Opinion: The Wildcats’ season ended in frustrating fashion and now the most important off-season in the John Calipari Era begins. Where does he from here to get Kentucky basketball contending again.
Upgrade in Talent
This is the most important thing. A lot of Kentucky’s struggles this year have been because several players were asked to play bigger roles than they should have been. Some of that was due to injury and a personal tragedy tanking the season of a couple players but there needs to be an influx of talent if Cal truly wants to get back to when he was rolling. Thankfully the biggest part of that is already accomplished. With top recruits DJ Wagner, Justin Edwards, Aaron Bradshaw, Rob Dillingham, and Reed Sheppard coming to Lexington Cal has two high level guards who can get to any spot, an elite two-way wing, an elite defensive big with an expanding offensive game, and a Kentucky legacy recruit who has shown to have an impressive basketball IQ and a promising shooting stroke.
The next step will be to determine who is returning and but if rumors are to be believed things could be promising. Prominent radio shows have indicated that Antonio Reeves is interested in returning and I think that is a big deal. Antonio coming back and being able to truly embrace a bench scoring role but also having high-level experience will help Rob/DJ transition to the college game. I don’t anticipate Livingston will be back but I do think Adou, Ugo, and Ware will all be back.
Roster Construction
I believe that Kentucky will for certain have 9 scholarships accounted for with Livingston, Collins, and CJ having decisions to make. I personally am not expecting any of them back so I think Cal will have some flexibility in who he can add.
The priority needs to be shooting. Bradshaw can provide elite rim protection and Justin is a plus wing defender so I think we can sacrifice some of that by grabbing a 4 man in the portal who can space the floor on the offensive end and we’ll need one more guard who can consistently knock down shots. Even if CJ returns I don’t think it’s prudent to count on him to remain healthy for the entire season, he has not done it since his Freshmen year at Iowa. I also would not count on Reed Sheppard to be ready to contribute from day one as a Freshmen.
A Tweak
Coach Cal has made the word “Tweak” famous but in all seriousness, he needs tweak some big picture things. CBB has evolved in the last decade and Kentucky needs to adjust. No more playing 3-4 non-shooters no matter how much you think they fight or how tough they are. Find fighters who can also space the floor. No more falling in love with measurables and filling your roster with nothing but length and athleticism that also sacrfice skill and/or shooting Find skill to go with that length and if you must sacrifice some of the measurables for skill (passing/shooting bigs, stretch 4’s, etc) and then tweak your offense and defense to make it work. Mix up defensive looks so you can hide some athletic weaknesses of guys who maybe have a higher skill level.
Kentucky remained an efficient offense this season almost solely because we had the best rebounder in the last 40 years on the team. That is not replicable and Cal needs to do what he has to do. If that means some uncomfortable conversations with assistants or demanding Mitch open the check book and get support staff that specialize in X’s and O’s then so be it. The landscape in CBB is changing rapidly and history/tradition matter almost zilch (for reference take Jerome Tang’s comments, his tone and attitude reflect the common feeling among coaches, recruits, and players) so Cal will have to adapt to that reality.
Sean Miller and Shaka Smart are both examples of coaches who had a specific style and used failures at other jobs to tweak that style and find success. Shaka was also upset yesterday but he won a tough Big East running away and Sean Miller has Xavier back in the S16 in year one. Cal has all the pieces that fit his tendencies next year but we have to make sure our guys (specifically Rob/DJ) are put in situations where their strengths can be maximized. My fear is that this collection of talent will embolden Cal to double down on all of his worst tendencies (multiple non-shooters on the floor at the same time, clogging the lane, consistently settling for contested mid-range shots, etc.) hopefully Cal has people he trusts guiding him through this important off-season.
Re-Engage the Fans
The program has never felt more distant from the fans than it does right now. A lot of that is winning but a lot of it is self-inflicted and it needs to be Cal’s mission to get the fans back on board. BBN can be a toxic mess but it can also be a huge advantage and Cal needs to harness it. Doesn’t mean he needs to pander but admitting some mistakes doing some media and showing off the personality that we all fell in love with 14 years ago will help. I know the last few years have been hard on him (losing two players tragically has to really mess with him and the Robic situation was incredibly sad and I believe had serious ramifications both personally and on the Kentucky program) but most Kentucky fans want to believe, and they will drown out the toxic crew if Cal will just talk to them. Insulating himself is making things worse and Cal has to get out of that cycle and get back to what he was doing when Kentucky was rolling.
Outlook
Hope is not lost and Cal has proven he can coach with a team that is flawed (and was never healthy starting with Oscar’s knee operation). Early season struggles forced them to have to play a top 20 team in the 2nd round and they lost a 50/50 game, it happens and the tournament loss itself isn’t a mortal sin. What has to change is making sure we’re maximizing the margins earlier in the season so we aren’t in that position next year. I still believe Cal is the best fit for the Kentucky program.
Read: Where Do These Wildcats Go From Here?
Read: 6 Things Slowly Killing College Basketball
Read: 14 Reasons Cal Needs To Go
Read: Big Oscar Tshiebwe 2X All American
Read: Tyler Ulis Making An Impression At Kentucky
