The Kentucky Wildcats have a long and storied college basketball history. They’ve never had a debut quite like that of Alex Wilkins on Tuesday.
What Wilkins achieved in the season-opening win over Manhattan may take a long time to potentially ever be replicated.
Any time Manhattan brought the ball near Wilkins, he took it, at a rate even better than the great Rajon Rondo once did in his Kentucky debut.
Alex Wilkins Makes History
Wilkins notched seven steals in his debut for Kentucky, which is just as big a number as it sounds.
It’s the most a player has ever had in their UK debut.
Rondo held the previous mark with five.
Alex Wilkins with 7 steals breaks the record for most steals by a UK player in his debut. Previous record was Rajon Rondo with 5 vs. Coppin State.
https://t.co/hzF4uyqmE2
This is one less than the all-time steals record of 8 (tied by W. Turner, Rondo, A. Hagans & Cason Wallace)
— bigbluehistory (@bigbluehistory) November 4, 2026
RECORD: In his Kentucky debut, Alex Wilkins set the record for most steals in a debut with seven.
Wilkins’ seven steals also ties him for second all-time in program history for a single game.
#BBN, what do you think of his debut? https://t.co/NxcQx63C9K
— KY Insider (@KyInsider) November 4, 2026
Wilkins also had 11 points and five assists in an absolutely stellar debut.
Alex Wilkins was a +27 in the first half. Subbed in with 12:24 left (and Kentucky down 3) and never left the floor again.
Wilkins with 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 4 steals, with some big energy-generating plays there.
— Ben Roberts (@InsideKentucky) November 4, 2026
Alex Wilkins is an extremely disruptive defender. Five steals already tonight.
Milan Momcilovic is an extremely smart defender.
A couple of the “weak links” defensively are actually pretty darn good (so far).
— Brandon Ramsey (@BRamseyKSR) November 4, 2026
Where Did Alex Wilkins Come From?
Wilkins isn’t new to college basketball. This is his second season at the NCAA level.
He played for mid-major powerhouse Furman last year. He averaged 17.8 points and 4.7 assists per game for Furman.
Standing 6-foot-6, Wilkins is a lanky guard from the Boston area who should make a difference for Kentucky not just defensively but also as a scorer and a playmaker.
He was the Most Outstanding Player at the SoCon Tournament after winning the conference tourney last year to get Furman to the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 21.7 points per game in that conference tournament.
That’s all the kind of stuff Kentucky watched and knew they could benefit from. That’s why Wilkins is in Lexington now. And it’s clear, at least against overmatched foes, that Wilkins can be a problem.
Kentucky’s Alex Wilkins Breaks Rajon Rondo Record in Historic Debut