LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky basketball is moving on. Forget last season. Forget the abrupt and embarrassing end. That was last season. This is a new season. Or the summer before the new season.
At a UK media opportunity last week, I was halfway through my question to Lance Ware about the loss by the No. 2 seed Wildcats to No. 15 seed Saint Peter’s in the NCAA Tournament last March when the junior center interrupted.
“The Saint Peter’s game is over,” Ware declared.
That is true. Yet several Cats off that team return on John Calipari’s 2022-23 roster. Might their memories be long? Will they use the sting of that first-round loss as motivational fuel for the task ahead?
“You don’t talk about something that’s over with,” Ware said. “Like I said before, you take it with you, you learn from it, but if we sat and talked about Saint Peter’s all day, then Saint Peter’s won everything.”
Anger is not a strategy, so they say. Still, the redemption question speaks to an interesting twist to UK basketball’s next edition. This isn’t an all-new team. Pass the word: Calipari has actual returnees. Oscar Tshiebwe. Sahvir Wheeler. Jacob Toppin. Daimion Collins. Ware. Even CJ Fredrick, who sat out ‘21-22 with a hamstring injury.
Last year’s team did boast college experience, unusual for a Calipari team. Much of it was acquired elsewhere, however. Tshiebwe transferred from West Virginia. Wheeler transferred from Georgia. Kellan Grady transferred from Davidson. Fredrick arrived from Iowa. All were newbies in getting-to-know-you mode on their campus arrivals.
This year’s outfit has more of a shared experience. This is Ware’s third year in the program. Same for Toppin. You could say it’s two-and-a-half for Tshiebwe, who transferred from Morgantown during the midpoint of the 2020-21 campaign. It’s the second year for Wheeler and Collins.
As a collective, the group shared the highs and lows of a year ago. The loss at Notre Dame. The 28-point blowout of Tennessee at Rupp Arena. The 18-point win at eventual national champion Kansas. The injuries to starting guards TyTy Washington and Wheeler. The semifinal loss to Tennessee in the SEC tournament, followed by the Saint Peter’s stunner.
Some have moved on. As expected, Washington was one-and-done. He’ll be a first-round NBA draft pick. Grady and Davion Mintz are hoping to play their way into the NBA. After three years as a Wildcat, Keion Brooks will finish his career with the Washington Huskies. Bryce Hopkins transferred to Providence. Fan favorite Dontaie Allen now calls Western Kentucky home.
Calipari’s core returns. Tshiebwe swept national player of the year awards. Wheeler led the SEC and was third in the nation in assists. After averaging 6.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per game, Toppin’s role should expand. A 6-foot-9 forward with plenty of upside, Collins is considered a key to future fortunes.
UK added a high-scoring transfer in Antonio Reeves and a pair of top-15 recruits in Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston. Reeves averaged 20.1 points per game at Illinois State last year. The 6-4 Wallace is considered a defensive stopper for a UK team that faltered defensively down the stretch. The 6-6 Livingston is purported to be outstanding in the transition game.
Don’t forget Fredrick, who shot 46.7% (83 of 178) from 3-point range his two Iowa seasons. Though sidelined, Fredrick was able to learn the Calipari system, befriend his teammates and acquire at least a feel for what Kentucky basketball is all about.
What UK is not about is shocking first-round NCAA Tournament losses. Heavy-hitters Syracuse (1991), Arizona (1993), Duke (2012), Michigan State (2016) and Ohio State (2021) had all previously fallen to No. 15 seeds — Virginia lost to a No. 16 in 2018 — but Kentucky had not suffered the ignominy of a first-round exit since 2008.
“If that’s still playing on our mind, I mean it’s over with,” Ware said. “No need to think about (Saint Peter’s), but you can learn from it. It is what it is at this point. We can’t do nothing about it.”
Not yet.
