Jon Rothstein says Kentucky is 'more equipped' for March Madness run than recent years

“My best teams have been young players, talented, with veterans who were also talented,” John Calipari said on SportsCenter this week. “And you mix them together. We have that this year.”

The Kentucky head coach loved the way his players left Toronto after winning gold at the GLOBL JAM with a desire to improve. They came back to Lexington looking to get stronger, shoot the ball better and develop their respective crafts ahead of the regular season. It’s a collective win-at-all-costs mindset that bodes well for the Wildcats’ chances to make a run.

College basketball insider Jon Rothstein believes the pieces are there in both quality and quantity to get back to the Final Four for the first time since 2015 — and out of the first weekend since 2019, at minimum. Why? They’re better equipped than some of Calipari’s recent teams in Lexington.

“If John Calipari didn’t have a chip on his shoulder the world wouldn’t be round,” Rothstein told KSR. “I think you’ve got to expect that, especially after last season with not making the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, which Kentucky hasn’t made since 2019. It’s an important season for Kentucky, but I think they’re more equipped this year — if they can obviously get their seasoning right and the role allocation right — to go deep in the NCAA Tournament.”

‘Built different’ physically and mentally

He looks at the mental makeup of this group and their winning backgrounds. These players came from state title contenders and champions in high school, some simply have it in their blood. All competitors with alpha mentalities.

“There is an expectation here that they’re going to have that winning DNA out of the gate. It’s obviously a big, big jump from high school to college, but considering the way this roster rounded itself out over the last couple of months, I think the pieces are in place,” Rothstein said. “The necessary pieces are in place for Kentucky again to go back to the beginning a little bit, to the early days in terms of what the product looks like at Kentucky.”

It starts in the backcourt with Calipari’s prized legacy signee.

“DJ Wagner obviously has a pedigree, but I also think he is so gifted offensively, much like his relatives, dad Dajuan Wagner and his grandfather Milt Wagner,” he said. “… I don’t want to say disparaging things about players who were there previously, but the upside in an NCAA Tournament game of a DJ Wagner is going to be higher than the upside of what it was for Sahvir Wheeler when they played St. Peter’s. It just is, it’s part of it.”

Justin Edwards is the sleeper MVP

Then there is his personal favorite of the bunch, Justin Edwards, who finished No. 2 overall in the On3 Industry Ranking. Considering the positional versatility and overall skill, Rothstein feels the Philadelphia product will be in the All-American conversation sooner rather than later.

“Edwards is a player I think people will see as early as Thanksgiving that has a chance to be an All-American during the ’23-24 season,” he told KSR. “Justin Edwards can play different positions, handle the ball and initiate offense, but he also does not lose 50-50 balls. It’s almost like when he’s involved in those types of situations, they’re 90-10 in his favor.

“I am a big, big buy-stock-now guy in Justin Edwards. I think he’s going to be one of the best players in the country during the upcoming season.”

Are frontcourt and experience issues taken care of?

Rothstein had concerns with Kentucky’s lack of experience and frontcourt depth in the heat of the offseason. Then Calipari added Tre Mitchell and Zvonimir Ivisic, with Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso both working their way back from injury.

The guards are all skilled, capable of executing in a four- or five-out dribble-drive.

“We haven’t talked about Reed Sheppard yet. He was also very promising in Toronto, I love his game,” Rothstein said. “Sheppard, Dillingham, Wagner, Edwards and if you add Antonio Reeves to that bunch, you’d be really comfortable with four of those players on the floor for most stretches.”

Then if things work out in the frontcourt the way they’re supposed to?

“I was talking with a power conference assistant and he raved about the addition of Big Z for Kentucky. He thought that was an underrated pickup,” he told KSR. “I think it was necessary to solidify the front line and then if you get into a situation, if you get a healthy Bradshaw back, if you get Ugonna back healthy, you’re going to have an embarrassment of riches in your lap.”

2013-14 comparisons with quality and quantity

Inexperience will result in early growing pains, understandably, especially in a conference loaded with veteran talent. That could lead to some early losses and frustrations. He compares it to Calipari’s 2013-14 squad which took time to find its footing before firing on all cylinders in March.

“I think the big thing that people are going to see pretty early is how advanced these freshmen are. Now that doesn’t mean that Kentucky is going to go undefeated, and it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re gonna go to the Final Four,” Rothstein said. “… To me, considering the state of where Kentucky’s program was at the end of last season, kind of needing to restock things from a talent perspective, seeing that this recruiting class has quality depth. We got the four perimeter players, you’ve obviously added a prospect from overseas and you’re still waiting on Aaron Bradshaw.

“I think it’s a recruiting class, just based on volume, that reminds me of the recruiting class that we saw in ’13 that featured Andrew and Aaron Harrison, James Young, Julius Randle and Dakari Johnson. In the sense that you’ve got so many freshmen that are ready to play a pronounced role. … Not necessarily man for man, but in terms of the volume of this recruiting class to the one that we saw in 2013 that went on a run late.”

The talent is there

It will take some time and there will be a few early lumps, but Calipari clearly found the mix he was looking for. The best young talent he could piece together, all coming from winning backgrounds, with a few fit-oriented vets to fill the remaining holes.

That’s the formula.

“The good thing about Kentucky and John Calipari, he has always said if he had to choose between talent and experience, he would take talent seven days a week,” Rothstein told KSR. “The talent in this recruiting class is legit for Kentucky. The talent in this recruiting class and the depth of the talent is better than it’s been in a number of years.”