Men's Basketball

Kansas and North Carolina Meet in the Championship. Kentucky Blew Both of Them Out. What Happened to the Wildcats?

Published

3 years ago

April 3, 2022

Photos by Chet White | UK Athletics

On December 18th, 2021 the Kentucky Wildcats took on the North Carolina Tar Heels and won in 98-69 rout. A little over a month later, on January 29th, 2022, Kentucky took on the Kansas Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse and won in a lopsided 80-62 victory.

On April 4th, Kansas will take on North Carolina for the National Championship, while Kentucky has been sitting in Lexington since being upset in the first round by Saint Peter’s.

After beating these teams by a combined 47 points, what happened?

Injuries

The most obvious thing to point to that hurt Kentucky is injuries. Sahvir Wheeler, TyTy Washington, and Jacob Toppin were all key players, and all suffered injuries that caused them to miss game(s) towards the end of the season.

One can argue that the most significant injury was when TyTy Washington sprained his ankle for a second time on February 12th (I will mention this date a lot) against Florida. Following that game, TyTy just never seemed to return to 100%, averaging 11.6 points but on an inefficient 35.6% clip from the field and 36% clip from three.

As a team, that date seems to point to where the team changed and could never readjust to form. In their last nine games following Florida, Kentucky finished 5-4 and never returned to form.

Kellan Grady

As great as Grady was at times this season, he was just as bad in the last five games. The best shooter in the SEC went north pole type cold, going 5-22 (22.7%) from three in his last five games.

Outside of his poor shooting, the veteran wasn’t providing anything else on offense or defense. In the last five games, of those with 10+ minutes per game, Grady was ranked as Kentucky’s worst defender with a 112.6 defensive rating and had the team’s worst player efficiency rating at 9.1 (Real GM).

That’s not to say Grady did not contribute to this team. Despite the finish to the season, Grady still finished as the 5th best three-point shooter in school history by percentage (Big Blue History). However, his play at the end of the season is something we should try to forget and not remember him by.

Offense Became Less Efficient

Prior to the season, Calipari knew he had to bring in shooters (and makers) and he did. Kellan Grady, CJ Frederick, Dontaie Allen, and TyTy Washington were seen as the best shooters on paper, and outside of Frederick, who missed the season due to injury, the rest lived up to those expectations.

As a team, Kentucky shot 35.1% from three up to February 12th, which would have ranked top five in the Calipari Era and top 100 in the NCAA this season. However, after that dreadful day, the Cats plummeted to 29.7% in their last 5 games, which would rank as the worst shooting team in the Calipari era.

Without the shooting ability to spread out the floor, Oscar was still able to produce, but it congested the spacing, limited other players, and the offense as a whole was never as effective.

Towards the end of the season, you could really see this team’s need for a stretch four. While Toppin and Brooks could make the mid-range jumper, they were not nearly as consistent as they needed to be to spread the floor. In my opinion, that is a definite need for Calipari to fill this offseason.

Defensive Woes

Kentucky let Saint Peter’s, the 232nd ranked offensive, shoot over 50% from the field and three-point land (KenPom), but the defensive troubles started before that.

Prior to February 15th, Kentucky had only allowed 100 or more points per possession in six of their twenty-five games to that point. Following that point, they allowed 100 or more points per possession in eight of their final nine games, with the lone game under being the regular-season finale at Florida. (Bart Torvik)

In terms of overall defense, Kentucky was 35th in defensive efficiency (KenPom). However, just looking at their last 10 games, the Wildcats ranked 163rd in defensive efficiency (Bart Torvik). This was the worst of any top-12 seed. However, an interesting note is that Duke ranked 158th in their last 10 in defensive efficiency.

Despite the promise Kentucky showed through the regular season, when the defense regressed and the team lost its shooting touch, the writing was on the wall for an early exit. With that said, seeing two teams that Kentucky absolutely handled earlier in the season, play for a championship, is pure frustration.

Men's Basketball

CBS Sports: Kentucky Has “ended pursuits” in Transfer Portal Following Aberdeen Commitment

In the wake of yet another addition to Kentucky’s incoming roster, CBS Sports reports that Coach Pope and staff may have closed the portal.

Published

1 day ago

April 23, 2025

Lane Mills

Mark Pope and staff may have everything they need from the transfer portal.

Chet White | UK Athletics

Following another flurry of transfer portal additions in his second year at the helm, it appears that Mark Pope and staff are satisfied with their sophomore haul. The portal in Lexington may be officially closed for the 2025-26′ season.

