Kentucky Wildcats basketball coach John Calipari is expected to have one of the most talented rosters in college basketball, but he’s nowhere close to letting the team buy the preseason hype.
According to Metz Camfield of CoachCal.com, the seventh-year Kentucky coach said the Wildcats, as they currently stand, aren’t good yet.
“This year’s team, as we speak, we stink. I said to them two days ago – we had yesterday off – I said there’s one really good thing that’s happening. And they said, ‘What’s that, Coach?’ I said, ‘We’re not playing tomorrow. So we’re OK. I’m not going to panic yet.”
While it’s not an entirely truthful statement, it’s a useful bit of motivation for a program that must replace a handful of NBA players. Kentucky has received the hype, but this unit hasn’t accomplished anything.
Led by No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns, six former Wildcats were picked in the NBA Draft. Willie Cauley-Stein (sixth), Trey Lyles (12th) and Devin Booker (13th) were each lottery selections, while Andrew Harrison (44th) and Dakari Johnson (48th) both found an NBA home.
Plus, undrafted guard Aaron Harrison found a home with the Charlotte Hornets, bringing the total to seven members of the 2014-15 team now in the league.
Calipari said he showed a tape of that roster running offense last season compared to the current squad, and he asked point guard Tyler Ulis if he recognized it, too.
“…as I walked out of the door, Tyler was out ahead of me and I called him back as we left the room. I said, ‘Tyler, oh my gosh. Did you see this?’ He said, ‘What?’ ‘See how good we were last year?’ He busted out laughing. He said, ‘We were really good. We were really good.'”
But like Calipari said, there’s time. He has until Nov. 13 to prepare a team that will ultimately feature Ulis, Alex Poythress and Marcus Lee as well as top recruits Skal Labissiere and Jamal Murray.
By the time the season arrives, Kentucky probably won’t stink.