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Calipari Era: Power Forward #3

By Austin Sutcliffe

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The power forward position under John Calipari has essentially brought the same type of prospect. Athletic, great at rebounding, maybe around 6 foot 9 and a key part to the team.

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Last week was a tough decision between who would get the four spot and who would slide into the three spot today. Ultimately, a championship would be the tiebreaker that split our number three with Patrick Patterson at number four.

"The overall impact that Patrick Patterson had on Kentucky came way before John Calipari. However, giving that he only played one season under Calipari, I am only basing his ranking off of his one season with Coach Cal.Giving that, Patterson handled the situation of having a new coach as well as anyone could have asked for. Being the star player on his team in both of his first two seasons, he was asked to come in with a different role in his junior season."

Assuming that I have now given my position away with the championship hint… yes Terrence Jones is the third best power forward under Calipari.

If you recall, originally Jones announced that he was going to Washington to be a Husky. Later that day, a simple phone call to Calipari would sway his decision and he would end up being a Wildcat.

Jones came out of the gate hot. Dunking on every team and player that stood in his way, T.J. looked as if he was not only the best player on our team, but maybe even the best player in the country.

Then a switch happened. The aggressive Jones from early on in the season started to shy away from the challenge and went on a huge slump. The 24,000 that filled Rupp Arena for every game became frustrated with Jones. The whole world had seen his potential, and it was if he had set the standards too high too early.

Even with the overwhelming expectations on his shoulders, Jones would help lead the team to an unexpected final four trip that would be cut short by Uconn. The pain of that loss after coming so close would be motivation enough to return next season for one more season.

Jones would have to come into a new role in his second season as he was no longer a go to player. This would actually prove to make him a better player. He learned how to play with stars such as Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist that helped prepare him more for the NBA.

This star studded cast would be enough to give Terrence Jones the championship that he came back for helping put his name into the Big Blue Nation history books. Coming back for a second run and winning number eight for the Cats solidifies his spot at number three.

Jones could be a hot name in the up and coming weeks with trade talks surrounding him in Houston. Keep an eye out on that, but while you wait, relive some of the highlights from Jones’ glory days.

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