With 7-13 in the year, with only four games confirmed on the schedule to close the regular season, the opportunities for Kentucky to change things are minimal, to say the least. Even considering the pressure of John Calipari to add “some games” to the schedule during the last week of the regular season, we are talking about six more games for the SEC tournament, that is, the absolute best the percentage of victories the UK can have is .500 out of 13-13 overall.
Of course, the Wildcats could end the regular season in a magical streak of eight consecutive wins, race in Nashville and claim the SEC title to win an NCAA tournament offer, creating a kind of season restart. Coach Cal and the players are certainly dreaming big, using every opportunity in the media to talk about how they still have a lot to play for.
But what if the UK runs out of track and they fail to win in Nashville, essentially ending the team’s chances of making the NCAA tournament? What if they never manage to finish the storybook that Calipari expects?
With that possibility at stake, along with the endless obstacles of the COVID-19, inconsistent gameplay, injuries, lack of fans and, to be frank, an underwhelming university experience this season, a two-year plan would make fans feel better with the complete product? Instead of looking at it as a horrible season, what if the UK avoided a mass exodus and returned most of its list, creating a two-year project for Calipari and the Kentucky technical team?
Remember the 2019-20 list that saw Nick Richards (junior), Immanuel Quickley (sophomore year) EJ Montgomery (sophomore year) and Ashton Hagans (sophomore year), all returning from the previous year, with Nate Sestina (graduate transfer) ) also playing Tempo. The team finished with 25-6 in the year, but won nine of the last ten games in the final stretch, with the only defeat in a game that the Wildcats led by 17 points in the second half against Tennessee. We will never know if that team was capable of winning a national championship, but they were playing as well as anyone at that time, and a big reason for that was the outstanding game of the team’s veteran leaders.
Looking back, in the Calipari era in Lexington, that 2019-20 group was the most experienced in terms of returning parts and graduating transfers, as the 2016-17 list brought five in Isaiah Briscoe, Dominique Hawkins, Isaac Humphries , Mychal Mulder and Derek Willis. The 2014-15 historic list returned most during Calipari’s tenure, bringing back eight fellows in Willie Cauley-Stein, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Hawkins, Dakari Johnson, Marcus Lee, Alex Poythress and Willis.
Before we go any further, let me first state the obvious that it is impossible to name the returnees so far in advance, no matter how the season is going or how the individual players are doing. In Kentucky, players who he must return are not always the ones who actually do it, with the past year being the prime example. In an ideal world, Hagans, Montgomery and Kahlil Whitney (who left the program in January 2020) no enter the NBA Draft – all three have not been written – and Johnny Juzang returns for another season instead of being transferred from the show, giving Kentucky five return pieces to work on this year, as opposed to just one at Keion Brooks Jr. They didn’t, and the UK struggled to replace 94% of its score, 98.6% of its assists and 92.4% of its minutes from the previous year.
In recent years, however, the team’s success has at least been there. They had the full Kentucky experience with fans, high-profile events and campus life, even though the 2019-20 group had their post-season dreams shattered due to COVID-19. This year, losses are piling up and individual performances on the court have been inconsistent and unimpressive. As a result, draft stock fell across the board, with Isaiah Jackson being the only exception.
Considering the context of the season as it stands now, it certainly seems likely that the UK could see up to eight players returning from the current squad (including the transfer from West Virginia Oscar Tshiebwe).
We will start with the probable matches in Brandon Boston Jr., Terrence Clarke and Jackson. Despite significant shooting difficulties for Boston earlier this year, along with a season full of injuries for Clarke, the two players came up with one-year plans, no matter what, and that hasn’t changed. It would be quite a shock to see the return for the second year seasons. And with Jackson exploding as an infallible choice in the first round and slowly advancing towards the lottery consensus line with his elite rebound and shot blocking skills, fans must prepare for his inevitable exit as well.
Almost looking for his professional options last season, senior transfer agent Olivier Sarr also came up with a one-year plan, and it would be a surprise to see him return as well.
From there, however, everything is on the table.
In terms of importance, Keion Brooks Jr. is the key piece to keep an eye on, as the second-year striker showed significant growth from the first to the second year, but he is not currently listed on any of the major draft boards in 2021 Factor in the calf injury that kept him out of the game until January, Brooks could look at this season as a year of transition before taking off in 2021-22 as one of college basketball’s best returnees.
