Sitting between the 7th and 13th of the year with only four games confirmed on the calendar to close out the regular season, chances for Kentucky to turn things around are slim, to say the least. Even considering John Calipari’s drive to add “a couple of games” to the schedule during the last week of the regular season, we’re talking about six more games toward the SEC Tournament game, that is, the absolutely better the percentage of winners the UK can have is .500 to 13-13 overall.
Of course, the WildCats could end the regular season with a magical eight-game streak, make a career out of Nashville and claim the SEC title to win a bid in the NCAA tournament, creating a kind of restart of the season. Coach Cal and the players are definitely dreaming, taking every opportunity of the media to talk about how much they have left to play.
But what if the UK runs out of track and can’t win it all in Nashville, essentially ending the team’s chances of making the NCAA tournament? What if the storybooks Calipari is waiting for never end?
With this very possibility on the table, along with the endless obstacles COVID-19, inconsistent play, injuries, lack of fans and, to put it bluntly, an unobtrusive college experience this season, I would make a two-year plan the do fans feel better for the full product? Instead of considering it a horrible season, what if the UK avoided a mass exodus and returned most of its roster, creating a two-year project for Calipari and Kentucky’s coaching staff?
Think of the 2019-20 roster that saw Nick Richards (junior), Immanuel Quickley (sophomore) EJ Montgomery (sophomore) and Ashton Hagans (sophomore) all back from the previous year, with Nate Sestina transferring postgraduate) time. The team finished 25-6 the year, but won nine of its last ten games in the stretch, with the only loss in a game the Wildcats led with 17 points in the second half against Tennessee. We’ll never find out if that team was capable of winning a national championship, but they played as well as any other part of the stretch, and a big reason for that was the outstanding play of the team’s veteran leaders.
If we look back to the Calipari era in Lexington, that 2019-20 group was the most experienced in terms of piece returns and incoming graduate transfers since the 2016-17 roster returned five to Isaiah Briscoe, Dominique Hawkins, Isaac Humphries, Mychal Mulder and Derek Willis. The 2014-15 historic roster returned more during Calipari’s tenure, with the recovery of eight players awarded scholarships to Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Hawkins, Dakari Johnson, Marcus Lee, Alex Poythress and Willis.
Before I go any further, let me first state that it is obvious that it is impossible to make pencils for returnees well in advance, regardless of how the season goes or the performance of each player. In Kentucky, players who it should the return is not always what it does, being last year the first example. In an ideal world, Hagans, Montgomery and Kahlil Whitney (who left the program in January 2020) no enters the NBA draft – all three were left unwritten – and Johnny Juzang returns for another season instead of transferring from the show, giving Kentucky five pieces to return to work this year instead of just one to Keion Brooks Jr. , and the UK ran out of trouble to replace 94 per cent of their score, 98.6 per cent of their assists and 92.4 per cent of their minutes from the previous year.
In recent years, however, the team’s success has been at least there. They had the full Kentucky experience with fans, high-profile events and campus life, even if the 2019-20 group had their post-season dreams ripped apart due to COVID-19. This year, losses have piled up and individual performances on the track have been inconsistent and largely disappointing. As a result, stock drafts have fallen widely, with Isaiah Jackson the only exception.
Given the context of the current season, it is likely that the UK will be able to see up to eight players from the current roster (including West Virginia forward Oscar Tshiebwe).
We’ll start with possible outings to Brandon Boston Jr., Terrence Clarke and Jackson. Despite major shootouts for Boston to start the year, along with a season plagued by injuries to Clarke, both players participated in one year, no matter what plans, and that hasn’t changed. It would be a big shock to see either season return. And with Jackson flying like a safe first-round pick and approaching the consensus lottery line with his elite shot-and-rebound blocking skills, fans should also be prepared for his inevitable way out.
Almost chasing his career options last season, Olivier Sarr also came up with a one-year plan and it would be a surprise to see him return.
From here, however, everything is still on the table.
In terms of importance, Keion Brooks Jr. is the key piece to watch out for, as the second-year striker has shown significant growth from the first year to the second year, but is currently not listed in any of the major forums of 2021. Factor in calf injury that he keeping him out of the game until January, Brooks could consider this season a bridge year before taking off in 2021-22 as one of the best returns to college basketball.
