In 2011, a lanky kid from Chicago joined the Kentucky Wildcats and set the men’s college basketball world on fire. Anthony Davis & Co. would go on to win a national title the following year, and Kentucky would regain its place at the top of college basketball’s hierarchy.
That was then. The past few years have not featured those same highs.
Since its Elite Eight run in 2019, Kentucky hasn’t been a factor in the postseason. In 2020-21, coach John Calipari had a 9-16 finish, the school’s worst mark in 100 years. Last year, the Wildcats lost to Saint Peter’s in the first round of the NCAA tournament. There was a time when the best players picked Kentucky or Duke. But Anthony Edwards (Georgia), Cade Cunningham (Oklahoma State), Chet Holmgren (Gonzaga), Brandon Miller (Alabama) and other future lottery picks have gone outside the norm in recent years. That, along with the transfer portal, has dismantled the pipeline that often funneled every top recruit to a handful of schools. Yes, Kentucky has a top-ranked recruiting class in 2023, but a young, promising roster offers few guarantees in a sport that assembles teams on the fly each offseason.
Anchored by Wooden Award winner Oscar Tshiebwe, this season’s squad is struggling with a rare talent gap. The Wildcats have Cason Wallace, a potential lottery pick, and veteran role players, but not an overwhelming pool of talent. The lopsided 78-52 loss to Alabama on Saturday demonstrated the difference between an elite team and whatever Kentucky is right now. The 71-68 loss to South Carolina (ranked 205th on KenPom) at Rupp Arena on Tuesday night suggests these struggles could quickly become a complete collapse.
“Fans should be mad,” Calipari said after the South Carolina loss. “We don’t lose at home. … I’m just asking you now to be with these kids. They need you now. Stick with these kids. If you want to get on me, that’s fine. I’m the coach.”
It’s fair to wonder if Kentucky’s players have tuned out…
