The 5 veterans from the NCAA Tournament who could transfer to save John Calipari’s job at Kentucky
By Josh Yourish
. KJ Simpson, G. 514. KJ Simpson. KJ Simpson, G. . player. Junior. Eligibility Remaining: 1. 3
In the NCAA Tournament, KJ Simpson already proved that he’s ready for the SEC, beating Florida on a last-second shot in the Round of 64. In his three tournament games, including a Round of 32 loss to Marquette, the 6-foot-2 junior scored 19, 23, and 20 points respectively.
Simpson was forced to play the point at Colorado and led the team to its most wins in school history this season, but he’s a much more natural shooting guard, which he could get to play next to Wagner. Again, there is so much up in the air about Kentucky’s roster and total instability in the program, but for the sake of argument, that would be an excellent backcourt. That’s even considering the fact that Wagner was infuriating to watch all season, but with another year of experience and without two lottery picks nipping at his heels, he could be a solid college point guard.
He’d maintain Kentucky’s shooting prowess, but Simpson would also provide something the Wildcats desperately need on offense, movement. Simpson is constantly navigating off-ball screens, either for looks at the basket or from three, and when all else fails, you can just give him the ball and get out of the way.
Clearly, Colorado knocked its head on the ceiling of what that program can be this year. 26 wins is a program record, that’s a down year in Lexington. Yes, Colorado went further than Kentucky this season, but the ceiling is much higher for the Wildcats and the big stage could improve Simpson’s NBA stock in his final year before darting for the league, a true win-win.