Right after Kentucky received the surprising commitment of Denzel Aberdeen, Matt Norlander, an analyst for CBS Sports, posted the following on X (Twitter):

“Barring any portal defections, Kentucky has ended its pursuits of all other portal targets, sources told CBS Sports. Getting Aberdeen today [April 21] meant they’ve moved off Andrej Stojakovic, Rylan Griffen, etc. Otega Oweh going through pre-draft process-but I expect him back in Lex”.

With the addition of Aberdeen, the Wildcats’ roster ballooned to near-max capacity for next season. Seeing two of the team’s walk-on players, Grant Darbyshire and Walker Horn, enter the transfer portal seemed to all but confirm this suspicion, too.

Losing One of Our Own

That is, until last night. With less than two hours remaining for players to do so, Travis Perry shocked much of the Big Blue Nation by throwing his name into the hat. This came just weeks after a string of comments from the Kentucky-native point guard seemed to confirm his return for a sophomore season.

Though all the same, given Kentucky’s bulk of back-court additions this offseason, his departure makes sense for the sake of playing time alone. The Lyon King will be sorely missed.

So while the Kentucky staff may still be very much content with their current roster, with hundreds of players remaining in the portal and an unexpected spot on the roster coming open, another grab is far from out of the question.

Who Coach Pope and company would go after is entirely unclear, as that potential player would likely have to accept a minimized role off the bench for a stretch of his time in Lexington. If anything, the logical replacement would be a direct fill-in at the PG2/PG3 spot in Perry’s absence.

Either way, the ‘Cats are set to come into next season as one of the most exciting teams in college basketball with a ceiling far out of view. Mark Pope continues to prove his prowess in the transfer market, too, easing the worries of Wildcats fans and closing the door on many supposed “insiders” who’ve spent the last month suggesting otherwise.

Men's Basketball

REPORT: Travis Perry Enters Transfer Portal

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2025

Tristan Pharis

Kentucky basketball Travis Perry talks about growing more comfortable on the court.

Jordan Prather | IMAGN

The transfer portal has been kind to Kentucky in the Mark Pope era. Last season, the staff was able to build a Sweet Sixteen roster almost exclusively from the portal, and this offseason have put together a top-five portal class.

While the portal giveth, it also taketh. Just hours before the deadline to enter, Kentucky native and fan favorite Travis Perry has entered the transfer portal, per multiple reports.

Coming to Kentucky as the state’s all-time high-school scoring record holder, fans were excited to see how his career would unfold in Lexington.

Not expecting to play much freshman, he was called upon due to injuries and played some key minutes for the Wildcats into the postseason. He averaged 2.7 PPG and .6 APG on 32% shooting from three.

Looking at the depth chart, it was difficult to see where Perry would get much playing time next season, leading to his decision to enter the portal.

Perry has yet to release an official statement, but all the best to him in his future.

Men's Basketball

Top Transfer Guard Denzel Aberdeen Commits to Kentucky

Former Florida guard Denzel Aberdeen commits to Kentucky, likely closing the transfer portal for next year’s roster.

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2025

Lane Mills

UF Athletics

Another day, another “boom.” Denzel Aberdeen has officially committed to Kentucky for the 2025-26’ season.

A soon-to-be senior guard fresh off his championship win with Florida, Aberdeen spent his first three years of eligibility in Gainesville. Now, following an apparent conflict in the Gators’ rotation, he’s swapped teams in the southeast.

At 6 ‘5”, 190, Aberdeen spent much of this past season beating defenders off the dribble and making them pay at the rim. His speed and size made him a nightmare off the bench for opposing teams, and for the short stretch of play that he started during the year, Florida didn’t miss a beat.

In 19 minutes, Aberdeen averaged 8 points, two rebounds and one assist per game. His consistent contribution to the Gators’ title run made him one of the most coveted transfers in the cycle this season, and given his big blue commitment just days after entering the portal, Mark Pope clearly wasted no time in Kentucky’s pursuit.

Aberdeen slots in as yet another addition to what was already one of the strongest portal classes going into next season. His SEC experience and combo-guard intangibles make Aberdeen one of the most exciting portal players to come through Lexington in a long while, reinforcing Kentucky’s back court to what may be the final degree.

Whether or not Mark Pope is officially done for next season, nobody is sure, but this commitment only further cements the fact that he knows exactly what he’s doing. Just like the fanbase behind him, Coach Pope seems to never sleep.