Is Kentucky Basketball on the naughty or nice list?
By Luke Bennett
A Championship-Caliber Team
It’s been a while since a Kentucky fan has tasted the sweet aroma of a championship.
Since taking over in 2009, John Calipari leads the NCAA in the following categories: wins (305), NCAA Tournament wins (31), Final Four appearances (4), Elite Eight appearances (7), and Sweet Sixteen appearances (8).
From 2011 to 2015, Kentucky’s basketball program had a National Championship, a National Runner-Up, two 38-win seasons, and four Final Four appearances. Outside of Wooden, Calipari’s first six years were arguably among the best six-years college basketball has ever seen.
Since then, Kentucky has failed to eclipse the second weekend of play in the NCAA tournament.
More than anything else, Kentucky fans have been wishing for an elite team and a chance to win it all. I believe I speak for most Cats fans when I say this season had the pressure of needing to be ‘the season’ to break through the funk (that most teams would call major success) that the Wildcats have faced the last four years.
When the season started with a win against the #1-ranked team, most fans bit.
Hook, line, and sinker.
But very quickly, the flaws in this year’s team became very apparent. To start, this team cannot shoot the three-ball.
The Wildcats rank 326 out of 350 teams in the country at shooting threes at 27.80%. Folks, that is the bottom 6% of the entire country. Their inability to take and make threes neuters all offensive flow. Without the ability to kick it out and spread the floor, Kentucky becomes reliant on isolation and contested drives.
Teams pack it in and dare the Wildcats to shoot. The worst part? It works.
This is the exact formula used by Evansville, Utah, and (in the second half) Ohio State.
The State of the Wildcats is so poor, largely due to the expectations of what fans thought this team can achieve. Returning producers in Hagans, Richard, Montgomery, and Quickley were to mold with the litany of five-stars including Maxey, Whitney, Brooks, and Juzang while grad-transfer Nate Sestina glued it all together.
You can see why Cats fans jumped to a rushed conclusion following the Michigan State game. On paper, this team is not only good but great.
These expectations are dwarfed in the let down this roster has given.
The apparent ‘chosen-one’ and go-to guy, Maxey hasn’t lived up to the hype of the Michigan State game. Kahlil Whitney – Kentucky’s highest-touted incoming recruit – and Johnny Juzang have struggled to make plays or defend, let alone find extended playing time. As for Keion Brooks, his subdued nature often manifests itself on the court, frequently forgetting assignments or making mindless errors. Finally, the entire returning frontcourt in Richards and Montgomery compete in waves of brilliance and absolutely head-scratching performances, struggling to cement themselves as constant contributors.
Yes, this is a way-too-brief account of this team’s struggles, but it isn’t far from the truth. Unless holes are filled via players living up to (at least half of) their potential, this team will not compete as we wish in March.
To avoid the trap of yet another year of missing the third weekend, this team and Coach Calipari must sure up some major issues.
Rather than granting Wish #4 – to many, the most important of all – Cats fans were treated to a tall, steaming pile of coal. But look up Cats fans, the pressure cooker that is Kentucky Basketball could turn this coal into diamonds.