Daimion Collins, Bryce Hopkins forcing Calipari to find them minutes

Of Kentucky’s 2021 recruiting class, TyTy Washington has been the only constant in UK’s rotation as a starter. For Daimion Collins and Bryce Hopkins, minutes and opportunities have been harder to come by as of late. Now, after the Wildcat’s most recent win against Alabama, John Calipari says it’s on him to find more minutes for both.

Collins played his best game of the season on Saturday night against the Alabama Crimson Tide. After playing just 22 minutes and not appearing in four of Kentucky’s games in January, he broke out in Tuscaloosa with 10 points and six rebounds in just nine minutes. His length over the top of Alabama’s defense was invaluable while Oscar Tshiebwe rested. His performance was reminiscent of Marcus Lee’s surprise contributions in the 2014 Elite Eight and Final Four games. After the win, Calipari praised Collins right from the jump in his press conference.

“Daimion Collins was the difference maker…What I love about it is I didn’t play him for six games. Never even looked at him. He now has just forced me to figure out how to play him.”

How about @CollinsDaimion, #BBN!?

10 PTS, 6 REB off the bench and provided a spark when we needed it. pic.twitter.com/9PP6eD854A

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) February 6, 2022

One key flaw on this roster had been the big man rotation behind Tshiebwe. Over the last few weeks, Lance Ware had shown flashes that he could be relied on. Last night, it was Collins’ turn. While Ware is the scrappy “veteran” who does whatever he can to help a team win, Collins’ freak length and athleticism is unmatched. Both have made their difference, which allowed Tshiebwe to play his lowest minute total in over a month last night.

Later on, Calipari said he wanted to find more minutes for fellow freshman Bryce Hopkins as well. After playing 15 minutes against Vanderbilt on Jan. 11, Hopkins has played just 12 total minutes since and didn’t appear in either of Kentucky’s wins over Kansas or Alabama. In order to capitalize on their depth, Calipari says Hopkins is going to have to earn his playing time.

“The other guy we gotta get in, but he’s gotta earn more minutes, is Bryce. When you have that kind of depth, you have a lot of room for error.”

Although Calipari and his staff seemingly finalized this team’s rotation, that no longer appears to be the case. After sticking around a seven-man rotation, Collins, Hopkins and Ware all seem like they’ll get more chances to carve out minutes for themselves moving forward.

It’ll be interesting to see who will, but it’ll all depend on who earns it in practice and shows it in games the rest of the way.