Several months ago a prominent radio host went on the largest and most popular Kentucky centered radio show and declared the basketball program was in disarray (possibly at the behest of the university’s largest donor who was about to be left out of the basketball NIL collective denying them the same access they get with the football program). A picture was painted of Calipari being isolated from everyone and it felt like the curtains were about to close on the Calipari Era as the roster was threadbare and fan vibes were at an all-time low. Now we sit in mid-July with Kentucky having won 4 games against 3 NCAA tournament level teams where most of the games were not all that close and they did it without a healthy 5 man on the roster. So how do we feel about it? Was the summer basketball all a façade? I’m all in and we’ll talk about why you should be too.
Mentality
The most notable thing we saw this past week is the mentality around Kentucky basketball has almost done a 180. On the court we saw a team full of guys fully committed to not only playing winning basketball but also committed to setting the tone. For several years we’ve had teams that had to adapt to the pace or physicality of the game rather than imposing their own will. In Toronto we saw unselfish, fast-paced, and intense basketball. I won’t repeat some of the language picked up by the on-court mics here but if you go back and listen you can see and hear the difference in how this group carries itself. This team fears nobody and is coming to rip hearts out. For the first time since maybe 2019 I felt like we were watching a John Calipari coached basketball team.
Off the court Calipari looks happy and relaxed. “Swaggy Cal” has been used just about every off-season to describe Cal but it’s always been forced. From name-dropping Lil Wayne to shining poolside at Drake’s pool to hearing how he talks about this team compared to previous seasons. The vibe around the program feels like it did when Cal was rolling. Players are also talking about how close the team is (Reeves basically admitted he was recruited back by the young kids) and it feels like Kentucky basketball used to feel.
Play-Style
If you’ve spent any amount of time on Twitter you know that it’s become a popular thing to post shot-charts of every basketball game and compare them to Kentucky’s shot charts from various games. Usually done to mock the quality of shots that Kentucky has seemingly settled for but this summer the shot charts were noticeably…evolved. Kentucky settled for less long 2’s and inefficient mid-range shots and a lot more shots at the rim and open 3’s. What changed? A lot of people are pretending player development savant John Welch is the sole reason, others are pretending that not playing a traditional big is the reason, but the reality is probably a lot more nuanced. Cal has almost certainly embraced newer trends in basketball, but like all sports discussions it revolves around personnel much more than coaching genius.
The past couple of years have been derailed by not having enough players (specifically guards) who could create plays for themselves and others. The only one who stands out was Cason Wallace and he dealt with back spasms and was eventually hobbled by the end of the season with a foot injury. There is no scheme in the world that can overcome lack of playmaking and it means you must take what defenses are giving you and try to maximize those opportunities. Which was stepping into open midrange shots and hoping a generational rebounder can clean it up.
This team has at least 3 guys who can get to any spot on the floor which means guys like Reeves don’t have to work near as hard to get good shots (and he predictably lit it up). It has also a team full of high IQ players (despite being young) who make the extra pass which creates easier shots for everyone. Cal’s pivot to playing 5 out in Toronto is a wrinkle we haven’t really seen before from him and based on his comments it seems he’s committed to it so he does deserve credit for embracing it but it’s a lot easier to do when you have the play-making and shot-making this team showcased.
Defensively there will be some real growing pains as with all young teams. Especially if Bradshaw and Ugo are out significant time. Their rim protecting potential would be a nice safety net to have for these young perimeter players and we’ve also seen Adou show flashes of being an elite team defender. There is potential for this team to be a very good defensive team and we know coaching defense has always been one of Cal’s strengths, assuming everyone is healthy I think there is little cause for concern on that side of the ball.
Title Contender?
Notice that I didn’t mention anything about winning a national championship…yet. It’s July and there are already two major injuries. We also know we won’t be playing under the same rules as we did in Toronto but the bones of a title contender are in the building for maybe the first time since the 2018/2019 team. They’ll need the 7 footers to get heal despite all of us knowing how tricky foot injuries are for basketball players and we’ll need
We also know that the FIBA rules (the NCAA should 100% adopt FIBA rules) won’t travel with the Cats back to Lexington. CBB is prone to becoming a slog, so we’ll have to see how roles change with coaches intentionally slowing the game to a crawl, players throwing themselves on the ground because they’ve been coached not to play defense, and referees being totally lost and letting personal disputes impact the way they officiate games.
Winning a title is harder than it’s ever been, and the NCAA intentionally creates Kardashian-level drama rather than creating a format to find a true champion, but the Cats are poised to be fun and a team that will make the Commonwealth proud. I’d encourage all of BBN to avoid the noise created by media who need to drive summer engagement and enjoy the ride.
