It seems like almost every season the young Kentucky Wildcats struggle out of the gate. Whether it’s against smaller division schools or the country’s best competition, the Wildcats don’t usually blow teams out of the arena.
However, that doesn’t mean Kentucky isn’t winning games. In fact, they win much more than they lose and are always considered a title-contender come March. So, why does head coach John Calipari seem to draw so much criticism?
After all, he does have the highest roster turnover in the country year after year. He also has the responsibility of handling some of the bigger egos in collegiate basketball. That’s not a knock on the players, though, because what top-tier recruit wouldn’t consider themselves “the guy?”
As he entered his 10th year with Kentucky, Calipari has taken a slightly different approach to coaching. He sought out and recruited graduate transfer Reid Travis from Stanford. He also was able to return top-talent PJ Washington for a sophomore season.
While Quade Green made his departure from the team in December, Calipari was still able to bring back talented center Nick Richards.
The combination of an unusual group of veterans with the nation’s second-ranked recruiting class brought along expectations that reminisced the 2014-2015 season.
Following an opening loss to the Duke Blue Devils, though, those expectations quickly took a step back. However, that still didn’t hold back the Calipari critics. Week after week, leading up to Kentucky’s game against North Carolina, many of the Big Blue Nation were unhappy with the product Calipari was putting on the floor.
After December 22nd, though, that all began to change.
Kentucky traveled to Chicago and soundly beat North Carolina in the CBS Champions Classic. They then made the trip to Louisville and earned in-state bragging rights.
The Wildcats did indeed lose a nail-biter at Alabama to start South Eastern Conference play, but that was just a bump in their road to top-10 status. Kentucky sought out revenge on every foe they’d face to date, tallying up six consecutive wins over Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Georgia, 14th-ranked Auburn, 22nd-ranked Mississippi State and ninth-ranked Kansas.
During this stretch, Calipari has managed key contributions from all five of his starters. Ashton Hagans has been the two-way star Kentucky has long missed since the days of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Tyler Herro has flashed memories of Rex Chapman and Keldon Johnson has taken over games like any top-10 pick would. The veteran duo of Travis and Washington has more than made their presence felt in the painted area, too.
In the Wildcats’ most recent victory over Kansas, every starter contributed in their own way. Hagans and Herro didn’t frequently score the ball but their defense against Jayhawks stars Devon Dotson and Lagerald Vick played a key role in Kentucky’s victory.
On the offensive end, Calipari relied on Johnson for timely shot making while Travis and Washington were given the green light to pound the basketball inside. With Kansas center Udoka Azubuike sidelined with a hand injury, Kentucky’s dominance in the paint was a punch in Kansas’s gut for every second of the 40-minute contest.
Dedric Lawson, Bill Self’s top-scorer, was able to get his 20 points in the loss. However, the Wildcats were content to live with that by shutting down every other Jayhawk on the court.
Calipari’s game plan was dialed up and executed to perfection, once again silencing the early-season critics that seem to be without patience.
With Monday’s rankings pending, it’s hard to not see the Wildcats emerge as one of the nation’s top-five teams. Three of the Kentucky’s six-straight wins have come against teams ranked in the top-25. As the month of February approaches, this team looks primed to contend for yet another SEC title.