The other big name to see? Davion Mintz, who has become one of Kentucky’s top scorers in times of crisis, has punched three 3-point attempts and two game wins in the SEC. Pursuing his master’s degree, both Mintz and his father have recognized it that the return for his second season in Kentucky and his sixth as a college basketball player is on the table. That would again give him two of his top five scorers in the UK, with Brooks and Mintz averaging a minimum of 10 points per game.
Completing the marginal players, Oscar Tshiebwe could technically enters the NBA draft and gives fans a scare similar to that of Hamidou Diallo, who tried the draft after joining in mid-year 2016-17. After leaving West Virginia halfway through the season and signing up to open the spring semester, however, he has already worked hard to get to Lexington and start preparing for the 2021-22 season, when he could simply have opted for start and train in the draft. As we’ve seen before, it can never be said in Kentucky, but Tshiebwe is expected to return next season as the team’s anchor on the front court.
From here, you will have even passed the players remotely and willing to explore your career options, with the expectation that all transfers will be expected.
With an average of 30.3 minutes per game (tied for second on the team), Devin Askew has had his fair share of struggles in terms of shooting and changes, but sophomores have seen steady growth in the United Kingdom under Calipari, including Immanuel Quickley, Ashton Hagans, Tyler Ulis, Isaiah Briscoe and Andrew Harrison. Despite Kentucky’s recent bad luck with West Coast talent that has moved away from the show, sources close to Askew tell KSR that the Sacramento, CA native is pleased with Calipari’s hard training and his constructive criticism, their role in the team, and the length of the program. plans for him in Lexington. As promised before arriving on campus, a transfer is not expected this low season.
As for the other possible returnees, Jacob Toppin appeared as a long-term project piece for Calipari and was not even expected to play this season before the NCAA’s decision to grant a free year of eligibility for to student-athletes competing in winter sports. . Establishing himself as one of Kentucky’s most consistent role players off the bench, there is strong optimism within the program regarding Toppin’s potential along the road. It would be a shock to see him leave as well.
Like Toppin, Lance Ware emerged as a multi-year project, seeking long-term development with his body and his game in general. He knew from the start that his path would probably be different from other high-profile prospects, so the minutes and fluctuating production shouldn’t have been a shock. There are no transfer rumors with him starting today and unless he feels like the weird man on the front track or is being recruited, they are not expected to transcend this offseason.
And then there were two, with Dontaie Allen and Cam’Ron Fletcher seen as the two big questions of next season.
Even after Allen’s zero-minute departure in Kentucky’s defeat to Louisville earlier this season, those next to the first year of the red shirt told KSR that there was no transfer to the table during the holidays. winter or during the next low season, regardless of the circumstances. In recent weeks, however, that tune has changed, and many people told KSR that the 6-foot-6 shooter would take a focus on waiting for the offseason and its overall future. While there is certainly no guarantee that Allen will leave the show – the Falmouth native, KY, grew up a big fan of the UK and understands that he came a few steps away due to injury. on the same page for advanced adjustment and use. Above all, the prospect of losing a former Kentucky standout Mr. Basketball through the transfer portal would be a deficient aspect for the program.
As for Fletcher, the native frustrations of St. Louis, MO, were well documented and published early in the season, and Calipari went so far as to send it home in December due to “actions detrimental to (the team).” There are mixed opinions among those close to the first year regarding his future, with a select few who believe his departure is inevitable this off-season, and others who believe he will spend the summer working himself out of the Calipari dog house, which will lead to a second year campaign.
From a talent and development standpoint, both players should return. Will they do it? It will be interesting to see how things unfold.
Let’s say Kentucky gets ready with players who could (and should) return in 2021-22, eight in total. Without adding any new signatories or transfers to the institute, this is a summary in the depth chart of the team that will start next season, giving or making some position adjustments:
Devin Askew / Nolan Hickman
Davion Mintz / Dontaie Allen
Keion Brooks Jr./Cam’Ron Fletcher
Daimion Collins / Jacob Toppin / Bryce Hopkins
Oscar Tshiebwe / Lance Ware
Headlines and positive positions are subject to change, but as things stand, there are 11 players on a deep, experienced roster that has three traditional sophomores, one red-shirt sophomore, three juniors and one sixth grade senior. It would be a list that closely resembles that of a traditional, balanced and competitive college basketball team rather than a constant turnstile of players entering the professional ranks, something fans have been asking for throughout the Calipari era.
The season has been long and frustrating, but would avoiding a mass exodus compensate for 2021-22? Would it be worth a multi-year list rebuild to miss the NCAA tournament this season?