TIMELINE: How John Calipari rebuilt his roster for a Revenge Tour

It’s been almost four months since Kentucky’s disastrous 2020-21 season ended in Nashville, and John Calipari has been a very busy man. With a 9-16 record burned into his mind to a soundtrack of his haters’ laughter, Calipari knew he had to make some major changes; to his credit, he has.

Competent backcourt? Check.

Shooters? Check.

Experience? Check.

Trusted talent and renewed energy in the coaching staff? Check, check.

Embracing the transfer portal and NIL, the biggest changes to the sport in decades? Check, check.

Return to a normal offseason routine featuring a statewide camp tour to reconnect with fans? Check.

Visit with Joe B. Hall? Check. (Sorry, couldn’t resist)

After such a dark and disappointing season, this is the feel-good Kentucky Basketball summer we’ve all been waiting for. Right now, the Cats have a top-ten caliber roster featuring veterans, sharpshooters, size inside, and a few fan favorites. Wildly enough, Calipari might not be done yet, which may be the most comforting thing of all. Every special season has been preceded by an, “Oh my God, did that really just happen?!” moment, made possible by Calipari’s insatiable hunger for talent. As the years have gone on and the game has shifted more towards shooting and experience, it may feel like Kentucky’s fallen behind a bit, but the past four months have proved that Calipari is adapting and energized, thoughtfully plugging holes with the best possible parts.

As we cross our fingers and wait for maybe even more good news, let’s look back at how we got here.

March 11: Kentucky’s season ends in the SEC Tournament

Any hope for an NCAA Tournament berth died on the Thursday of the SEC Tournament. The Cats lost to Mississippi State 74-73 despite a second half comeback led by Dontaie Allen and Davion Mintz, who combined for 39 points, including 10 threes.

“Whether it’s my last college game or not, you just don’t want to go out like that,” Mintz said after the loss. “I know a lot of guys are feeling terrible. I mean, even if that’s the next level or not, you know how it feels to lose like this.”

I think that sums up the entire season.

March 13: Cam’ron Fletcher enters the transfer portal

Two days after the season ended, Cam’ron Fletcher announced his time in Lexington was also over. In nine games played, he totaled 15 points and 15 rebounds. After leaving the team for a week in December, he only played in two games, vs. Missouri in February and in the regular-season finale vs. South Carolina. On April 23, he announced he was taking his talents to Florida State.

March 15: Dontaie Allen’s mother confirms he is returning

The Allen family gave their hometown paper The Falmouth Outlook the exclusive, confirming he will return to Kentucky for his redshirt sophomore season. In 2020-21, he averaged 5.4 points per game and shot nearly 40% from three-point range.

March 15: Calipari vows to rebuild

Four days after Kentucky’s season ended, John Calipari closed the book on an “unacceptable” campaign and sent this warning to the rest of college basketball.

“I’m not satisfied. My whole mission now is to put this behind us. It’s going to take me some time, but let’s put it behind us,” Calipari said. “Let’s continue to say, ‘This is Kentucky. This is a standard.’ There were a lot of happy people out there that we had this kind of year. And you know what? Hey, enjoy your time now. Next year’s going to come soon enough.”

“Enjoy your time now. Next year’s gonna come soon enough.”

Coach Cal concluded tonight’s radio show with a message for people who enjoyed Kentucky’s struggles: pic.twitter.com/KEFRvqZd02

— UK Sports Network (@UKSportsNetwork) March 15, 2021

 

March 17: Isaiah Jackson declares for the draft, leaves open option to return

Jackson, Kentucky’s top draft prospect, was the first Cat to throw his hat in to the ring, but left open the option to return. On May 28, Jackson announced he was staying in the draft. He is currently projected to be a lottery or mid-first round pick.

March 19: Lance Ware confirms he is returning

The freshman from Camden, New Jersey appeared in 21 games and made three starts, racking up 41 total points, 63 rebounds, 11 blocks, eight assists and six steals.

March 19: Terrence Clarke declares for the draft

Clarke’s time at Kentucky was limited due to a right leg injury, but he battled back to play in the SEC Tournament. On March 19, he announced he was entering the draft and forgoing his remaining eligibility.

March 20: BJ Boston declares for draft

The next day, Clarke’s best friend BJ Boston followed suit, announcing that his career in Lexington was over. Boston averaged a team-high-tying 11.5 points per game along with 4.5 rebounds per game.

With Jackson, Clarke, Boston, and Fletcher all gone (for sake of this exercise, forget that Jackson was just testing the waters at this point), Kentucky was down 33.5% of its scoring. With more departures on the horizon, it was time to start adding scorers.

