KSR's Kentucky Basketball Christmas Wish List

by:KSR•12/24/22

Christmas comes at what feels like a crossroads for Kentucky Basketball. The Cats are 8-3 with a road trip to Missouri up next, followed by the annual rivalry game vs. Louisville on New Year’s Eve. After that, the SEC schedule is fully upon us, bringing with it five ranked foes and a bevy of dangerous road trips. And, oh yeah, a showdown vs. No. 4 Kansas in just over a month.

As the Cats work toward finding their identity, the staff here at Kentucky Sports Radio dot com is asking Santa for some help. Here are the things we’re hoping to find under the tree for Kentucky Basketball this year.

kentucky-mbb-focusing-long-term-goals-its-about-the-finish — Photo by Dr. Michael Huang | Kentucky Sports Radio

A Top 25 win in January (Tyler)

I’ve seen the stat, you’ve seen the stat, we’ve all seen the stat. Kentucky is 4-13 in its last 17 games vs. AP Top 25 opponents. So far this season, the Cats have lost both their games vs. ranked opponents, then-No. 2 Gonzaga and No. 16 UCLA. Going by the current poll, they’ve got eight games vs. Top 25 teams coming up this season. It would be amazing if Kentucky could win all of those, but right now, I’ll settle for at least one in January to help inject some life back into the fanbase. That’s a tall ask; next month, Kentucky plays No. 9 Alabama and No. 8 Tennessee on the road in what you know will Super Bowl-esque environments, and hosts No. 4 Kansas in Rupp. A Top 10 win would do wonders for both this team and the fans.

Jan. 7: at No. 9 Alabama
Jan. 14: at No. 8 Tennessee
Jan. 28: vs. No. 4 Kansas
Feb. 7: vs. No. 10 Arkansas
Feb. 15: at No. 15 Mississippi State
Feb. 18: vs. No. 8 Tennessee
Feb. 25: vs. No. 23 Auburn
March 4: at No. 10 Arkansas

Zen at the Free Throw Line (Tyler)

“Better free throw shooting” is a little too obvious, so how about some mental clarity at the line? Right now, Kentucky is making only 66.5% of its free throws. That ranks behind only the 2012-13 NIT team as the worst mark of the Calipari Era. That percentage in “big games” is even lower, 58.9%.

2009-10: 68.0%
2010-11: 71.8%
2011-12: 72.3%
2012-13: 64.0%
2013-14: 67.9%
2014-15: 72.2%
2015-16: 68.4%
2016-17: 70.1%
2017-18: 69.3%
2018-19: 74.0%
2019-20: 79.7%
2020-21: 72.9%
2021-22: 73.0%
2022-23 (11 games): 66.5%

According to Cal, the issues at the free throw line are all mental right now, to the point he discouraged Cason Wallace from drawing a foul vs. Florida A&M in order to avoid the charity stripe psych out. Santa, can you install a meditation app on each Wildcat’s phone to help them achieve some zen at the line?

Bongo Cam at Rupp Arena (Tyler)

This is completely silly, but after seeing Bongo Cam in action at The O2 in London, I think BBN would have a field day with it at Rupp. Just imagine Blue Shades going up against Dancing Guy with the crowd going wild:

Spacing on the court (Drew)

One of the most glaring weaknesses of John Calipari’s halfcourt offense is the lack of spacing, which limits Kentucky in a variety of ways. By playing too many non-shooters, the players who can penetrate are running into trees in the middle; or if the offense tries to run through Oscar Tshiebwe in the paint, he is double and triple-teamed because of the clogged lane and opposing defenses sagging off the perimeter.

One solution could be to play smaller with a driver/shooter in Chris Livingston playing the four, but that isn’t something John Calipari is going to do. Surely Calipari recognizes the spacing issues–after all, dribble-drivers thrive with room to penetrate–so hopefully, he or Santa deliver a solution to put Kentucky’s offense in the best position to succeed.

Kentucky guard Cason Wallace drives the ball vs. Florida A&M — Photo by Dr. Michael Huang | Kentucky Sports Radio

More of the black uniforms (Drew)

It had been a long time since Kentucky Basketball rolled out an alternate uniform (or new regular uniforms) until this season and the black alternate the team wore Wednesday night versus Florida A&M was a 10 out of 10 on my scorecard. I did find the timing of the black uniform debut to be odd, playing against a team ranked outside the top 350 in college basketball, but the look was awesome and I hope to see the Cats go all-black again in the future.

For the traditionalists who did not like the change, a reminder that the university’s brand identity guide officially lists black as a secondary color.

A beatdown of Louisville (Drew)

Louisville Basketball is at an all-time low and Kentucky needs to capitalize on its New Year’s Eve mismatch after the trip to Mizzou. Forget Kenny Payne’s connection to the program. Forget playing nice for the holiday. I hope the Wildcats steamroll the Cardinals with an ass-kicking unlike anything the rivalry has ever seen. Run UofL out of Rupp. Keep your foot on the gas and finish them. The players, the fans, and everyone in between need some fun right now.

Ball movement (Jack)

If the stat was tracked, Kentucky would almost certainly lead the nation in dribbles per possession and attempts taken within the last five seconds of the shot clock. Right now, the offense is limited to the occasional ‘horns’ set — two bigs screen for the ball-handler at the top of the key, one pops and the other rolls — or a down screen set by the big (Oscar Tshiebwe, typically), to get a shooter open on the left or right wing. Guard either takes the shot or sends it back to Oscar for a one-on-one post-up. Other than that, very iso-heavy with the occasional dribble drive.

The ball sticks too much and it’s killing the Wildcats against real competition this season. We don’t need to “grind it out” from the opening tip. These kids can hoop, let ’em hoop.

Where is the personality? (Jack)

It’s bizarre how six scholarship pieces can return from a roster loaded with personality and fun the year before, but so clearly lack chemistry. The players used to dance off the floor after every win, celebrate every made basket and defensive stop and joke during press conferences. It was clearly a cohesive group from top to bottom, one oozing with swagger.

Where is that with this team? Who is the leader? Where is the fun? Do the players even like each other? It’s just a weird dynamic that really doesn’t add up a third of the way through the season.

Maybe it doesn’t even matter? As fun as the Wildcats were last year, they couldn’t get past the opening round of the NCAA Tournament — injuries certainly didn’t help, either. But when they were rolling early in conference play, goodness, they were rolling. Clear title contenders during that stretch before the wheels fell off late.

On paper, Kentucky has all of the pieces. I’m quite convinced of that. But do they have the chemistry and camaraderie? Maybe the holidays will help? That’s on my Christmas wish list for this team.

More Cason Wallace in the pick-and-roll (Jack)

The freshman standout followed up his worst season offensive performance of the season vs. UCLA (seven points on 2-13 FG and 1-7 3PT) with his best vs. Florida A&M. Sure, the competition was brutal vs. the Rattlers — seriously, they’re terrible — but it was also how he was used. Wallace took over primary lead-guard duties and absolutely flourished, specifically in the pick-and-roll — a season-high in that regard. He finished with a career-high 27 points on 10-15 shooting and 5-6 from three to go with nine assists, four steals and two rebounds to go with just two turnovers in a team-high 31 minutes.

It was a performance that led FAMU coach Robert McCullum to say he didn’t have the vocabulary to describe just how impactful Wallace was on the floor. And it’s true. The five-star freshman is someone you lean on in March to take a game over with the ball in his hands. Handing him the keys is best for this team in the long run.

Maybe they can be wrapped up under the tree with a bright blue bow when he wakes up on Christmas morning.