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Men's Basketball

CBS Releases Controversial Starting Lineup and Rotation for Kentucky Basketball

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John Calipari coaching the Kentucky Wildcats at GLOBL JAM in Canada.
UK Athletics

Recently, CBS Sports has been releasing their lineup and rotation projections ahead of the 2023-24 college basketball season. On Thursday, writer David Cobb released his projected starting lineup for the Kentucky Wildcats, and to say the least, they are much different than what one would expect.

Here is what Cobb thinks the lineup will look like:

Starting Lineup

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  • 1: DJ Wagner
  • 2: Adou Thiero
  • 3: Antonio Reeves
  • 4: Justin Edwards
  • 5: Tre Mitchell

Bench

  • Reed Sheppard
  • Aaron Bradshaw
  • Rob Dillingham
  • Ugonna Onyenso

Depth (“unlikely to crack the rotation”)

  • Jordan Burks
  • Joey Hart
  • Zvonimir Ivisic

There are a lot of interesting things to take away from Cobb’s prediction, like Adou Thiero starting at the two, or Zvonimir Ivisic being relegated to the practice squad.

Thiero being the starting shooting guard is the biggest question. Coming to Kentucky at 6’6, 200 pounds, Thiero was considered a combo guard coming out of high school. Now 6-8, 220 pounds, Thiero still has those guard skills but is much more of a wing/forward. After all, Thiero shined brightest during GLOBL JAM when he got significant minutes playing the four spot. His athleticism and defensive prowess were best seen when he was matched up against other wings.

Cobb’s lineup also leaves little wing depth on the bench. That being said, it makes more sense to have Thiero come off the bench behind the likes of Justin Edwards or Antonio Reeves.

The next thing to be addressed is how Cobb has Zvonimir Ivisic as his last player listed on the rotation. According to Cobb, the “Croatian Unicorn” will be “a good practice player” who will be “useful in practice”. He’s not wrong, but as a player that’s 7’2 with his fluidity, he is going to find a way into the rotation.

Ivisic will battle with Ugonna Onyenso for minutes, playing behind Tre Mitchell and Aaron Bradshaw. His size is enough for him to be valuable in SEC play, but his perimeter skills are what set him apart.

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One also might question why Reed Sheppard is ahead of Rob Dillingham in the rotation, or why Aaron Bradshaw isn’t starting. All of these questions are valid, but they prove a crucial point.

With a talented freshman class, key returning players, and late additions from the transfer portal and overseas, the 2023-2024 Kentucky Wildcats have depth and versatility. And as seen with CBS Sports’ predicted lineup, there are a lot of options.

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Men's Basketball

Kentucky Basketball Has “Pure Hoopers That Love the Game” According to Former Kentucky Guard

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Tyler Ulis coaching Robert Dillingham during GLOBL Jam.
UK Athletics | Chet White

In recent seasons, Kentucky has struggled to find players to make plays when they need it most. That hasn’t always been the case, some examples of players that had the ability to make a play to secure a win include: Tyler Ulis, Jamal Murray, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and John Wall among others.

Well speaking of some of the players I just mentioned, former Kentucky guard and current student assistant Tyler Ulis recently joined the Sources Say podcast and talked about how great this team can be this upcoming year.

Ulis calls this year’s team “pure hoopers”.

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“They’re basketball players. Hoopers. Pure hoopers, all of them. And they love the game,” Ulis said. “How me and Devin (Booker) were in the gym, me and Zay (Briscoe), me and Jamal (Murray), that’s what these guys are doing. They all want to get better — scared to fail, scared not to make it. That’s what shows they want to be great.”

As what defines a pure hooper, according to Ulis. “Anyone can make a play, anyone can get in the lane, anyone can knock a shot down,” Ulis said. “We have so many options and so much depth, it’s hard not to have fun with this team.”

With the new roster and additions to the coaching staff, the goal is for Kentucky to make a deep run into the NCAA Tournament this year. As for Ulis, he is excited to see what this year’s team can do.

“I can’t say it enough: I’m extremely excited to see how this goes. We’re deep with a lot of players, and they’re skilled.”

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Men's Basketball

Texas Women’s Basketball Takes A Shot at Kentucky Basketball

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entucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari reacts in the first half against the Providence Friars at Greensboro Coliseum.
© John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Earlier this week the Kentucky basketball team caught an unexpected shot. From who? The Texas women’s basketball team. On Tuesday, the Longhorns’ social media team tweeted a video of Drake, a professed Kentucky fan, coming to visit campus and the team.

However the caption is what caught people’s attention, “we don’t have to go to Drake’s house… he comes to ours,” Clearly trying to throw a shot at Kentucky for visiting Drake’s Toronto mansion back in July, during the team’s trip to Canada for GLOBL Jam.

It didn’t take long for the Big Blue Nation to respond, as just 12 minutes later the Tweet’s caption was edited to say “thanks for stopping by🤘”.

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That being said, let’s not act like Drake made a specific trip just to visit the Texas Longhorns, he was in Austin for a stop in his music tour. Not to mention that Drake has attended multiple Kentucky games and events.

Texas will soon be in the SEC, and maybe Drake will be there in Kentucky gear to set the record straight.

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BB Recruiting

Top Kentucky Target Tre Johnson Pushes Decision Date To Spring

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UK Athletics

One of the top players in the class of 2024, Tre Johnson recently made the move to Link Academy in search of high-level competition on a big stage, which is a reason he says is why he will wait until the Spring before making a decision.

The top five guard possesses all of the scoring tools, and is a player that Kentucky really wants. He still has a few visits to take, with Alabama and Arkansas visits coming soon, plus another visit to Kansas, and another visit to Baylor. Johnson previously visited Kentucky back in late January.

Johnson has a final list of Kentucky, Baylor, Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, Kansas, and pro options. The Wildcats are rumored to be a top-three option long with Baylor and Texas. This delay may give Kentucky a better chance. With that said, he is not in a big rush to decide, as he is more focused on getting acclimated to his new home at Link Academy, as well as improving as a player.

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Tre Johnson is one of the best pure scorers in all of high school basketball, and is certainly being prioritized by multiple top schools. Current intel suggests that Baylor and Kentucky are the top contenders, but with him pushing back his decision, there is more time to tell.

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