned heads in the NCAA Tournament when he scored 21 points in the Paladins’ first-round loss to UConn, giving the eventual national runners-up fits. Although Wilkins was the primary ball handler for Furman, Williams thinks he’ll fit in seamlessly alongside Diallo in Kentucky’s backcourt, which will only benefit from their different styles.

“I think they mirror each other. I mean, you can’t find a better fit. Two different guys. Zoom is more what we call bully ball. Like, he’ll put that shoulder into you. He’ll get downhill. Alex is more shifty. He’s more shifty, more length.

“But both of those guys are really, really terrific. We’re going to ask those guys to do a lot for us this year, so we’re excited about our vision for how they can play together. Both of them can do a lot of things with the ball, without the ball. It’ll be tough on opposing teams, how they’re going to, you know, obviously game plan to guard those two.”

For the past two seasons, injuries have plagued Kentucky’s backcourt. For most of last season, the Cats were without a true point guard, as Jaland Lowe battled a shoulder injury. Last week, Mark Pope said that building a strong backcourt was at the top of his offseason to-do list, praising Diallo and Wilkins’ assist rate, which is the number of assists a player averages over the course of 100 possessions. Per KenPom, Diallo finished last season with an assist rate of 30.3 percent. Wilkins was even higher at 34.7 percent. For comparison, Denzel Aberdeen’s assist rate last season finished at 20.3 percent

“One of the top priorities for us going into the portal was finding creators, and these are two of the elite creators in all of college basketball,” Pope said in his Q&A video from Wednesday. “(Diallo and Wilkins) are going to form a dynamic duo for Kentucky basketball. They are both over 30 percent assist rate. There is only currently one other roster in the entire country with two players over a 30 percent assist rate. This is going to be awesome.”

Williams thinks so, too. More than once in his pro career, he played alongside other primary ball-handlers, most notably Matthew Dellavedova in the Cavaliers’ championship season. He thinks that could be the recipe for success with Kentucky this season.

“I think I’ve been at my best in my career when I play with another guard, and I’ve had a lot of success in those environments, so this is kind of normal to me. I think this is the way to go. It’s a successful way to play. As long as you can play fast, and that’s our plan, is to play fast enough where we have the advantage.”

Mo Williams gives us an inside look on what he thinks this backcourt can be like for Kentucky this year!@MichelleKnezov sat down with new @KentuckyMBB Assistant @mowilliams to talk about joining the staff, his playing career, and what it's been like settling into Lexington.… pic.twitter.com/l3oXNgQ5kd

— UK Sports Network (@UKSportsNetwork) May 8, 2026