No Tshiebwe? No Wheeler? Calipari sets the stage for UK to start the season without them.

The preseason ended Thursday night with college basketball’s reigning national player of the year sitting on the bench in his Kentucky warm-ups. A few chairs away sat the Wildcats’ all-conference point guard in a matching wardrobe.

It’s certainly sounding like UK’s regular season might start the same way.

The Cats were without Oscar Tshiebwe and Sahvir Wheeler for a 111-53 victory over Kentucky State, the final exhibition before the real games begin. Tshiebwe injured his knee last month, underwent what John Calipari deemed a “minor” procedure on Oct. 13, and he’s been sidelined ever since. Wheeler went down in a heap in the second half of UK’s exhibition game Sunday night and never returned to the court.

Kentucky starts the regular season against Howard University on Monday night.

It’s possible that neither of UK’s returning stars will be playing.

Calipari all but ruled out the possibility that Tshiebwe would be ready to go for the start of the regular season, saying after Thursday’s game that he would be “shocked” if the Kentucky star played against Howard. The UK coach added that he would be “somewhat surprised” if Tshiebwe returned to the court in time for the Cats’ second game, scheduled for Friday night against Duquesne.

“If he wanted to play Monday, I probably wouldn’t let him,” Calipari said. “He needs a few more days. If he wants to play Friday, I’m going to have to work him out myself and see. And if I did, he would probably play 10 or 15 minutes, just to get his legs under him.”

Calipari was also unsure of Wheeler’s status with the season opener just four days away.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I mean, he was there, and he’s walking around. You can’t just say, ‘Well, I’ll play Monday.’ You got to practice to make sure you can do this.”

During the pregame Thursday night, it was actually Tshiebwe who looked closer to a return. The UK big man came out to the court more than an hour before tip-off and put up some shots. He followed the team onto the court for the final set of warm-ups, walking without a limp.

Wheeler didn’t make an appearance until that final layup line, coming out of the Kentucky tunnel last and walking with a limp across the court. Calipari said Sunday that the knee Wheeler injured that night was the same one that he had tweaked earlier in the preseason, a setback that kept him out of the team’s Blue-White Game on Oct. 22 and limited him for a few practices.

The Cats should be able to get by without Tshiebwe and Wheeler for those first two games — they’ll likely be heavy favorites in both, even if the two stars are sidelined — but the schedule gets tougher after that.

Kentucky is set to face Michigan State in Indianapolis on Nov. 15 and No. 2-ranked Gonzaga in Spokane on Nov. 20 — with a home game against South Carolina State wedged in between those two marquee matchups.

Calipari posted a video to social media Tuesday telling fans that the Wildcats are “not where we need to be right now” and that the team could be “a little shaky” in November and December.

Asked Thursday night how difficult it is to get his players settled into the roles they’re likely to play throughout the season while key Cats like Tshiebwe and Wheeler have been sidelined for such an important stretch of preseason practices, Calipari acknowledged that’s why he put out the video in the first place.

“This is going to take a little time,” he said. “And to think you can play with two first-team all-conference players out and just pound people, it’s not happening. I told the staff, we’ve got to worry about putting ourselves in the best position with this group. They’re trying to find themselves.”

What’s next for Kentucky?

In addition to Tshiebwe and Wheeler being out Thursday night — and possibly beyond — the Cats were missing sophomore forward Daimion Collins, who returned home to Texas earlier in the day following his father’s death Tuesday.

Calipari said he told Collins to take as much time as he needed before returning to the team.

Kentucky, for the time being, has eight scholarship players. That means shifting roles. It means players playing out of position. It also means opportunities that might not otherwise be there.

The Wildcats that were made available to reporters Thursday night — Chris Livingston, Adou Thiero and Lance Ware — all took the silver-lining approach to the diminished roster.

Livingston has been among those playing out of position — and he’s looked out of sync at times — but getting minutes at other spots now could be a benefit down the road.

“I think that’s a good thing,” he said. “For me, being versatile and being able to play in different spots on the court, and also learn the offense from different points of view — I think that’s really good for me. And other guys are being able to step up and get more experience, and that’s what we need to make a deep run this season.”

Ware tallied 10 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and three steals in 22 minutes, time he knows he likely wouldn’t get if Tshiebwe had been available.

“That’s life, man. You gotta adjust,” Ware said of UK’s makeshift lineups. “Some things, you might have this plan in your mind. And you’re gonna do this and this and this and that. And then something happens, and you gotta adjust. Just having a smart team and having great coaches being able to lead us in the right direction — it makes it easier. And us coaching each other also makes it easier.”

Ware acknowledged that — when Tshiebwe returns — his role will change. When Wheeler is back, other players’ opportunities are likely to dry up. In the meantime, the Cats are learning a little more about themselves.

Calipari noted that he didn’t know freshman Ugonna Onyenso — 11 rebounds and four blocks in 18 minutes against Kentucky State, following a five-block performance Sunday night — was ready to do some of the things he’s shown in Tshiebwe’s absence.

Others marveled at CJ Fredrick’s stellar play as a ball-handler in pick-and-roll situations. Nobody had seen that until he was forced into the role due to Wheeler’s absence.

Calipari has made clear — even amid the injuries to his two top returning players — that this is a team that can be special in March. For the time being, he’s preaching patience. And until Tshiebwe and Wheeler return, he’ll need others to step up in their absence.

“You know what we’re asking you to do,” he said. “Do those things. If you can do more, we’ll see.”

Next game

Howard at No. 4 Kentucky

What: 2022-23 regular-season opener

When: 6:30 p.m. Monday

TV: SEC Network

Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1

Series: First meeting

This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 11:46 PM.

Ben Roberts

Lexington Herald-Leader

859-429-2848

Ben Roberts is the University of Kentucky men’s basketball beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. He has previously specialized in UK basketball recruiting coverage and created and maintained the Next Cats blog. He is a Franklin County native and first joined the Herald-Leader in 2006. Support my work with a digital subscription