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Where Does This Year’s Kentucky Team Rank Amongst Other Teams in the Cal Era?

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It’s crazy, but there are only nine games left in this 2019-2020 campaign for the basketball Cats. I got to be honest, it feels like football season ended yesterday and Big Blue Madness is this weekend. This season still feels young, yet we’re nine games into the SEC slate and the SEC Tournament is just over a month away.

This is John Calipari’s tenth season at Kentucky and the funny thing is, it feels like last season John Wall, Boogie Cousins, and Eric Bledsoe were on Campus. How time flies when you’re having a good time.

With that said, with only nine games left in the season, let’s look back at where other Cal teams were at this point in the season.

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2009-2010: 21-1

Full of studs, this team was only two games removed from their upset loss at South Carolina that ruined the chances at a perfect season.

They’d go on to lose only one more game, win the SEC Tournament, and let’s not talk about the rest.

2010-2011: 16-6

This was the first of many teams that didn’t fully click until March. Complete opposite of the first season. They were constantly in the top ten, but fell as low as No. 22 late in the year.

At this point, they had just lost back-to-back road games to Ole Miss and Florida. We’d be losing our minds now and most likely were then.

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They’d go on to finished 22-8, win the SEC Tournament, and lose to a UCONN team led by Kemba Walker in the Final Four.

2011-2012: 21-1

Let’s take a minute to realize how good Cal’s first three seasons were. 2/3 years the Cats had one loss in 22 games and were in the Final Four in 2/3 years. That’s pretty damn good if you ask me.

If it wasn’t for Indiana, this team would’ve been undefeated. Oh well.

The Cats lost only two games all year and went on to dominate in March and bring home title No. 8.

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2012-2013: 16-6

Not all hope had been lost with this team. At least not yet. They had just won four straight, soon to be five. But, they were only two games away from losing Nerlens Noel for the season. Then things went straight downhill.

They went on to lose six of their last ten, including an NIT loss to Robert Morris for an awful end to a horrible season.

2013-2014: 17-5

Maybe Cal’s most frustrating team. Loaded with talent, but never figured it out until late. Kind of the story as of late, right?

They had just come off a blowout win at Rupp against Ole Miss with two more wins to come. A ten point home loss to No. 3 Florida was a bump in the road for this team as they would go on to lose four of their last seven.

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But, the season ended well. James Young slipped to give Florida a one point win in the SEC Championship game, Aaron Harrison hit some shots in March, and they’d…well….you know.

2014-2015: 22-0

Yeah, didn’t have to look this one up.

A historic season, maybe the best college basketball team ever, but unfortunately, Wisconsin got us back for the previous season.

I apologize if you still aren’t over that loss.

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2015-2016: 16-6

Probably Cal’s second worst team. They never really figured it out.

They were coming off two straight road losses to Kansas and Tennessee. They’d go on to win four in a row, lose two of their last five, win the SEC Championship, then got bounced in the second round by the Hoosiers.

Let’s be honest with ourselves though, it was impossible to follow up the previous season.

2016-2017: 18-4

This team was right in the middle of a really bad stretch.

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They had just lost back-to-back games to Tennessee and Kansas and almost lost at home to Georgia. The rough stretch ended with a 22 point loss on the road to Florida.

They’d go on to win 14 in a row, before falling to North Carolina at the buzzer in the Elite Eight.

2017-2018: 17-5

This is probably Cal’s second worst team. Same record, but everyone else was good that year. They were ranked No. 21 and were getting ready to go through hell.

They’d go on to lose five of their next nine, win the SEC Championship, and then got bounced by Kansas State in the Sweet 16.

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2018-2019: 19-3

I’ll be honest, I thought we were going to get a rematch with Duke in the title game. Not quite.

This team was really consistent, only losing five games in a good year for college basketball.

The year didn’t end well though. They’d go on to get beat by Tennessee in the SEC Tournament and lost to Auburn in the Elite Eight.

2019-2020: 17-5

This team is good. The even better thing is this year is a terrible year for college basketball, meaning you could beat anybody and lose to anybody. Fun, right?

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I think this team will go a long way in March. It’s going to be tough to win the SEC Tournament, but this team has the pieces to make a title run.

Rankings:

  1. 2014-15: 22-0
  2. 2011-12: 21-1
  3. 2009-10: 21-1
  4. 2018-19: 19-3
  5. 2016-17: 18-4
  6. 2013-14: 17-5
  7. 2019-20: 17-5
  8. 2017-18: 17-5
  9. 2010-11: 16-6
  10. 2015-16: 16-6
  11. 2012-13: 16-6

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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.

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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”.

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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.

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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.

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Men's Basketball

REPORT: Travis Perry Enters Transfer Portal

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Denzel Aberdeen commits to Kentucky.
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. 

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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.

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