Does John Calipari still have another addition to make to his team for the 2023-24 season?
The Kentucky men’s basketball roster has ballooned in numbers over the past few weeks, going from seven scholarship players to 11 with a couple of high school commitments (Jordan Burks and Joey Hart), a high-profile return (Antonio Reeves), and a much-needed transfer (Tre Mitchell).
College basketball programs are permitted to have 13 scholarship players, though the 11 the Cats have now would be pretty normal by recent Calipari standards. Especially with seasoned walk-on Brennan Canada back for a fifth year. And especially with Calipari’s stated policy of leaving at least one spot open in the case of a possible midseason acquisition. Past examples there include Oscar Tshiebwe, Hamidou Diallo, and (gulp) Shaedon Sharpe.
But might the UK coach look to add another body to the 2023-24 mix between now and the fall?
Calipari didn’t completely shut the door on the possibility Friday afternoon, when he met with local reporters for the first time since UK’s 2022-23 season ended with a second-round loss to Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament more than three months ago.
In Friday’s press conference, Calipari acknowledged that more roster additions could be possible.
“Will we do anything else?” Calipari said. “I don’t believe so, but what if this happens and that happens? Maybe we would. It’s a little different environment.”
This roster is green, for sure — seven scholarship freshmen and two inexperienced sophomores — but there’s still plenty of talent in the backcourt (led by DJ Wagner, Reeves, Rob Dillingham and Kentucky Mr. Basketball Reed Sheppard) and a mix of NBA potential (Justin Edwards) and high-upside players (Adou Thiero and Burks) at the wings.
The frontcourt, however, could probably still use some help.
As of now, Ugonna Onyenso, who played a total of 110 minutes last season, is the only healthy center on the roster, with star recruit Aaron Bradshaw’s immediate future clouded by a foot injury. Adding Mitchell — a 6-9, 225-pound forward from West Virginia — helps, but he’s not the most physical player in the world, and it sure seems like the Cats could use some more bulk in the paint.
Intriguing high school center Somto Cyril— measured at 6-10 and 246 pounds during Overtime Elite’s pro day earlier this year — committed to the Cats on Wednesday as a 2024 recruit, but he has been working toward a possible reclassification. While all public comments since that commitment have indicated that Cyril plans to stick in the 2024 class, there’s always a chance he could still reclassify later in the process and end up on campus by the fall.
With Oregon assistant Chuck Martin expected to be named UK’s newest staff member at some point in the near future, there will be speculation (and already has been) that Ducks center N’Faly Dante — an All-Pac-12 first-teamer last season — might look to follow as a grad transfer to Kentucky, a school he strongly considered as a high school recruit.
The Dante angle appears to be more wishful thinking than anything, for now, but if Calipari gets through the team’s mid-July exhibition trip to Canada and thinks he needs more help in the post, there could be some to be found before the offseason ends.
“Because everything has changed, you have a lot of teams — they need guys,” Calipari said. “I’m going to make a guess … I would say 10 more transfers will happen, maybe in August. So a team that thinks they have guys, you’re not gonna have that guy.”
The Kentucky coach noted that, while the regular transfer window closed in May, players who graduate from college are free to transfer to a new school at basically any time. The deadline for UK students to add classes for the fall semester is Aug. 25, making it a possibility for Calipari to continue to add to his roster well into the summer. (Onyenso, for instance, didn’t join the team until August last year.)
Calipari later reiterated his prediction that “at least 10” immediately eligible grad transfers would hit the portal in time to play for a new school during the 2023-24 season. If Kentucky gets deeper into the summer and the coaches feel there’s a need for something more, they could still have options.
“This is all different than we’ve ever dealt with in the past,” Calipari said.
The Kentucky men’s basketball roster has ballooned in numbers over the past few weeks, going from seven scholarship players to 11 with a couple of high school commitments (Jordan Burks and Joey Hart), a high-profile return (Antonio Reeves), and a much-needed transfer (Tre Mitchell).
College basketball programs are permitted to have 13 scholarship players, though the 11 the Cats have now would be pretty normal by recent Calipari standards. Especially with seasoned walk-on Brennan Canada back for a fifth year. And especially with Calipari’s stated policy of leaving at least one spot open in the case of a possible midseason acquisition. Past examples there include Oscar Tshiebwe, Hamidou Diallo, and (gulp) Shaedon Sharpe.
But might the UK coach look to add another body to the 2023-24 mix between now and the fall?
Calipari didn’t completely shut the door on the possibility Friday afternoon, when he met with local reporters for the first time since UK’s 2022-23 season ended with a second-round loss to Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament more than three months ago.
In Friday’s press conference, Calipari acknowledged that more roster additions could be possible.
“Will we do anything else?” Calipari said. “I don’t believe so, but what if this happens and that happens? Maybe we would. It’s a little different environment.”
This roster is green, for sure — seven scholarship freshmen and two inexperienced sophomores — but there’s still plenty of talent in the backcourt (led by DJ Wagner, Reeves, Rob Dillingham and Kentucky Mr. Basketball Reed Sheppard) and a mix of NBA potential (Justin Edwards) and high-upside players (Adou Thiero and Burks) at the wings.
The frontcourt, however, could probably still use some help.
As of now, Ugonna Onyenso, who played a total of 110 minutes last season, is the only healthy center on the roster, with star recruit Aaron Bradshaw’s immediate future clouded by a foot injury. Adding Mitchell — a 6-9, 225-pound forward from West Virginia — helps, but he’s not the most physical player in the world, and it sure seems like the Cats could use some more bulk in the paint.
Intriguing high school center Somto Cyril— measured at 6-10 and 246 pounds during Overtime Elite’s pro day earlier this year — committed to the Cats on Wednesday as a 2024 recruit, but he has been working toward a possible reclassification. While all public comments since that commitment have indicated that Cyril plans to stick in the 2024 class, there’s always a chance he could still reclassify later in the process and end up on campus by the fall.
With Oregon assistant Chuck Martin expected to be named UK’s newest staff member at some point in the near future, there will be speculation (and already has been) that Ducks center N’Faly Dante — an All-Pac-12 first-teamer last season — might look to follow as a grad transfer to Kentucky, a school he strongly considered as a high school recruit.
The Dante angle appears to be more wishful thinking than anything, for now, but if Calipari gets through the team’s mid-July exhibition trip to Canada and thinks he needs more help in the post, there could be some to be found before the offseason ends.
“Because everything has changed, you have a lot of teams — they need guys,” Calipari said. “I’m going to make a guess … I would say 10 more transfers will happen, maybe in August. So a team that thinks they have guys, you’re not gonna have that guy.”
The Kentucky coach noted that, while the regular transfer window closed in May, players who graduate from college are free to transfer to a new school at basically any time. The deadline for UK students to add classes for the fall semester is Aug. 25, making it a possibility for Calipari to continue to add to his roster well into the summer. (Onyenso, for instance, didn’t join the team until August last year.)
Calipari later reiterated his prediction that “at least 10” immediately eligible grad transfers would hit the portal in time to play for a new school during the 2023-24 season. If Kentucky gets deeper into the summer and the coaches feel there’s a need for something more, they could still have options.
“This is all different than we’ve ever dealt with in the past,” Calipari said.
