By Brant Daughtry
Blue Grass, but Only If You’re Smoking It
Kentucky basketball, the most entitled fanbase in the SEC by far in my experience, is coached by John Calipari, a man who does less with more better than anyone. In the early days of his tenure, Cal dominated the SEC. Since other schools have caught up, his grasp has slipped a little. That said, he still remains a dominant recruiter, and brings in top-5 classes regularly. His teams will always be flush with talent, and this year is no exception.
This season hasn’t been a bad one for Kentucky, but it hasn’t been up to their usual standards. The Wildcats are 19-9, with a 10-5 conference record. They started very poorly, leading many fans to call for Coach Cal’s job, but they’ve fixed most of their issues, and have a legit shot at the NCAA Tournament. They’re 28th in the NET Rankings, and receiving votes in the AP Top 25. This isn’t your typical dominant Kentucky team, but they’re still pretty good, expecting a NCAA Tournament bid.
Players to Watch For:
Center Oscar Tshibwe, #34- Tshibwe has been one of the best players in college basketball for a while. He’s big, strong, tenacious, and just impossible to keep off the glass. He’s also another reason I think NIL is a great thing in concept. Tshibwe probably won’t have a ton of success in the NBA. He’s a 6’8″ center, and that’s not big enough to play inside in the NBA. He also doesn’t have the shooting or athletic ability to be a wing at that level, which is what he demands with his measurables. He’s an incredibly impactful athlete that in a previous era, wouldn’t have been able to truly capitalize on his popularity. In the NIL era, he’s able to (legally) make money that’s equal to his level of play. I’m happy for the guy. As far as scouting, he leads Kentucky in points and rebounds per game, with 15.8 and 13 respectively. That rebounding rate also is tied for the NCAA lead with Purdue’s Zach Edey, who stands at 7’4″. He’s a freak inside, and Johni Broome will have his hands full.
Guard Sahvir Wheeler, #2- Let me start this section by saying it’s possible Wheeler doesn’t play. He’s been dealing with an injury and hasn’t played since the beginning of February. That said, he’s been back at practice. According to Cal though, he’s only doing non-contact drills. If he does play, he makes Kentucky a lot better. He shoots close to 40% from three, and averages about 8 points a game. Where he’s most dangerous though, is his passing. He’s one of the best assist men in the game, averaging 5.6 per game. Without him, Kentucky has struggled a little running its offense. If he comes back, the game gets a lot harder defensively.
As you can probably tell from the opening paragraph, I’m not a big fan of Kentucky basketball, or their head coach. I think he’s annoying, entitled, full of himself, and not nearly as good as he thinks he is. I think he’s passed a lot of those attributes onto that fanbase as well. Like I said, no one does less with more. He’s won a national title sure, but Calipari has coached 31 first-round draft picks in 13 seasons, and seven players who made at least one NBA All-Star game. And he makes $8.6 million a year, second most in all of college basketball. All that just to get in a pissing match with football coach Mark Stoops about what sport the school should focus on more. Cal annoys me, and he should annoy you too.
Looking at the game from an Auburn perspective, it’s always nice to beat Kentucky for several reasons. Some of them are listed above. Others include that Auburn needs another signature win to really hang its hat on. It has good wins, but not many GREAT ones. In these final three, any win would be massive. Kentucky is a winable game, even if it’s in Lexington. Auburn is probably in the tournament. If you want to make it definitely, this is a great place to start.
