Explaining why John Calipari has to change his recruiting, portal strategy
John Calipari is likely going to have to change his recruiting and portal strategy at Kentucky after this past season.
Amid NIL and the transfer portal running rampant, and Calipari seemingly reluctant to change, the Wildcats were bounced again in the first round despite a talented roster. Albeit it was a young roster.
Kentucky Sports Radio’s Nick Roush joined Andy Staples On3 to explain how this could change this offseason.
“Like Antonio Reeves, who was the highest scoring scorer in a single season in the calendar year,” Roush said of bringing in veterans via the portal. “You need to do that … You’ve got to do more with it. Here’s some fun little rotating door: The year that Kentucky got Antonio Reeves, he’s a two year player. The other guy they recruited that they missed out who is a big physical guy played the sweet 16, is Terrence Shannon …
“It’s gonna be a pressure cooker next year, if Mitch Barnhart doesn’t do the unthinkable and decides to can Cal … going into this day we just thought, well this if Cal does his show he’s got to be the coach right? Cal and Mitch, they’re gonna meet aren’t they?”
Calipari also explained, in greater detail on his radio show, how he could approach retooling Kentucky’s roster.
“It’s winning and end of the season stuff and we’ll talk about it but it’s you know, having this program in today’s environment, it’s a little different now,” Calipari said. “I mean, kids are 25, 26, 27. Now how do you continue to do it with freshmen? What do they have to look like physically? And how do you bring in some transfers out of that portal to make up for your team? Some people are not taking any freshmen. They’re just going into the portal and 12 new guys and hope it works out.”
Calipari is not going to go all in on the portal or sticking to freshmen. It has to be a delicate balance of the two.
“I would just tell you, I like the combination of both,” Calipari said. “We just got to get the right transfer who understands what this is. We got to keep coaching these young kids. We probably got to use the summer a little bit differently because of where this is all gone.
“We got to get more physicality, more time in the weight room. What are the goals we’re gonna set for each kid physically? But on top of that, we got to first of all see who’s gonna be here from this roster, and who won’t be here.”