John Calipari hints at more potential lineup changes

As John Calipari continues to weed through his rotation, more changes could be on the way as Southeastern Conference play looms.

During his weekly radio show on Monday night, the Kentucky men’s basketball head coach hinted at more possible lineup changes. Most notably, Calipari suggested that he might downsize his rotation in favor of having more ball handlers on the floor. One way he plans on putting that into action is by playing a pair of freshmen more often: Chris Livingston at the “3” and Adou Theiro at the “4”.

“We experimented with it today (in practice) and we’re gonna try tomorrow, a little bit with Adou and Chris. Chris at the 3, Adou at the 4, two guards, and Oscar (Tshiebwe). Now you’ve got four guards in,” Calipari said during his show, which was pre-recorded in between Monday’s two practices.

Livingston has seen an uptick in minutes over the last few games, starting with the win over Yale on Dec. 10. He played 14 minutes against the Bulldogs before seeing 24 minutes in the loss to UCLA and then 15 more in the win over Florida A&M. Calipari had no choice but to reinsert Livingston into the starting rotation after his performance against UCLA, and it sounds like that will continue in the immediate future.

As for Thiero, Calipari has been adamant since before the Christmas break about the need for the three-star high school recruit to find the floor more. Although he played just three minutes against Florida A&M, it was at least his first on-court action since Nov. 23. Thiero is the still-growing enigma that no one is quite sure what to make of at this stage in his development, but he sure does show a willingness to compete.

While many have been clamoring for the 6-foot-6 Livingston to play more minutes at the “4” (Calipari has all but ditched that idea, by the way), suiting up at the “3” alongside the 6-foot-6 Thiero could theoretically open up the spacing. There’s no denying the toughness those two bring either, which was another point Calipari leaned on as his reasoning behind the potential move. But can they shoot well (and rebound?) enough to make it work?

“You’re talking about giving space to where if they’re really trying to get in, you’ve got three guys or four guys that can all make shots, and you’ve still got the toughness of Chris and Adou,” Calipari added.

Livingston is 7-15 from 3-point range so far this season and rebounds at an effective rate for his position. Meanwhile, Thiero hasn’t shot nearly as many attempts from distance due to a lack of playing time, but he did finish a combined 6-13 from deep across Kentucky’s Big Blue Bahamas Tour, the Blue-White Scrimmage, and the two exhibition matches. He’s also a sneaky 6-foot-6 compared to Livingston, who’s built like a brick house; will Thiero be able to bring the same level of physicality?

Even more lineup modifications could be on the way, too. Calipari has been interchanging his lineups often during non-conference play this season. Even though Kentucky is about to take on Missouri, which is now receiving votes in the latest AP Poll, on Wednesday, he intends to throw Thiero into the fire despite the rookie playing just 38 regular-season minutes so far. Lance Ware, who was completely out of the rotation for a few games before playing his way into a starting role against Florida A&M, will likely find the floor for extended periods once again, too.

And what about Cason Wallace? Will he see even more time at the point in place of Sahvir Wheeler? Or was their minutes’ distribution from the win over Florida A&M just a matter of Calipari trying to see what will stick more than anything? (Wallace played 31 minutes in the win while Wheeler played just 20)

Calipari also wants to find more time for the struggling CJ Fredrick, who seemingly refound his rhythm against Florida A&M with a 4-6 shooting clip from beyond the arc. If Jacob Toppin doesn’t turn it around soon, Livingston and Thiero could steal his minutes entirely. The same could be said for Antonio Reeves, who had his starting spot pulled after a 2-13 shooting mark against UCLA. Also, where does Daimion Collins fit into all of this?

Essentially, the only Wildcats who have their spots locked in for good are Oscar Tshiebwe and Cason Wallace.

After 11 games, Calipari would surely like to have a better idea of where his rotation stands, especially with a challenging SEC opener on the road coming up this week. But at the same time, he’s keeping his options open and has a roster deep enough to allow for more experimentation.

Now it’s time to piece it all together.

“We’ve got talent, we’re just not on the same page right now,” Calipari said. “We’re getting closer.”