John Calipari details the 'vital' factor that will determine success in March

Kentucky went into the 2023 NCAA Tournament as a No. 6 seed and take on Providence in the first round. Head coach John Calipari knew there were vital factors to success, but one stuck out above the rest.

Health was an important factor for the Wildcats all season long. But now, it seems like it’s all coming together at the right time.

Calipari was asked about the team practicing at full strength ahead of the NCAA Tournament.

“We’ve got to get three or four good practices in with a full team,” Calipari said. “It’s going to be vital. It will be vital. We have to have them on the floor. I haven’t checked to see where guys are, but we’re going to have to do that. We need a couple days to just recover from stuff right now. So next couple days we’ll probably need the recovery. Then Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, let’s go, let’s get something done.”

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Calipari also mentioned the fundamentals and teaching abilities, despite the latter stages of the season.

“Amazing, at this time of the year we’re still teaching and still talking them through stuff, getting them to visualize different things that are happening,” Calipari said. “I like the team. We got a little bit of everything. We out-rebounded them by almost 20 rebounds. Make free throws, make your free throws. I mean, we did some good stuff, but they’re a good team, too. They made shots, and we missed shots. You won’t believe that’s what this game is about.”

As for some of those players who missed time, Calipari hoped guard Sahvir Wheeler could make an impact on the tournament.

“That’s why he’s gotta practice for three days,” the coach said. “He’s gotta show us that he’s what he needed to be. And I said there’s nothing that would make me happier than for him to impact a game (and) then everybody say, ‘man if we had this dude all year, what would we have been?’ Because when we struggled, a lot of it was guard play.”

Wheeler hasn’t played since Feb. 4 as he dealt with an ankle injury. Then, on March 1, Calipari revealed that the senior underwent a “minor procedure” that was unrelated to his injured ankle.

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In 21 games this season, Wheeler averaged 7.7 points and 5.6 assists in 28.5 minutes per game. Kentucky went 14-7 when he played this season.