It’s a long season, but John Calipari has Kentucky basketball back to ‘Kentucky good’
Saturday night at State Farm Arena, in the press conference room tucked beneath the grandstand, a relaxed Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari leaned back in his chair with his arms spread over the backs of the empty chairs beside him.
Calipari wasn’t grinning per se, but he might as well have been. As he fielded questions from the assembled media after 14th-ranked Kentucky’s thrilling 87-83 victory over No. 9 North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic, Calipari’s demeanor and tone was one of a man who had found something that was feared to be lost.
Before the season, Calipari said his last few Kentucky teams had been good, “but just not Kentucky good.”
This Kentucky team can be “Kentucky good.”
The Cats proved it before a packed house of 17,058, split between loud Kentucky blue and loud North Carolina blue in a terrific atmosphere that resembled an NCAA Tournament game.
The difference: These young Wildcats had more talent and more athleticism than the Tar Heels.
“They have a number of players that can create their own shot in one-on-one situations,” said North Carolina coach Hubert Davis, “and so from a defensive standpoint and the way that we play defense, they had to make some tough shots, one-on-one against us, and specifically down the stretch they were able to do so.”
UK had D.J. Wagner, the freshman guard who scored on a clear-out with 2:13 left to give Kentucky an 81-77 lead. Wagner was the one who scored 14 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished five assists.
UK had Rob Dillingham, the freshman guard from North Carolina who after UNC claimed a 72-71 lead with 5:15 left, scored seven of UK’s final 16 points, including back-to-back buckets that put the Cats up 77-72, and another basket off a nifty drive that made it 83-80. Dillingham finished with a team-high 17 points.
UK had Aaron Bradshaw, the 7-foot freshman who, in his third college game, calmly made both free throws of a bonus with 46.3 seconds left to make the score 85-81 Cats. Bradshaw, despite being limited to 21 minutes by foul trouble, scored 12 points and made two steals.
(Meanwhile, North Carolina’s 24-year-old All-American center, Armando Bacot, was held to nine points and six rebounds in 31 minutes. Bacot was averaging 15.9 and 11.9. And Kentucky won the rebounding battle 43-32.)
UK had players like Adou Thiero, who blocked four North Carolina shots in 16 minutes; Reed Sheppard, who grabbed six rebounds and made two steals; Justin Edwards, who snatched four offensive boards in 13 minutes; Ugonna Onyenso, who in his first action of the season blocked three shots in nine minutes; and Tre Mitchell, who provided the steady presence of a veteran in his 33 minutes.
No offense to recent UK rosters, but Calipari hasn’t had players like that in awhile. And no one knew it better than Calipari. It’s why the coach made staff changes, bringing back assistant Orlando Antigua, hiring Chin Coleman, then making a couple of smart additions in John Welch and Chuck Martin.
The result is a team that closely resembles Calipari’s vintage Kentucky teams. It’s not just better recruiting, either. This team has shown an unselfishness and competitiveness that gives itself a chance. To win Saturday, said Cal, “You had to be a dog or you were getting chomped on.”
None of this guarantees anything, of course. There are no guarantees. This is still a freshman-lead Kentucky basketball team in a sport that in recent years has rewarded experience. A lot can happen between now and the NCAA Tournament’s Selection Sunday on March 17, 2024.
Still, to quote a two-time Super Bowl winning football coach, Bill Parcells once said, “The field looks a whole lot better when it has better players playing on it.”
This Kentucky team not only has better players, it has “Kentucky good” type players.
“The upside of this team is really up,” Calipari said on Saturday as he leaned forward in his chair just before making his exit, “but let’s see if we can get there.”
