SEC coaches on Kentucky's youth movement: "Nobody is feeling sad for John [Calipari]"

If there’s one thing we’ve learned about John Calipari over the last 15 years, it’s that he’s not afraid to zig when the rest of the sport zags. With the advent of the transfer portal and name, image, and likeness (NIL), college basketball is “older” than ever, with players electing to stay in school longer to maximize their playing time and earnings. For a few years, Calipari tried to adapt to the new model, using the portal to restock his roster with experienced veterans like Kellan Grady, CJ Fredrick, Sahvir Wheeler, Oscar Tshiebwe, Antonio Reeves, and most recently, Tre Mitchell.

Now, Calipari is flipping the script, returning to his roots with a roster made up of eight freshmen (including four top-15 prospects), two sophomores, one fifth-year senior, and a grad transfer. Antonio Reeves and Tre Mitchell will play integral roles as veterans, but it’s clear that if Kentucky’s going to do anything special this season, it’s because of the freshmen. That’s quite a gamble at a time when every other team in college basketball is “trying to get old and trying to stay old,” as Bruce Pearl and Rick Barnes put it yesterday, in a critical season nonetheless.

“I think it’s a huge advantage when you have older guys,” Barnes said at SEC Basketball Media Day. “I would tell you I hope we always have older guys…Getting old, staying old, I think is really important. You look at our league this year, this is an old league.”

…Except for the Wildcats. Whether or not a team led by elite freshmen can still win in college basketball remains to be seen, but John Calipari’s counterparts in the SEC know that if someone can do it, it’s him.

“Coach Calipari, there’s no one better at coaching younger players,” Eric Musselman, who started three freshmen last season, said. “There’s no one better in the country, probably no one better in the history of college basketball, coaching young guys. I don’t think there’s even a close second.

“So, yes, I do think they can have great success even though they are young ’cause he’s got lottery picks. When you have lottery picks, first-round picks, you’re going to win games.”

Bruce Pearl put it more candidly, smiling when a reporter asked if Calipari is crazy for building a roster with that many freshmen.

“They’re all five stars, McDonald’s All-Americans, they’re all in the top 20 on the draft board. Nobody is feeling sad for John.”

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Rick Barnes, who has ten wins vs. Kentucky since taking the job at Tennessee in 2016, did not sound like he envied Calipari’s task.

“The word that John probably doesn’t like, like any other coach, is ‘patience’. You have to be really patient when you have that many young guys because you want to see ’em get better every day. Most young guys will have a good day, but maybe the next day not so much. If you tell them they’ve had a good day, you can almost bet it’s not going to be as good the next day.”

“We would all tell you talent is a good thing to have,” Barnes added. “He certainly has that. But he’s a terrific coach.”

For what it’s worth, Calipari seems confident the freshmen have what it takes for the Cats to be “Kentucky good” once again.

“We’ve got a good group of young players that I’m excited about, and they’ve got great attitudes. They’ve got a toughness to them. The biggest issue you have with young guys a lot of times is they don’t understand the dogs stand out, if you got some dog in you. And this team, our practices have been competitive.”

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