March 28: Jacob Toppin confirms he is returning

Toppin, who originally planned to sit out the 2020-21 season, confirmed he was coming back for another year on his Instagram story. He averaged 5.1 points and 3.7 rebounds and had four games in double-figures but hit his stride in the second half of the season, averaging 7.7 points and 4.4 rebounds over the final seven regular-season games.

March 29: Kellan Grady announces he is transferring to Kentucky

Calipari’s first big roster addition came in the form of a 2,000-point scorer. Davidson star guard Kellan Grady announced he was transferring to Kentucky on March 29, bringing an arsenal of three-point shooting (47.2% over four years), experience, and leadership with him. For perspective, Kentucky has only had three 2,000-point scorers in its history: Dan Issel, Kenny Walker, and Goose Givens.

April 3: Calipari doubles down – “A lot of people had fun at our expense”

During an interview on College Gameday ahead of the Final Four, Calipari doubled down on his vow to redeem Kentucky’s abysmal season.

“I’ve got to tell you guys, a lot of people had fun at our expense and celebrated. I’m ready to get going. It can’t come fast enough now.”

April 5: Devin Askew enters transfer portal

After struggling as Kentucky’s lead point guard and eventually losing the job to Davion Mintz, Devin Askew announced on April 5 he was ready to “explore a new opportunity and enter the transfer portal.” He averaged 6.5 points per game and was second on the team in assists (2.9 per game) behind Mintz. On April 13, he committed to Texas.

April 20: Olivier Sarr declares for the draft

As expected, the Frenchman elected to go pro after one season in Lexington. Sarr averaged 10.8 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.

April 22: Joel Justus to Arizona State, Tony Barbee to Central Michigan

Throughout April, the rumor mill churned about Orlando Antigua returning to Kentucky’s staff and possibly bringing his Illinois colleague Chin Coleman with him. On April 22, the pieces finally started to move. Joel Justus accepted a position on Bobby Hurley’s staff at Arizona State, while Tony Barbee took the head coaching job at Central Michigan. On the same day, Terrence Clarke died tragically in a car accident in Los Angeles, and the program entered a period of mourning.

April 30: Nolan Hickman decommits

The final Friday of April included a major curveball. Nolan Hickman, one of three Kentucky signees in the 2021 class, decommitted from the program, leaving an already thin backcourt barren. At the time, Hickman’s father cited homesickness as the main reason behind the decision. Hickman signed with Gonzaga in his home state of Washington on May 16.

May 3: Davion Mintz announces he will test the draft waters

After leading Kentucky in scoring and assists, Mintz declared for the draft but left open the option to return.

“At this point in time, I believe it is in my best interest to officially submit my name for the 2021 NBA Draft to test the waters and go through a proper evaluation period,” he wrote in a release from UK.

May 6: Orlando Antigua, Chin Coleman officially join the staff

In early May, the worst kept secret in Lexington finally became official: Orlando Antigua was back and he brought Chin Coleman with him. The two joined Jai Lucas as on-court assistants while Bruiser Flint moved into Tony Barbee’s old role of associate to the head coach.

May 10: CJ Fredrick signs with Kentucky

Calipari added another scorer to his arsenal in CJ Fredrick, a sharpshooter who made nearly 50% of his 3-point attempts in two seasons at Iowa. The former Covington Catholic star averaged 8.8 points per game in 52 games and made a combined 83 3-pointers on 178 attempts.

May 12: TyTy Washington commits to Kentucky

Two days later, Kentucky’s backcourt got a much-needed boost in the form of five-star guard TyTy Washington. Washington decommitted from Creighton on March 11 and became a hot commodity after a breakout performance at the GEICO Nationals in early April. Kentucky immediately became involved and beat out Arizona, Baylor, Kansas, LSU, and Oregon.

May 17: Sahvir Wheeler announces he is transferring to Kentucky

Calipari paired an elite freshman with some All-SEC experience the following Monday. Georgia guard Sahvir Wheeler chose Kentucky over Kansas, LSU, and Oklahoma State, citing Calipari’s system, style, and roster fit. Wheeler led the SEC in assists last season and ranked fourth nationally, averaging 7.4 per game along with 14.0 points and 3.8 rebounds.

“John Wall and Eric Bledsoe coexisted, Tyler Ulis, Isaiah Briscoe and Jamal Murray coexisted. De’Aaron Fox and Malik Monk coexisted. I don’t think that’s a problem,” Wheeler told ESPN of playing alongside Washington. “I can penetrate and get him easy looks. He’ll do the same for me. We complement each other’s game. And as fast as we want to play, everyone’s going to have their fair share of contributions. There’s going to be so many possessions in the game.”

