Like many fans in recent years, Matt Jones and Kentucky Sports Radio (KSR) have been critical of John Calipari and the Kentucky men’s basketball program. Considering that Kentucky has only won just one NCAA Tournament game in the last three seasons, the results do warrant criticism.

Jones has never shied away from expressing exactly how he feels regarding the Cats, during the good times and the bad times too. On July 26th’s edition of KSR, Matt Jones revisited what he calls “The State of UK Basketball Conversation”.

In early June, he talked about how Kentucky basketball was in “disarray”.

Originally, Jones had three primary reasons for why UK basketball was in bad shape:

1. A lot of people within the program had “taken things for granted and maybe weren’t doing a lot of the work that needed to happen”.
2. UK was behind in terms of their style of play.
3. John Calipari “ruined, or at least let go stale” relationships, which hurt the program.

Amidst the positive momentum following GLOBL JAM, Jones’ tone has flipped, and he says there is a “new energy” within the program, giving some credit to the incoming freshmen.

“I think a lot of these freshmen have great mentalities and sort of have excited even the older guys and some of that fun,” Jones said. “That has been so characteristic of Cal’s program for so many years. It’s kind of back and there’s a new energy.”

“I’ve been told they’ve kind of turned around that there’s a new energy in that building, built in part by the new coaches, but in part by the new players who have come in with a lot of energy, and a lot of those things are better now.”

That “new energy” has included subsequent offseason changes, which are already making a difference.

NIL Wake Up Call

One of the more significant changes is with NIL. After missing out on two transfers they had prioritized, multiple players to the second round of the NBA Draft (or even undrafted), and potentially Antonio Reeves to the transfer portal, John Calipari was hit with a reality check.

Calipari has often told players, “Don’t be tripping over nickels on the way to the NBA.” While that philosophy works for top recruits with the potential to make $10+ million annually in the NBA, it has not proven to be as effective on players below that.

To change that, Calipari launched “The La Familia Club” which others have called a “non collective, collective”.

Starting to be organized back in January, The La Familia Club is an annual investment from former players and boosters, to provide a way to pay student-athletes beyond traditional marketing avenues. It is estimated to raise more than double any other program’s collective.

Jones credits La Familia for the return of Antonio Reeves and the landing of Tre Mitchell from the transfer portal, which based on their play at GLOBL JAM, will prove valuable this season.

Taking an Approach to Modern Basketball

Alongside the criticism of Kentucky’s postseason results, has been the criticism of John Calipari’s offense, specifically the lack of spacing and shot selection.

If you look at a shot chart in the NBA, 90 percent of a team’s shots will be taken in the paint or from three. That is due to analytics proving those are the two best shots on the floor.

That has not been the case for Kentucky, as they have been amongst the top in mid-range jumpers taken. Last season, Calipari even went as far as saying that the mid-range shot is one they play to get, following a game where more than half of Kentucky’s shots were from mid-range.

Summer practice reports have revealed that Calipari has somewhat gone away from that philosophy and even wanting to “eliminate long twos”. During the Wildcats’ trip to Canada for GLOBL JAM, that was evident.

In Kentucky’s first outing against Team Germany, the Wildcats shot just two long two-point shots, and just 8 of the Wildcats’ 74 total shots were mid-range jumpers. Looking at the shot chart, there was a clear focus on shots at the rim or from three.

Jones cites the hirings of John Welch and Chuck Martin as potential catalysts for this. While that could be the case, Calipari also has a roster that can play this style for the first time in a while.

Even Calipari himself said he wants this year’s team to shoot “27 threes a game”. Clearly, Calipari has had a shift in his basketball philosophy.

Time will tell how these changes will help the program make a deep run, but there is a lot of positive momentum in Kentucky’s favor. Just look at this tweet (aka “X” now). John Calipari wearing shades, the team hanging out at Drake’s house, the caption.