John Calipari says incoming freshmen are "critical" to Kentucky returning to gold standard

Next year is setting up to be a pivotal one for the Kentucky Basketball program. In interviews with Dan Patrick and John Fanta today, John Calipari said he intends to coach out his contract at Kentucky, which would mean at least six more seasons. He acknowledged that the results haven’t been acceptable the last few years and that the program needs to get back to its winning ways. A big part of that? The incoming freshman class of DJ Wagner, Rob Dillingham, Aaron Bradshaw, Justin Edwards, and Reed Sheppard.

The quintet of five-star freshmen was a big topic of Calipari’s interview with Fanta; in fact, he said they are key to restoring Kentucky to the “gold standard.”

“We have to finish better. The last couple of years, we have not been able to go on that run that we expect to here. For us, it’s about the big picture and the gold standard we know we can achieve.”

“This class is important and critical to what we are trying to do here at Kentucky,” Calipari said. “What makes me love this group is that they were all playing for state championships in high school. They all come from winning and here’s another thing: they all like each other. They’re in a group text together. Before they get here, they like each other. That’s big for where we want to go. By genuinely caring about one another, there’s a nice connection in place that feels different.”

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that yesterday, Kentucky sent out a press release celebrating the freshman class with their rankings and accolades. They also tweeted out this graphic:

NEXT UP 🔥🤩💥

🔵 @bradshawaaron25
🔵 Rob Dillingham
🔵 @Jedwards3_
🔵 @reed_sheppard
🔵 DJ Wagner pic.twitter.com/XQgzSnzs9a

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) May 3, 2023

When asked what he still wants to accomplish at Kentucky, it didn’t take long for Calipari to bring up recruiting and how he only wants players who can handle the challenge of playing here. The part about not promising anything feels relevant in the wake of reports that Kentucky declined to guarantee NIL money for Hunter Dickinson, who ended up picking Kansas this morning.

“When I think about my journey, here’s this kid from Moon Township, Pennsylvania, that has the ability to change lives for families as he competes for national titles. Sometimes we are better than others, and others are better than us, but by the end of the year, we’re playing our best basketball. I would like to get De’Aaron Foxes, Malik Monks, and you go down the list of great players we’ve had. That’s why this recruiting class is important to what we’re trying to do.

“What moves me is going into a home, looking at the home, and saying to a family, ‘We can do this if we work together. I’m not promising you anything. This is really hard here at Kentucky. If you’re built for this it’s really rewarding. My job is to make you uncomfortable. You know, every game that we play is somebody’s Super Bowl. Every practice we have, there are scouts here. Do you really want that?'”

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Calipari on Bradshaw at the 4, how Dillingham and Wagner will share minutes

Calipari praised all the freshmen and their work ethic, but gave special mention to Aaron Bradshaw, whom people have told him has the most upside of them all thanks to his shooting.

“Aaron has gotten so much better, and he’s grown up more than I can tell you in the last year,” Calipari said. “Get this: he may be the most consistent shooter we have. He’s a 4-man and if he’s your 5, we can play 5-out unless he wants to run to the post because he can score there. The key for him at the 4 is that you’ve got to learn how to guard the 4. That’s what we are here to help him learn about.” 

When it comes to five-star freshmen, there’s always going to be a question about how they’ll share minutes. Fanta asked that specifically about Rob Dillingham and DJ Wagner, citing reports from “outsiders” who have concerns about how they’ll coexist in Kentucky’s backcourt.

“Well, that’s been my whole career. We’re all about dribble-drive and having different guys who can do it. The last couple of years, we have not had the exact personnel to play that way. People said it about Chris Douglas-Roberts, Derrick Rose and Antonio Anderson. They asked, ‘How are you going to play with John Wall and Eric Bledsoe?’ They said the same thing with Karl-Anthony Towns, Trey Lyles, Willie Cauley-Stein and Dakari Johnson. Well, we did it. With my best players, we play that way. We figure it out, and we can only figure that out if that young man wants to play with other good players.”