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

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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)

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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.

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Men's Basketball

Adou Thiero Enters Transfer Portal, Keeps Options Open

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© Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky’s first domino of the off-season has fallen. Adou Thiero has entered the transfer portal, according to On3’s Jamie Shaw. He has entered his name in the NBA Draft as well, while not ruling out a return to Kentucky, according to KSR’s Jack Pilgrim.

A big hit to Kentucky’s upcoming roster, as Thiero’s upside and growth will be missed. In the 2023-24 season, Thiero averaged 7.2 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game while missing 7 games due to injury. The 6-8 wing brought physicalness that Kentucky desperately needed this season, and something Calipari has been stressing for this upcoming season. Calipari harped on him numerous times this season, saying “He’s gotten so much better.”

Thiero has jumped in mock drafts all season, and his potential is sky high. ESPN’s Jonathan Givony even had Thiero going 27th in the 2025 NBA Draft. Now, he will get to add to his potential elsewhere.

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Now, Kentucky will look to find a good replacement for him as more things start happening throughout the off-season. Calipari is continuing to meet with players to discuss their future plans throughout the week.

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Men's Basketball

John Calipari Highlights Changes for Next Season

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John Calipari draws up a play at Kentucky's season opener. Said he made a "tweak".
UK Athletics

“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein.

Many Kentucky fans have referred to this quote over the last few days, expressing a desire for a change from John Calipari. However, Calipari will be back on the sidelines for the Kentucky Wildcats next season for his 16th season, confirmed by Mitch Barnhart on Tuesday.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be any changes.

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On Monday, John Calipari went on his season-ending radio show, giving his first comments to fans since Kentucky’s upset loss to Oakland last Thursday. It was easy to see why is a good recruiter, as he said all the right things.

For the better part of an hour, Calipari spoke with humility, answered some direction questions from Tom Leach, and accepted criticism. The main takeaway was that he understands that he has not met the Kentucky standard or his own standard, and changes need to take place.

“We’ve got to evaluate everything,” Calipari said. Here are some changes that have been outlined.

Getting Back to “Grinding”

Kentucky basketball offseason has often consisted of international trips to the Bahamas, or Canada last season, but not this year. Calipari emphasized a desire to get back to what his early Kentucky teams were characterized by, defense and physicality.

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“What about in the summers, instead of the Bahmas or Toronto, we’re grinding,” Calipari proposed. “We’ve got to get back to where we’ve been defensively and with physicality. Your defense steadies you.”

Those trips are good for team bonding and chemistry, but it’s clear that time can be used better for getting into the weight room and instilling defensive principles. Calipari did note that he does not want to take a step back on offense.

Getting Older

Calipari is the coach who made the “one-and-done” approach popular, relying heavily on elite freshmen. However, with college basketball getting older, he has expressed a willingness to get older.

“We’re relying on freshmen too much. In those kinds of games, you better have some vets,” Calipari said of his takeaway from Oakland. “For us, we need to get older.”

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It should be noted that Calipari relied on transfers in 2022 and 2023, albeit most not being the elite transfers, but more supporting pieces (i.e. CJ Fredrick) and developmental players (i.e. Jacob Toppin). That said, two transfers have been the leading scorer for Kentucky in three straight seasons, Oscar Tshiebwe and Antonio Reeves.

Calipari is looking more for a middle ground between young talent and transfers. “I like the combination of both. We just got to get the right transfers.”

Program Changes

When you are winning, you have more freedom, but when you have just one NCAA Tournament win in the last four seasons, you’re not going to have that luxury. This was not publicly said by Calipari, but more oversight will come as a result of his meeting with Barnhart on Tuesday afternoon.

Expect 1-2 staff changes and likely a support staff change. One of the staff changes should be filled with a defensive mind, and the support staff should be (suggestion) filled with someone in a general manager-type role. There will also be some operation changes such as having a more definitive practice schedule, rather than getting a text the day before/of, and some changes with the NIL model.

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Men's Basketball

Mitch Barnhart Speaks On John Calipari Coming Back As Kentucky Basketball Coach, “He Will Return”

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Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart confirms that John Calipari will return as Kentucky Wildcats basketball coach.
Mike Weaver/Special to the Courier Journal

After days of speculation, Kentucky Athletic Director Mitch Barnhart confirms that John Calipari will be back, coaching his 16th season for the Kentucky Wildcats. The two had a conversation at Barnhart’s farm on Tuesday afternoon.

“As we normally do at the end of every season, Coach Calipari and I have had conversations about the direction of our men’s basketball program and I can confirm that he will return for his 16th season as our head coach,” Barnhart said in a statement.

While there was some fan outcry for a head coaching change, there was no real indication that a change would be made.

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Barnhart was put in a difficult situation. Calipari has not led the Wildcats to the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 2019, but he is one of just a few active Hall of Fame coaches. With no clear option as a replacement, Barnhart decided to retain Calipari for another season.

Kentucky Insider has been told that Tuesday’s meeting between the two was “good”, despite some disagreement. As a result of the meeting, there will be some expected changes in the program, specifically some staff changes, and changes in day-to-day operations.

On Monday, Calipari recognized his shortcomings and closed out his show with a commitment to the Kentucky fans:

“That standard of national titles has been here from coach Rupp on. The only thing I am saying to all our fans. I’m going to work… That is a commitment that I give to the fans. I love it. This is what I want. This is it. Let’s come together and let’s do something.”

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Calipari is set to meet with players individually on Wednesday to discuss their stay/go decisions. The process of rebuilding next year’s roster (and staff) begins now.

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