SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
When last we saw the Wildcats, they were trudging off the floor in Indianapolis after a Final Four loss to Wisconsin that brought a shocking end to their previously undefeated season. Those ‘Cats, however, won’t be walking back on the floor at Rupp Arena, or any other college court this fall. Seven Kentucky players—junior center Willie Cauley-Stein, sophomore guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison, sophomore center Dakari Johnson and freshmen Devin Booker, Trey Lyles and Karl-Anthony Towns—left early for the NBA, leaving behind a roster full of players who will have to adapt to new roles, along with (of course) John Calipari’s usual collection of incoming talent.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Larry Brown
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SMU should fire coach Larry Brown after his latest run-in with the NCAA
by Michael Rosenberg Last year, Calipari boasted often of his players’ willingness to put the team first, sacrificing minutes and shot attempts for a run at not just a national championship but the sport’s first perfect season in almost 40 years. The result was that only three players scored in double figures, led by Aaron Harrison’s 11.3 points per game. This year, however, the leading returning scorer is Tyler Ulis, a 5’9” point sophomore point guard, at 5.6 points per game. Next on that list is senior wing Alex Poythress, who averaged just 5.5 points in eight games before tearing his left ACL and missing the rest of the season.
Once again, then, it would seem the freshmen will have to play the starring role. Skal Labissiere, a seven-footer from Haiti, has drawn early (and likely unfair) comparisons to Anthony Davis, who carried Kentucky to the 2012 national title, and should anchor the middle. The backcourt is getting help, too: Isaiah Briscoe is a McDonald’s All-American from Newark who should help Ulis run the point while hunting his shot far more often than his new sidekick, who took 4.5 shot attempts a season ago, and freshmen Charles Matthews and Jamal Murray and juco transfer Mychal Mulder (the latter two of whom are from Canada) give the 'Cats a few more fresh options to explore.
The Wildcats' chances of reaching the Final Four for the fifth time in six years will depend largely on whether one or more of those newcomers evolves into a reliable scorer.
When last we saw the Wildcats, they were trudging off the floor in Indianapolis after a Final Four loss to Wisconsin that brought a shocking end to their previously undefeated season. Those ‘Cats, however, won’t be walking back on the floor at Rupp Arena, or any other college court this fall. Seven Kentucky players—junior center Willie Cauley-Stein, sophomore guards Aaron and Andrew Harrison, sophomore center Dakari Johnson and freshmen Devin Booker, Trey Lyles and Karl-Anthony Towns—left early for the NBA, leaving behind a roster full of players who will have to adapt to new roles, along with (of course) John Calipari’s usual collection of incoming talent.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Larry Brown
Video
SMU should fire coach Larry Brown after his latest run-in with the NCAA
by Michael Rosenberg Last year, Calipari boasted often of his players’ willingness to put the team first, sacrificing minutes and shot attempts for a run at not just a national championship but the sport’s first perfect season in almost 40 years. The result was that only three players scored in double figures, led by Aaron Harrison’s 11.3 points per game. This year, however, the leading returning scorer is Tyler Ulis, a 5’9” point sophomore point guard, at 5.6 points per game. Next on that list is senior wing Alex Poythress, who averaged just 5.5 points in eight games before tearing his left ACL and missing the rest of the season.
Once again, then, it would seem the freshmen will have to play the starring role. Skal Labissiere, a seven-footer from Haiti, has drawn early (and likely unfair) comparisons to Anthony Davis, who carried Kentucky to the 2012 national title, and should anchor the middle. The backcourt is getting help, too: Isaiah Briscoe is a McDonald’s All-American from Newark who should help Ulis run the point while hunting his shot far more often than his new sidekick, who took 4.5 shot attempts a season ago, and freshmen Charles Matthews and Jamal Murray and juco transfer Mychal Mulder (the latter two of whom are from Canada) give the 'Cats a few more fresh options to explore.
The Wildcats' chances of reaching the Final Four for the fifth time in six years will depend largely on whether one or more of those newcomers evolves into a reliable scorer.
