Calipari’s Cats will ponder future now
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari will take a few days before having a series of offseason meetings with his young players about their futures after an earlier-than-expected exit from the NCAA tournament for the Wildcats.
Calipari said he isn’t sure whether many of his talented freshmen and sophomores will return next season or declare for the NBA draft.
“Until I sit down with all the guys, talk and see where they are with things and where their families are, I have no idea,” Calipari said.
They’re conversations Calipari knew were upcoming, just not this soon. The fifth-seeded Wildcats could not take advantage of a clearer path to the Final Four paved by early-round upsets of the South Region’s top four seeds. Kentucky fell 61-58 to No. 9 seed Kansas State in a Thursday night regional semifinal in Atlanta.
The disappointing defeat in which the Wildcats struggled to make shots typified the season for Calipari’s youngest group since his 2009 arrival in Lexington.
Kentucky (26-11) began the season ranked fifth before dropping and eventually falling out of the Top 25. An up-and-down final month included four consecutive losses, the longest skid in Calipari’s nine-year tenure with the Wildcats.
They responded by playing some of their best basketball, winning four of their final five regular-season games and rolling to a fourth consecutive Southeastern Conference tournament championship as the No. 4 seed.
Kentucky’s quick improvement stoked hopes of a deep NCAA tournament run and perhaps playing for the school’s ninth national championship next weekend in San Antonio. That expectation of winning it all will remain as long as Calipari continues recruiting highly touted prospects.
Despite the early tournament exit, Calipari said he took satisfaction in getting the Wildcats to play their best in the postseason.
“Individually and collectively, this was a rewarding year for me,” Calipari said. “I wish it could have ended in another week, but for me to see how individual players got better, for me to see how this team came together, for me to see (forward) Jarred (Vanderbilt) in, Jarred out, all the stuff that went on with injuries, they hung in there and played a bunch of freshmen. I thought they really performed.”
Calipari now moves on to offseason discussions to see which freshmen return and to what extent he must retool — again.
Kevin Knox, Kentucky’s leading scorer with an average of 15.6 points per game this season, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, a former standout at Chattanooga’s Hamilton Heights Christian Academy, are projected as first-round NBA draft choices and possible lottery selections. Forward P.J. Washington has also generated firstround consideration.
Hamidou Diallo — a redshirt freshman guard who nearly entered last year’s draft pool despite not playing at Kentucky — improved his prospects in the tournament and has been mentioned as a firstround possibility.
As he routinely does, Calipari will encourage his entire roster to work out with NBA clubs to explore their options.
Then the coach will explore his options.