Who misses John Calipari at Kentucky? I'm sure that's a complicated question right now for Cats fans across the board, but just like every head coach that graced the sidelines of Rupp Arena before him, Coach Cal will always have a unique contingent within the Big Blue Nation.
And even as Mark Pope works to raise a bar that Calipari had previously let fall in Lexington, it's fair to wonder where our blue and white program would be had a few things gone in the other direction under the previous regime.
As the transfer portal took hold and Calipari's grasp on being the best slipped, a trio of heavy hitters that left Kentucky had the potential to change the coach's eventual fate if they had stayed.
3. Kyle Wiltjer
This one may seem a little counterintuitive on the surface, given the fact that Wiltjer helped win a national title at Kentucky in 2012, but many are quick to forget what he would accomplish on an individual level after leaving Lexington for Gonzaga.
As a Bulldog, Wiltjer would go on to average 16.8 and 20.4 points in 2014-15 and 2015-16, respectively. Both seasons, Kentucky fell short of competing in a national title. Would Wiltjer's wild scoring improvement (he put up just 10.2 points a game in his final season with Kentucky) have been enough to elevate the Cats' near perfect, 38-1 season over the top?
Nobody knows, of course, but the mere possibility is worth recognizing on this list.
2. Johnny Juzang
To be fair to Calipari, Juzang didn't impress in his lone season as a Wildcat. In 2019-20, the three-point focused guard put up just 2.9 points per contest in a limited role. It's just unfortunate for Kentucky that, immediately upon transferring to UCLA, Juzang's numbers would skyrocket.
In 2021, Juzang would lead the 11-seed Bruins all the way to a Final Four. His 28 points helped UCLA toppled the Michigan Wolverines in the Elite Eight that season as the BBN watched from the sidelines, wondering what could've come of his run in Lexington had he been given more time.
1. Bryce Hopkins
Much like Juzang, Hopkins averaged just 2.1 points per game in his lowly 2021-22 run with Kentucky. From there, he'd leave Lexington and go on to four more years of team-leading play throughout the rest of his college career.
Between Providence and St. John's, Hopkins never dropped into single-digit scoring averages again, earning All-Big East honors in his latter stop alongside six boards and more than a steal per contest. Especially in Calipari's later years, it's hard not to imagine what a matured Hopkins would've brought to a Kentucky program on the decline.
Nowadays, losing players to the transfer portal is almost as common, if not more so, than losing freshman stars to the NBA Draft. But in the case of these guys, their era of college hoops was a little more predictable, and a lot more loyal.
That makes these losses sting even more, and I'm convinced that all of them, at one time or another, could've changed the trajectory of John Calipari's tenure with Kentucky.
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