ADVERTISEMENT

3 takeaways from UK disappointing Draft Day (John Clay, Herald)

JST390-2

Junior
Nov 1, 2015
2,204
3,858
113
Florida

1. KENTUCKY WENT 0.5-FOR-3 IN NBA DRAFT DECISIONS​

In something of an upset, I was almost right and could be fully right. (Imagine that.) I predicted this week that Oscar Tshiebwe and Chris Livingston would remain in the NBA Draft, while Antonio Reeves would withdraw before Wednesday night’s 11:59 p.m. deadline and return to school in Lexington.

Reeves still could. By all reports, Reeves will weigh his options first, however. That means the former Illinois State transfer is expected to meet soon with John Calipari to discuss playing time and NIL money. I still think Reeves returns, but we’ll see.

The Tshiebwe decision might have been a surprise a month ago, but not now. The choice was trending in the professional direction. Oscar played well in the NBA Draft Combine. He had received workout invitations from several clubs. He apparently decided there wasn’t much more to prove by continuing to play college basketball. Time to take a crack at the next level. Best of luck to him.

From the start, the smart money said Livingston was draft-bound. He’s athletic. He has a nice upside. He has an NBA body. It’s sensible that a team could take a shot on Livingston in the second round. Or he could go the G League route. Livingston could have used another year in college, but you can’t blame him for starting the process now.

2. JOHN CALIPARI REALLY, REALLY NEEDS ROSTER REINFORCEMENTS​

If Reeves does return, Calipari still has roster holes to fill and the clock is ticking. He’d have just eight scholarship players. He needs experience. There will be five scholarship freshmen on the roster. Yes, it’s the nation’s No. 1 freshman class, but they are freshmen. Two more will be sophomores. Excluding Reeves, that’s it. And with Tshiebwe gone, more size wouldn’t hurt.

To this point, Calipari hasn’t exactly taken a deep dive into the transfer portal waters for next season. He swung and missed on Hunter Dickinson (Michigan to Kansas) and Keshad Johnson (San Diego State to Arizona). UK has been vaguely linked to a few other portal possibilities, but that’s about it.

Surely that changes now. Creighton’s Arthur Kaluma received a lot of play on Big Blue Twitter after Tshiebwe’s announcement. But is that a belief, or a hope? Kaluma is an interesting prospect, but he’s not Oscar. He’s a 6-foot-7 junior-to-be who averaged 11 points, six rebounds and shot 42 percent last season. Tshiebwe’s numbers were 16.5 points, 13.7 rebounds and 56 percent shooting.

Kentucky could also use another shooter, especially if Reeves does end up elsewhere. Poor perimeter shooting has played a factor in recent UK postseason losses. Is there another shooter out there? Can Calipari (a) locate him and (b) convince him to come to Lexington? That’s another we’ll see.

A large BBN faction is ready to bury Calipari for his roster management. I haven’t reached for my shovel just yet. I’m willing to wait until this plays out. The buzzer hasn’t sounded just yet.



3. WE’LL SEE MUCH MORE UGONNA ONYENSO AND ADOU THIERO​

Looking for a silver lining in Wednesday’s Big Blue sad news?

Start with Ugonna Onyenso. Is the 6-11 center really a future NBA star? Is he still too raw to make an impact? We’re going to find out. Without a late portal addition, Onyenso is going to have to play. A lot. I’m on record saying that’s a good thing. I think Onyenso owns tremendous untapped potential. I also think the hiring of John Welch as an assistant coach with an emphasis on development should help Onyenso’s development.

We’ll also see more of Adou Thiero. There are those around the UK program who believe Theiro is going to be a tremendous college player. Calipari even said Adou will “be a guy that has a major impact on college basketball. He will.”

We’ll be watching. With a thin bench, Thiero will have to get more PT. And Cal will have to let him play through mistakes. Same with Onyenso. That might be painful to watch in November and December but could pay off in February and March.

 
Not convinced Cal will play them. Cal has a tendency to select one player each season to not play. Of course, Cal could be in mourning with the loss of Lance Ware who be played a lot.

GONNA ONYENSO AND ADOU THIERO​

 
  • Haha
Reactions: NociHTTP
This is where not playing Ugo & Thiero more is going to bite Cal in the ass when they could have received valuable experience last season.
You mean during all those blow out wins?

I get it, I wanted to see more of both too. But the league was tough last year and Ugo was just a free foul or layup every trip defensively. Thiero's minutes came from the guys that were carrying us. Those 2 needed LOTS of minutes in the early cupcake games. But with a new roster every year, the whole club is still learning to play together, every year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ron Mehico
You mean during all those blow out wins?

I get it, I wanted to see more of both too. But the league was tough last year and Ugo was just a free foul or layup every trip defensively. Thiero's minutes came from the guys that were carrying us. Those 2 needed LOTS of minutes in the early cupcake games. But with a new roster every year, the whole club is still learning to play together, every year.
Yeah, Lance Ware & Daimion Collins were so much better for Kentucky than Ugo. Can argue all you want they weren't ready but did you ever get the feeling Ware & Collins were watching them play? Obviously with more playing time Ugo/Thiero would have been more comfortable on the floor and put the growing pains behind them sooner. Now we face going into 2023-24 with them nearly as green as the freshmen. Don't want to hear the excuses with new rosters every year just how Cal chooses to construct his teams and league play isn't getting any easier this year either. Will just get harder when Texas & Oklahoma join. It's where a lack of a deep bench will continue to haunt Cal playing with such a short rotation. It's not 2012 when you had studs like AD, Jones, Lamb, MKG and Miller you could get by with.

When you say 'whole club' that includes Thiero & Ugo too. It was one of the most experienced rosters Cal has ever had since coming to UK. Shouldn't have had near the struggles and close games even against the cupcakes when critical development for Thiero/Ugo could have taken place. Guess that's what happens playing your favorites like Wheeler & Ware over players with a higher ceiling. We saw glimpses of Thiero when Cal had to play him with 7 points, 5 rebounds in 24 minutes vs Arkansas. As far as Ugo, he had some solid non-conference games but hard to get any rhythm going playing sparingly and the guys ahead of you after Oscar meaning Ware & Collins weren't getting the job done either. Ware getting as much as 30 minutes in the road loss to Mizzou. Ugo zero, surprisingly was one of Thiero's better SEC games with 5 & 3. I hope they drastically improve for the sake of the this year's team. They were still in practice every day last year but in the end real game experience is what matters most.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: ColumbiaCard
This program is F****ed with Cow at the wheel.
 
Fisher calls Kaluma for Oscar, Reeves and Livingston as “square”. What a jackass.
It's called addition by subtraction.

It will only be square if it generates wins.

At least now Cal won't have to force Livingston down our throats about being a 3.
 
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT