Calipari planning for 7-8 man rotation against Duke. What will it look like?

Once CJ Fredrick returns to full strength, John Calipari will have his hands overflowing with talent. Even without the Iowa transfer, who might see some on-court action against Duke on Tuesday night, Kentucky can still go 11 players deep. It’s one of those “good problems to have” if you will. But it will still be a problem.

Calipari has said over and over that he won’t use the platoon system again. On Monday morning during his pre-Duke press conference, the head coach reaffirmed that thought process. He’s expecting a seven- to an eight-man rotation. Particularly against the Blue Devils, Kentucky will need a solidified, tight lineup.

“What is the rotation now for this kind of game? You’re not playing 11 guys. It’s not happening,” Calipari said. “Now you might because of foul trouble, injuries, different things like that. But your rotation’s going to be more normal with eight guys maybe seven. Who are they?”

Who are they? indeed. Through two exhibition games, we have a decent idea of who those seven to eight players might be, but again, preseason injuries are slowing down that process just slightly.

If we’re looking for a guess at what Calipari’s rotation against Duke might be, we can take a pretty decent shot.

A starting five consisting of TyTy Washington, Sahvir Wheeler, Kellan Grady, Keion Brooks Jr., and Oscar Tshiebwe feels rock solid. That’s the same lineup Cal has used in the two exhibition games and all five have shown that they are deserving of those roles. It’s the next two to three spots where tough decisions must be made.

Playing Duke in Madison Square Garden will actually be a perfect opportunity to see who those next men up might be.

“There are some guys when you put them on the stage, they’ll blossom, that you’re not sure about them,” Calipari said. “…There are other guys that earned the right to get on that stage with how they practice.”

Going off of the two exhibition wins over Kentucky Wesleyan College and Miles College, we can make some assumptions as to which players have been standing out in practice; the guys who could be the next two to three off the bench.

Freshmen Daimion Collins and Bryce Hopkins have been the first two substitutions in both outings, averaging 17 and 15 minutes per game, respectively. Sixth-year guard Davion Mintz played 24 minutes against KWC but just 11 against Miles. Lance Ware and Dontaie Allen were behind all three in minutes played while Jacob Toppin had an impressive showing in his lone exhibition.

Keeping Mintz on the bench will be incredibly tough for Calipari. The leading scorer from last season won’t be asked to do nearly as much when it comes to scoring the ball, but he’s more than willing to dig in on defense and make plays off the ball on offense. He can obviously put the ball in the bucket when he needs to.

Go ahead and throw Mintz into the mix with the starting five, which leaves us with one or two more spots.

On Monday, Calipari unpromptedly mentioned Toppin by name on two different occasions. He all but confirmed that the 6-foot-9 junior will be in the rotation against Duke for his ability to make tough plays that others don’t necessarily want to do. Toppin is also another big body to throw against Duke’s large frontcourt.

“At the end of the day, merit wins out,” Calipari added. “I mean, Jacob is jumping into the rotation because of his energy, not how he played–the energy, the toughness, the attacking, he’s just playing. Now he only practiced seven days. So it’s all merit-based.”

If we stop at seven players, that would be the rotation against Duke. If we bump that number to eight, it becomes a roll of the dice. Collins has looked raw early on while Hopkins has shown flashes of a high skill level. Ware has been steady, but not amazing. Allen performed much better in the second exhibition compared to the first.

In the end, it might just come down to who was practicing the best over the weekend. The season-opener has still yet to tip. The rotation is fluid for right now.

“I may put guys in that I think are part of the group of seven or eight and then you watch and you say let me try somebody else. And then that guy becomes that group of seven or eight,” Calipari said. “I mean, again, I go back to Jacob. I didn’t think Jacob would jump in this and do this but his energy level and the spirit he brought to the court changed how we were playing.”

As the season progresses, Cal will look to lock in his rotation. A few guys capable of playing Power 5 minutes are going to ride the bench. Fredrick coming back will only complicate the wealth of talent. The rotation could feasibly change throughout the year due to injuries, etc., but ideally, it looks mostly the same throughout.

“I hope not. I hope not,” Calipari said about constantly switching the rotation. “That means we’ve got inconsistent players.”

KSR’s expected rotation against Duke

G: TyTy Washington
G: Sahvir Wheeler
F: Kellan Grady
F: Keion Brooks Jr.
C: Oscar Tshiebwe

SUB 1: Davion Mintz
SUB 2: Jacob Toppin
SUB 3: Bryce Hopkins

SUB 4: Lance Ware
SUB 5: Daimion Collins
SUB 6: Dontaie Allen