Frank Martin says Kentucky is playing its "best basketball of the year right now"

Another game, another opposing head coach heaping praise all over the Kentucky Wildcats. This time around it was South Carolina’s Frank Martin, who is preparing his Gamecocks squad for a Tuesday night showdown against the No. 5 ranked ‘Cats.

Martin, who has been the head man at South Carolina since the 2012-13 season, has seen plenty of impressive John Calipari-coached Kentucky squads over the years. In 10 battles between the two, Martin has only come out on top in three of those meetings. He knows first-hand what a championship-caliber UK team looks like, and he sees shades of that in this current collection of Wildcats.

During his Monday morning press conference, Martin couldn’t help but hype up his competition.

“Kentucky’s got a heck of a team once again like they always do and (Calipari) has done what he always does, which is take a team and make them better as the year goes,” Martin said on Monday. “And I think they’re playing their best basketball of the year right now, and it’s gonna be a great challenge but one that you’ve got to be excited about.”

Martin is just the latest head coach to speak highly of Kentucky either before or after facing them. Alabama’s Nate Oats said UK had one of the best rosters in the country. Vanderbilt’s Jerry Stackhouse said the ‘Cats are “full of guys to be concerned about“. Kansas’s Bill Self and Mississippi State’s Ben Howland both believe Kentucky can win the entire NCAA Tournament.

And you know what all four of those coaches have in common? They all lost to Kentucky over the last two weeks. As he’s often done during his time as the head coach in Lexington, Calipari has his team playing its best basketball at the right time of the season.

“Cal gets all this publicity for the one and done and all that stuff and I get it, they’ve got really good freshman,” Martin added before elaborating. “But he always brings those guys together and as the year goes on they get better defensively, they create more of a personality offensively, and I think you’re starting to see that again.”

Kentucky’s depth and versatility are what give opposing coaches nightmares. Martin was so effusive with his compliments for UK that he listed off nearly every Wildcat as a player he has to account for. Star freshman TyTy Washington, in particular, earned multiple shoutouts from Martin. But it’s the added presence of the veterans that separates this Kentucky team from the ones of past Calipari-led roster.

“TyTy Washington is a special player,” Martin said. “When he’s healthy, they’ve been pretty good. The games that he’s missed due to the ankle injury, that’s when they kinda had some moments where they didn’t play as well offensively.

“Davion Mintz is an older player. (Sahvir) Wheeler’s been around the block, he’s a dynamic, aggressive point guard. (Oscar) Tshiebwe’s been around for a while even though he wasn’t on Kentucky the whole time, but he’s been around for a while and he’s a load in there. (Jacob) Toppin’s been around forever. Keion Brooks has been around, I think this is his third year. (Kellan) Grady is a fifth-year player. If you actually pay attention to the guys that are playing they’re older players.”

Calipari hit the transfer portal with revenge on his mind this past offseason and the fruits of that labor are paying off on the floor. His incoming freshman class wasn’t as heralded as the ones he’s previously brought in, so he loaded up on veterans with plenty of college basketball experience.

Normally, a freshman like Washington would be expected to do even more than he already is. But with other playmaking options around him, he can slide more seamlessly into a lesser role.

“TyTy Washington is a special player,” Martin repeated. “I saw him in high school, he’s a special player and he’s done special things at Kentucky. But he doesn’t have the burden of winning on his shoulders. Sahvir Wheeler deals with all the playmaking. You’ve got Mintz and Grady, two guys that I think have been playing since I was at Kansas State. They have tremendous personality and discipline and consistency and they’re both shot makers.

“Then you’ve got Brooks and you’ve got Toppin and Lance Ware goes in there and gives them great minutes of energy when he’s in there. Oscar (Tshiebwe) is an older player. You’ve got a lot of older guys in there that really really understand how to play and what it takes to win a league game over 40 minutes. And that’s the thing that makes them really really hard to deal with.”

Martin and his South Carolina team will surely have plenty to deal with once Kentucky comes to town for Tuesday night’s showdown. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.