Coach Cal says starting lineup doesn't matter, but could change things against Oakland's zone

Barring necessary change due to injury, Kentucky has stuck with the same starting lineup from the game before for most of the season. There have been a few minor changes here and there, but consistency has undoubtedly been the name of the game — as much as there can be when eight players miss a combined 52 games on the year.

That’s led to some frustration when slow starts have plagued the Cats, particularly in their losses. The latest example was an 8-1 deficit to open the team’s matchup vs. Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals, one that resulted in a double-digit loss and one-and-done exit.

Now, the NCAA Tournament is here where there are no mulligans. And John Calipari knows that avoiding slow starts will be key in surviving and advancing. Does that mean a change is coming to the starting lineup to give Kentucky its best shot?

Well, that answer is complicated. In a vacuum, no, because Calipari has seen the current starters jump out to strong starts and use them for solid all-around performances, which is what the Cats will need in Pittsburgh and (hopefully) beyond. At the end of the day, he values minutes played and the last five on the floor, not the first.

“I don’t think it matters. I think what we’re doing right now — you sub early and who plays the most minutes? If Rob (Dillingham) doesn’t foul, he and Reed (Sheppard) and Antonio (Reeves) play the most minutes anyway, so what does it matter?” Calipari said. “And it keeps the other guys engaged. Do you think we needed Justin when we played Tennessee? Did we need Justin against Alabama or Auburn? I mean you need everybody on your team, you need to make sure you have a full roster. How do you keep guys going? That’s a part of coaching.”

But here’s the caveat: Oakland, Kentucky’s opening-round matchup in the NCAA Tournament, is a zone-heavy team. And while he wouldn’t commit to it officially, he confirmed that’s something that could lead to a change on Thursday.

“We have to start better,” he said. “Hopefully, if I do make any change, it will be because we need to start better against the zone. We’ll see.”

Calipari dug into that a bit more, why he believes Oakland presents a tough and interesting challenge to his squad in the opening round this week. It starts with that unique zone.

“It’s gonna be a hard game, none of these games are easy. They play a tandem zone, kind of a matchup hybrid,” he said. “The way they do things, it all depends on how you’re going to play. You can’t be tentative, you’ve got to be aggressive, you don’t need to take quick shots. Ball moves and body moves, you’ll have a chance.”

And then it’s the team’s offense, a high-volume shooting group with an anchor in the middle.

“But they’re also good on offense. (Trey) Townsend is the Player of the Year in their league, and he shoots 80% from the free throw line. He’s a big, strong kid inside,” Calipari said. “And they’ve got two shooters, (Blake) Lampman and (Jack) Gohlke, who combine to take 20 threes. Gohlke will shoot them from half court now, I’m not lying. You’ll see a shot, what did he? Oh my gosh, he made it?

“When you have a chance like that where you can make threes and you got that one player that you can try to go to, it means you’re going to have a chance. You’re going to have a chance. We’re good, they’re good, let’s see where we are when we play on Thursday.”

Does that mean a change is coming to the starting lineup? It hasn’t been ruled out.