May 28: Calipari confirms Keion Brooks is returning

Despite wild speculation, Keion Brooks never announced he was coming back for a junior season, so John Calipari did it for him during his offseason press conference on May 28. Brooks averaged 10.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 23.6 minutes per game as a sophomore. Calipari will be looking at him to be a leader.

“You look at Keion, this is Keion’s year,” Calipari said on May 28. “You look at his numbers – he averaged 10 points, seven rebounds – that’s got to go up. That’s got to go up. 24 minutes, that should go up. He’s that veteran that you’re saying, ‘You’ve got to be the center of this.’ He’s got to do it, he’s got to fight.”

July 1: Davion Mintz announces he is coming back

Mintz started July 4th weekend with a bang when he announced he was withdrawing his name from the draft and returning to Kentucky for a sixth year of eligibility. Mintz led the Cats in scoring (11.5 points per game), assists (3.1 per game), and three-pointers (56) last season. Between Mintz, Wheeler, and Washington, Kentucky now has three solid point guard options and additional ball handlers in Kellan Grady, Dontaie Allen, and CJ Fredrick.

July 1: Kofi Cockburn enters the transfer portal

With a solid roster already in hand, Calipari may not be done just yet. One of the potential additions is seven-foot rising junior Kofi Cockburn, who entered the transfer portal on Thursday. The second team All-American averaged 17.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game last season at Illinois and still has his name in the NBA Draft, but should he choose to withdraw it (the NCAA’s deadline is Wednesday), Kentucky is now considered the frontrunner. The other option is…

July 2: Kentucky makes Jalen Duren’s top five

The 6’10” 235 lbs. center is still in the 2022 class, but widely expected to reclassify and go pro or play college basketball this fall. Friday evening, he confirmed his five options are the G League, Australian NBL, Kentucky, Memphis, and Miami, and he will make his decision after the Peach Jam later this month. Whereas Cockburn is a bruiser down low ala Oscar Tshiebwe, Duren’s length and athleticism may make him a more versatile fit for next season’s roster. Either way, being able to add Duren OR Cockburn to this roster is the embarrassment of riches Kentucky Basketball has been missing the past few seasons.

July 5: Marcus Carr still an option?

The All-Big Ten point guard withdrew his name from the NBA Draft and will not return to Minnesota. Today, Jon Rothstein and Jeff Borzello reported that Carr is considering Kentucky, Kansas, Louisville, and Texas, but if you look at the Cats’ current backcourt, you have to think he’ll land elsewhere.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN

This is easily one of the most experienced teams of the Calipari era, even if many of the veterans are transfers. With Mintz back, Kentucky will return 42.1% of its minutes, 41.9% of its scoring, 39.0% of the rebounds, 42.4% of the assists and 60.6% of the 3-pointers from a season ago. For comparison, the only two Calipari-coached Kentucky teams that returned more minutes and more points (in terms of percentages) were the 2011-12 national championship squad and the 2014-15 Final Four team that went 38-1. When you add in transfers, it’s even more impressive. As Mark Story pointed out today, Kentucky’s roster includes players who have made 367 career starts, more than twice the career starts of the previous high in the Calipari Era, the 2014-15 team, which began the season with 164 career starts.

Here’s a breakdown, with stats from the 2020-21 season:

Out:

— Isaiah Jackson (211 points, 165 rebounds, 65 blocks)

— BJ Boston (287 points, 112 rebounds, 30 assists)

— Terrence Clarke (77 points, 21 rebounds, 16 assists)

— Olivier Sarr (270 points, 130 rebounds, 30 blocks)

— Devin Askew (163 points, 73 assists, 64 rebounds)

— Cam’ron Fletcher (15 points, 15 rebounds)

Returning:

— Davion Mintz (288 points, 79 rebounds, 77 assists, 37.8% 3PT FG)

— Keion Brooks (165 points, 108 rebounds)

— Jacob Toppin (124 points, 85 rebounds)

— Dontaie Allen (118 points, 34 rebounds, 39.7% 3PT FG)

— Lance Ware (41 points, 63 rebounds)

In: 

— Oscar Tshiebwe, West Virginia (85 points, 78 rebounds in 10 games in 2020-21; 348 points and 287 rebounds in 2019-20 season)

— Kellan Grady, Davidson (376 points, 101 rebounds, 52 assists, 38.2% 3PT FG)

— Sahvir Wheeler, Georgia (364 points, 100 rebounds, 193 assists)

— CJ Fredrick, Iowa (203 points, 29 rebounds, 52 assists, 47.4% 3PT FG)

— TyTy Washington (freshman)

— Daimion Collins (freshman)

— Bryce Hopkins (freshman)

It may not even be complete, but I like my team.