John Calipari will monitor Aaron Bradshaw, Ugonna Onyenso's recoveries on weekly basis

Last week, John Calipari gave a vague timeline of when Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso will return to action following foot surgeries, first saying five to six weeks, then seven. Today at SEC Basketball Media Day, he was asked again about the status of the seven footers and said he regrets putting a timeline on it at all.

“I should never do that because all of a sudden it was nine weeks. It means that they’re ready for the NCAA Tournament,” Calipari joked.

“Look, they’re on the right path, both of them. Ugo is a little bit behind Aaron because of the timing of his injury and the surgery. But they’re both progressing really good and we’ll learn something each week about where they are.”

“I don’t want to put a date or time on it because what if they’re [ready] earlier? How about this one: what if it takes some more time than we thought? It does. But they’ll both be fine. Those are surgeries and injuries that are pretty common. I feel good and they’ve got great attitudes, both of them.”

When asked specifically, Calipari said he did not know whether Bradshaw or Onyenso will be back by the time the season starts.

“I don’t know if they’re both back or both not back. I don’t know.”

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Calipari: “It’ll take time” for Bradshaw, Ugo to get to full strength

There is at least one benefit to being sidelined. Because they’re unable to participate in practice, Calipari said both Bradshaw and Onyneso have spent extra time in the weight room. Bradshaw is listed as 7’1″, 226 lbs. on Kentucky’s roster, Onyenso 7’0″ 247 lbs.

“Here’s the other thing: they both gained weight, they both got stronger because they could not jump around and do that. Now all of a sudden you look at Ugo and you look at Aaron and physically, they’ve probably both gained 20-25 pounds of muscle weight.”

That said, once the two are able to play, Calipari said it will take some time for them to get back into game condition.

“Oh, it’ll affect them,” Calipari said of Bradshaw and Onyenso missing summer and fall practices. “Yeah, that’ll take time. You know, you weren’t jumping. Now all of a sudden, you’re jumping. You were shooting shots and free throws without ever leaving your feet. Now you have to do it. So it’ll take time.

“But I think they’re both really talented. They’ve got good skills. It’s the bump and grind of the game that they’re not seeing.”

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