The other big name to watch? Transfer graduate Davion Mintz, who emerged as Kentucky’s top scorer in difficult times, managed three 3-point attempts and two winners in the SEC game. Chasing his master’s degree, both Mintz and his father recognized that a comeback for his second season in Kentucky and sixth as a college basketball player is at stake. That would give the UK two of the top five top scorers back, with Brooks and Mintz averaging at least 10 points per game.
Completing the marginal players, Oscar Tshiebwe could technically enter the NBA Draft and give fans a scare similar to that of Hamidou Diallo, who tested the waters of the draft after its mid-year addition in 2016-17. After leaving West Virginia in the middle of 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 have just given up and started training for the draft. As we’ve seen before, you can never say never in Kentucky, but Tshiebwe is expected to return next season as the team’s anchor on the attacking court.
From there, you will surpass the point of players, even remotely, ready to explore your professional options, with all the expected returns preventing a transfer.
With an average of 30.3 minutes per game – tied for second in the team – Devin Askew certainly had his fair share of fights in terms of shots and turns, but second-year guards saw consistent growth in the UK under Calipari, including names like Immanuel Quickley, Ashton Hagans, Tyler Ulis, Isaiah Briscoe and Andrew Harrison. Despite Kentucky’s recent streak of bad luck with the West Coast talent transfer from the program, sources close to Askew told KSR that the Sacramento, California native is happy with Calipari’s hard training and constructive criticism of his role in team and the long duration of the program. long-term plans for him in Lexington. As he promised before he arrived on campus, a transfer is not expected in this off-season.
As for the other likely returnees, Jacob Toppin came 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 to student-athletes competing in winter sports . Establishing himself as one of Kentucky’s most consistent players off the bench, there is great optimism within the program regarding Toppin’s potential in the future. It would be a shock to see him go too.
Like Toppin, Lance Ware emerged as a multi-year project, seeking long-term development with his body and game as a whole. He knew from the start that his path was likely to be different from that of other high-profile prospects, so the floating minutes and production shouldn’t have been a shock. There are no transfer rumors with him as of today, and unless he feels like a stranger on the front line or is being recruited, this is not expected to happen in this off-season.
And then there were two, with Dontaie Allen and Cam’Ron Fletcher seen as the two biggest question marks next season.
Even after Allen’s departure of zero minutes in the Kentucky defeat in Louisville earlier this season, those close to the redshirt freshman told KSR that a transfer was not at stake during the winter break or during the next off-season, regardless of circumstances. In the past few weeks, however, that tone has changed, with numerous individuals telling KSR that the 6-foot-6 sniper would have an approach of waiting to see the off season and its future as a whole. While there is certainly no guarantee that Allen will leave the program – the Falmouth, KY native grew up a diehard UK fan and understands that he was a few steps behind due to an injury – there is an expectation that Calipari may have to do a little recruitment and get on the same page in relation to adjustment and use in the future. Above all, the prospect of losing a former Kentucky Mr. Basketball highlight to the transfer portal would look bad for the program.
As for Fletcher, St. Louis, the MO native’s frustrations were well documented and publicized earlier in the season, with Calipari going so far as to send him back home in December due to “damaging actions for the team”. There are mixed opinions between those close to the freshman regarding his future, with a few believing that his departure is inevitable in this off-season, and others who think he will spend the summer working to leave Calipari’s house, leading to a recovery campaign. the second year.
From the point of view of pure talent and development, both players must return. Will they? It will be interesting to see how things go.
Let’s say Kentucky cleans up with players who could (and should) return in 2021-22, eight in total. Without adding new high school signers or transfers, this is a draft on the team’s depth chart for the next season, give or take 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
Initial and positional adjustments are subject to change, but as things stand today, there are 11 players in a deep and experienced squad that has three traditional sophomores, a sophomore redshirt, three juniors and one sixth grader last year. It would be a squad very similar to that of a traditional, balanced and competitive college basketball team, as opposed to a constant turnstile of players entering the professional ranks, something that fans have been craving throughout the Calipari era.
The season was long and frustrating, but would avoiding a mass exodus make up for that in 2021-22? Would a reconstruction of the multi-year squad make losing the NCAA tournament this season worthwhile?