John Calipari shares ‘coaching genius’ behind successful lineups

Kentucky’s roster is a puzzle and head coach John Calipari is slowly putting the pieces together. After UK’s 87-85 win over Florida on Saturday, Calipari discussed his approach to playing winning rotations this season.

“You have one or two guys that have a will to win and you make sure they’re in the game. How about that coaching genius?” Calipari said with a smile. “You believe in those guys and let them do it. John Wall hit me today or yesterday and said, ‘Hey let them play loose and just make sure they know the team is better. They may have to have the next play but let them play.'”

Aaron Bradshaw was one of those players with the will to win. In the second half alone, Bradshaw tallied 10 points and six rebounds. With 1:27 left in the game, the 7-foot freshman knocked down a game-changing 3-pointer, only his third of the season.

Bradshaw wasn’t the only Wildcat who played with guts down the stretch. Freshman guard Reed Sheppard drained six straight free throws to put the Gators on ice with less than a minute left. Calipari knows it wasn’t an easy victory his young core.

John Calipari finds a balance in packed depth chart

“We were playing random and I’d be honest with yourselves Florida a lot of their stuff is random and they’re gonna win a lot of games,” Calipari said. “They could be undefeated. I mean, they’re good. The biggest thing they have that most teams in college don’t have right now is size.

“If they had played us early in the season when we didn’t have any of our bigs, we couldn’t have won. No way. Now, we have our 7-foot guys, too.”

Kentucky still may have one more 7-footer to return. Croatian freshman Zvonimir Ivisic is yet to receive eligibility from the NCAA. During Kentucky’s win over Florida, ESPN commentator Jay Bilas called the NCAA’s inaction on the issue “inexplicable.”

If Ivisic does return, Kentucky will add another stunning piece to its beautifully-constructed puzzle. But, the puzzle could become convoluted. The Wildcats already have eight players receiving 20 or more minutes per game.

This packed depth chart already has forced Calipari to make a few difficult decisions. For example, defensive standout Ugonna Onyenso is only averaging 10.3 minutes per contest. Jordan Burks, who received ample playing time at the beginning of the year, is only playing nine minutes a game.

Despite the potential mix in the future rotations, Kentucky currently boasts an impressive balance. If another piece is added, Calipari will continue to look for the players with a will to win.