John Calipari talks Adou Thiero’s return, UK’s defensive woes and more during radio show
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Game day: South Carolina 79, No. 6 Kentucky 62
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Tuesday’s men’s basketball game between Kentucky and South Carolina in Columbia, S.C.
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John Calipari’s weekly radio show was delayed from its usual Monday night slot this week until Wednesday night, and the reason for that delay was a front-and-center topic on the airwaves.
Kentucky basketball’s Tuesday night road game at South Carolina went about as bad as possible: The Gamecocks emerged as clear winners by a 79-62 final score, and UK had offensive and defensive problems in the defeat.
In between a postmortem on that disheartening defeat to South Carolina and a preview of another road contest on Saturday night at Arkansas (10-8 overall, 1-4 in SEC), Calipari provided insights into several UK basketball topics of note.
The looming return of sophomore Adou Thiero from injury, the second collegiate game for freshman center Zvonimir Ivisic and Kentucky’s continued subpar defensive performance were all topics touched on by Calipari over his hourlong radio show.
Adou Thiero on track to play against Arkansas
Kentucky basketball may finally be at full strength on Saturday night in Fayetteville.
Sophomore Adou Thiero — who has missed Kentucky’s last seven games with a lingering back injury — appears set to finally return to in-game action for the Wildcats.
Thiero has already returned to UK practices, and Calipari said that if Thiero practices both Thursday and Friday, then he will play against the Razorbacks.
The sophomore standout has missed eight of Kentucky’s 18 games this season, but is averaging 7.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in the 10 games he has played in.
Tuesday night’s loss at South Carolina was the latest example of the Wildcats lacking sufficient physicality to win games, and Thiero is expected to bring his forceful play to the court when he does return.
What did Calipari make of Zvonimir Ivisic’s second game?
Plenty of fanfare surrounded UK freshman center Zvonimir Ivisic following his college basketball debut last weekend.
After missing the first 16 games of the season while awaiting word on his eligibility from the NCAA, Ivisic took the college basketball world by storm Saturday at Rupp Arena against Georgia: The 7-foot-2 big man from Croatia had 13 points, five rebounds, two assists, two blocked shots and two steals against the Bulldogs.
Tuesday night at South Carolina was a different story, though.
Ivisic finished with three points, two rebounds and two blocks in the Wildcats’ loss, and in particular seemed to struggle on defense.
“They were physical with him. They put the 275-pound guy on him,” Calipari said of South Carolina’s approach to containing Ivisic, who is listed by UK at 234 pounds.
“... He’s a little behind defensively: Positioning and where he needs to be and all those things.”
Calipari’s critiques of Ivisic came alongside some praise for fellow bigs Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso.
How will Calipari deploy the trio later this week at Arkansas?
“I’m not sure what I’ll do this weekend,” Calipari said. “I’ll probably sit down with Z and just say, ‘Look, I’m going to give you a few shots to play. But I need you to catch up on this defensive stuff.’”
What’s the matter with Kentucky basketball’s defense?
A major elephant in the room with this UK team is its defensive abilities, or the lack thereof.
After allowing the Gamecocks to shoot 45.8% on 3-pointers and record 20 assists on 29 made shots Tuesday night, Calipari discussed Kentucky’s defensive shortcomings this season.
As of Wednesday night, UK ranked 98th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency, per KenPom.
“Some of it is, (opponents) are going after a couple of our defenders,” Calipari said. “And those guys are going to have to hold their ground and dig in. Or, you’ve got to play other people.”
While UK’s offense has gotten a lot of the attention in conference play for its high scoring outputs, the Wildcats’ defense has now allowed at least 77 points in all six SEC games.
And according to college basketball statistician Evan Miyakawa, freshman guard Reed Sheppard is the only UK player currently bringing an elite defensive ability to the court. Per Miyakawa, UK’s expected defensive efficiency is 91st in the nation.
Next game
No. 6 Kentucky at Arkansas
When: 6 p.m. Saturday
TV: ESPN
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Kentucky 14-4 (4-2 SEC), Arkansas 10-8 (1-4)
Series: Kentucky leads 34-14
Last meeting: Kentucky won 88-79 on March 4, 2023, in Fayetteville, Ark.
This story was originally published January 24, 2024 at 8:14 PM.
