John Calipari doesn't plan to switch the offense once Kentucky's bigs return

Kentucky’s offense was a well-oiled machine the last several days in Toronto, Canada. John Calipari’s group averaged nearly 92 points per game across four outings against international competition. The shooting splits were equally as impressive: 47.7 percent overall, 37.6 percent from distance (on nearly 30 attempts per contest), and 69.6 percent from the three-throw line. Okay, maybe the freebies still need some work, but otherwise, Kentucky’s offense was efficient and purposeful. 72 percent of all made baskets came via an assist.

Calipari ran the offense like he was back at Memphis again — putting the ball in the hands of “basketball players” who can do a little bit of everything by letting them go wild. He rolled out three- and sometimes four-guard small-ball lineups, which let his playmakers loose and allowed them to operate with loads of open space. Having West Virginia transfer Tre Mitchell, a 6-foot-9 power forward who can stretch the floor and pass the rock, filling in at center was one of the keys behind such a free-flowing, modern-style offense.

The GLOBL Jam Tournament, in which Kentucky went 4-0 and came back to Lexington with a gold medal, was exactly what a portion of fans had been seeking for the last few years — a five-out offense that opened up the lane for UK’s many dangerous attacking guards. But will that scheme carry over into the regular season, which is still over three months away?

Notably, Kentucky was without its two tallest players for the event. 7-foot-1 five-star freshman Aaron Bradshaw underwent foot surgery earlier in the summer and never even made the trip up north. 6-foot-11 sophomore big man Ugonna Onyenso injured his ankle during a closed scrimmage on Tuesday and could require surgery to get it all in order.

What happens when (if?) those two return to the floor for Kentucky? According to Calipari, nothing. The Wildcats will continue to play a similar style in the 2023-24 season compared to what the Big Blue Nation saw the last week in Toronto. If anything, it opened his eyes to even more floor-spacing possibilities knowing that Mitchell can stretch out a defense.

“No different, we’re doing the same stuff,” Calipari said following Sunday’s gold-medal winning performance over Team Canada. “The only thing is I kinda like Tre (Mitchell) at the five. I do. I know Aaron (Bradshaw) can be the four at 7-foot-2 because he shoots, he’s skilled, he’s another basketball player. But I kinda like Tre at five. Ugo (Onyenso) can be a five, (Tre) can be a five. Adou (Thiero) proved that, look, if that guy doesn’t bang, I can be the four. But the skill of Justin (Edwards) at three, being able to shoot, being able to pass and get to the rim — now he didn’t defend as well as he needed to be we haven’t even talked defense.”

That term “basketball players” was a common one in Canada. Kentucky has several guys who aren’t restricted to one area of the floor. Thiero and Edwards are known as wings, but can easily slide up to play guard or down to play the four. The freshman backcourt trio of DJ Wagner, Rob Dillingham, and Reed Sheppard can do a little bit of everything across multiple positions. Antonio Reeves is going to be one of the country’s top bucket-getters this season. They cover all the bases.

With all of that versatility, it makes much more sense to embrace it rather than, say, play both Bradshaw and Onyenso at the same time, which Calipari himself pitched back in March. Kentucky has far too many prolific scorers to justify clogging the paint this season. What Calipari saw this past week might make him reconsider that entire theory, if he even was still seriously thinking about it. And again, Tre Mitchell is going to be a major reason why.

Mitchell, a fifth-year college player suiting up for his fourth school, was arguably the biggest surprise at GLOBL Jam. He recorded Kentucky’s only double-double of the event, an 18-point, 11-rebound, five-assist performance in the gold medal victory where he battled through a minor injury that he suffered the game before. Throughout the week, Mitchell shot 57.5 percent from the field and went 8-18 from long range (44.4 percent). He ranked third on the team in total assists (18) and first in blocks (six).

He might not be the quickest player out there, but he’s always going to be one of the smartest. Kentucky has seen plenty of talent in the frontcourt over the years (Oscar Tshiebwe was pretty damn good), but not many that can feed the ball and set screens at the level Mitchell can.

“That’s just kinda how I see the game. I play in the moment and sometimes you only have about half a second to make a decision with the ball and hit a dude on a pass or wherever that be,” Mitchell said on Sunday. “I think you can credit that to my early years in college when I was getting doubled and triple-teamed in the post and had to learn how to pass out of those situations and it just played to my benefit. I kinda see the court a lot better and I see everything that’s going on. If a dude’s open, no matter how short that window may be, I’m gonna try to get it to him.”

Mitchell is someone Calipari can plug in alongside either Bradshaw or Onyenso without sacrificing much versatility down low. They can all play off each other instead of getting in each other’s way, particularly if Bradshaw’s outside shot proves to be efficient. Mitchell can even play the five if UK wants to go extra small. There’s not a specific position on the floor he’ll get boxed into.

Calipari is going to need both seven-footers this season for defensive and rebounding purposes. He might not even have to sacrifice much on the offensive end considering everyone else that will be on the floor next to them.