Summer of Separation
How a 9–16 Covid Season lit a fire under Coach Cal and The Kentucky Wildcats
2020–21 Season
Leading into the 2020–21 season, Head Coach John Calipari and the fan base were filled with anticipation and enthusiasm. They had a talented roster looking to make a NCAA tournament run with a blend of 4 and 5 star freshmen (Lance Ware, Devin Askew, Brandon Boston, Jr. and Terrence Clarke), talented returnees (Keion Brooks and Dontaie Allen) and 3 impact transfers (Jacob Toppin, Olivier Sarr and Davion Mintz) — fans were thinking banner number 9 was on the way.
Just like the rest of 2020, the Wildcats season was a disaster. A combination of injuries on court struggles and the uncertainty of navigating life (let alone college) during COVID. I could not imagine what the players were going through making it to a prestigious university, playing on the biggest stage in college basketball with none of the perks that come with that lifestyle. Then you can’t even spend time with your family or significant other due to the pandemic that is still going on.
The season was a truly forgettable one ending with a 9–16 (8–9 conference) record. For perspective there have only been three times that Kentucky has not been playing basketball in March (2020–2021, the 2019–20 season (tournament was cancelled due to COVID-19) and the 2012–13 season (Nerlens Noel injury).
The Off-Season
There have been two major complaints during Coach Cal’s tenure as Kentucky Head Coach — lack of shooting and lack of experience due to roster turnover. Athletically-gifted players that struggle shooting the ball from deep were a mainstay on the roster. But after the worst season in his 12 years in Lexington it was obvious Cal had to shake things up. The first move was adapting to the new transfer rule. Knowing any player that transferred would be able to play immediately instead of having to sit a year is huge when you are offering a chance to wear the Kentucky uniform.
Coach Cal got a head start and secured a commitment from West Virginia transfer Oscar Tshiebwe. A 6 ft 9 in bruising center that originally hails from Congo brings toughness, rebounding and rim protection to the roster. Once the season officially ended he made some changes to his coaching staff bringing Orlando Antigua back to Lexington and bringing top flight recruiter Chin Coleman with him. Taking two of the best assistant coaches (and recruiters) in the country away from a respectable basketball program like Illinois following the best season in program history is nothing to make light of. It was the first of many flexes for Coach Cal and his staff after hearing all the scrutiny from the media and fans.
The following months landed commitments from transfers (Kellan Grady and CJ Frederick) and talented freshmen (Daimion Collins, Bryce Hopkins, and Ty Ty Washington). As horrible as the 2020–21 season was for Kentucky fans the aftermath looks to have turned into a blessing.
Master recruiter and Hall of Fame coach John Calipari has looked to fix the cracks that ended up being the downfall of his past teams. The outlook for the 2021–22 season is incredibly promising with a talented roster blending experience (transfers and returning players) with gifted freshmen. However the Kentucky staff are looking far beyond next season.
2022 and Beyond
The Kentucky staff has been incredibly busy on the recruiting trail. They had a commitment from gifted scoring guard Skyy Clark (top 20 player) for the 2022 season and within a matter of ten days he gained two more talented future teammates. Explosive 6 ft 5 in SG Shaedon Sharpe committed to Kentucky on Sep. 7th giving Coach Cal and his staff their first number one ranked recruit since Nerlens Noel in 2012. Sharpe is the consensus number one player in the class of 2022 due to his otherworldly athletic ability and scoring prowess. He is guaranteed to be a fan favorite in Lexington.
For most programs this would be a great year on the recruiting trail but Kentucky has made it clear they are far from finished. Consensus top five player in the class of 2022 Chris Livingston just committed to UK giving the staff their first pair of top 5 ranked recruits since 2013. Significant news for the college basketball world and we can expect more news in the future.
Kentucky is also in the running for rising seniors and top 10 recruits Cason Wallace, Adem Bona , Dereck Lively, and top ranked junior DJ Wagner. The next few months should be fun for the Wildcat fan faithful on the recruiting trail and on the court as Coach Cal seems to have a renewed swagger and bad intentions for all opposition in the quest for championship banner number nine.
