Good riddance, March 2022

Let me take you back to a happier time, just 30 days ago. On the first day of March 2022, Kentucky beat Ole Miss 83-72, shooting 60%, 42.9% from three. TyTy Washington was starting to look like himself again, scoring 14 points on 5-10 shooting. Sahvir Wheeler also returned to form, finishing with 16 points, seven assists, three rebounds, and just two turnovers. Oscar Tshiebwe turned in his 24th double-double of the season, tying Julius Randle for the second-most in school history, a record he’d go on to own. On Kellan Grady and Davion Mintz‘s Senior Night, the Cats didn’t get a blowout — those defensive struggles sure look like a red flag now — but they were finally healthy and gearing up for a big postseason run.

On the final day of March 2022, I don’t need to tell you that didn’t happen. Kentucky finished the regular season with a win at Florida, but Oscar Tshiebwe had to carry them there. TyTy Washington seemed to have a breakthrough in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals vs. Vanderbilt, yet the Cats would go on to win only by six, a teeth-gritting margin that highlighted the tightness in the group. Of course, the trip to Tampa ended with a humbling loss to Tennessee. Kentucky tried to make a comeback in the second half, but it was too little, too late.

With no SEC Championship to attend, fans wandered around Tampa on Sunday trying to put a good spin on it. Surely, this was the wake-up call/reminder the team needed before the real tournament began, right? Nope. Enter Saint Peter’s. Exit the Cats, on the first night of the 2022 NCAA Tournament, the event they were one of the favorites to win. The days that followed felt like a dream that only got worse as it lifted to reality. Any comfort fans could find in Tennessee and Auburn also being knocked out early was squelched by the slow, inevitable march of Kentucky’s blue-blooded rivals. This weekend, Duke, North Carolina, and Kansas will all take the floor at the Final Four in New Orleans, the ultimate nightmare of Coach K going out on top looming on the horizon. Barf.

If it feels like I’m wallowing in misery here, I am. It’s been a crappy month, and not just for the men’s basketball team. The women’s team’s miracle run to the SEC Tournament title in Nashville looked like a turning point for Kyra Elzy, but the news that four players are leaving (along with Rhyne Howard) has thrown the program back into uncertainty. After an encouraging start to the season, the baseball team hit some bumps in March, losing 9 of 19 games. Even the softball team, ranked No. 8 in the nation, couldn’t escape the March blues, dropping seven games as SEC play began.

On the football front, the spring practice curse struck again in the form of a season-ending knee injury for Vito Tisdale. Walk-on wide receiver Rahsaan Lewis was arrested for a DUI last Sunday. Despite these issues, optimism for the 2022 football season remains incredibly high, and honestly, the only thing keeping some fans from complete depression.

Even looking down the road didn’t provide much comfort. Kenny Payne, who was John Calipari’s righthand man for ten seasons, finally got a head coaching job…for his alma mater, the Louisville Cardinals. Payne taking the Louisville job will inevitably change the dynamic of the rivalry — how can we hate KP? — and brings with it new concerns over things Kentucky fans didn’t think twice about. Will DJ Wagner elect to play for Payne, who goes way back with his grandfather Milt, over Calipari, who coached his dad? Will Dontaie Allen turn heel and play for the Cards? What former Kentucky coaches will join Payne’s staff? Why couldn’t Chris Mack have sucked a little less and saved us from this anxiety?

So, April has to be better, right? In some ways, certainly. The spring football game is April 9, bringing with it tailgating and promise and Kroger Field fun times. At the end of the month, we’ll get to see several gridiron Cats achieve their dreams at the NFL Draft in Las Vegas, including fan favorites Wan’Dale Robinson, Josh Paschal, and Darian Kinnard. Football recruiting momentum should continue and the staff will likely dip into the transfer portal to fill areas of need, like cornerback.

For basketball, April truly could be the cruelest month of all. The deadline to enter the NBA Draft is April 24 and the cut-off date for players to notify their schools they’re transferring is May 1, meaning we’ve got another long month of speculation ahead. A pair of decisions could make or break the 2022-23 season. If Oscar Tshiebwe can get his NIL situation resolved, a return to Kentucky is almost certain, which would be the absolute best thing to happen to next year’s roster. A fan favorite is back and can finally make boatloads of money for his family, and Calipari has the National Player of the Year in the middle once again.

If Shaedon Sharpe puts off the NBA for one more year to stay in Lexington, same thing. Instantly, some heat comes off Calipari and he’s got the top-five superstar his teams have lacked in recent years playing actual games. If you get both Oscar and Shaedon back, fans will buy in for the 2022-23 campaign; one of two, you’ll get most on board. If both go pro, well, it’s gonna be a long offseason. The deadline to take your name out of the draft to return to school is June 1, so the only thing more anxious than April could be May.

But let’s not worry about that just yet. For now, let’s just be grateful that March is over. Good riddance.