When Will John Calipari Fix Kentucky's Minutes Predicament?
Kentucky basketball earned its biggest win of the season on Sunday, taking down the Michigan Wolverines 73-69 in the Basketball Hall of Fame London Showcase in London, England.
It was a tight game for 40 minutes, but a late 3-pointer from Cason Wallace proved to be the dagger as the Cats were able to hold on for an important Power Five victory. all five starters reached double figures scoring, while center Oscar Tshiebwe touted a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double.
The win pushes Kentucky to 6-2 on the young season while finally giving the Cats some much needed momentum with conference action right around the corner. UK will play just three more games before traveling to Columbia to take on the Missouri Tigers, opening SEC play on Dec. 28.
While there was plenty of good to analyze in the win over Michigan, one glaring issue was put in a spotlight when the Wildcats' roster was opposite the Wolverines'.
Though it lost inside The O2 Arena, Michigan showcased how far along it already is as a team through one month of the regular season. Coach Juwan Howard plays all five of his starters at least 26 minutes each, while a pair of bench players compile a majority of the remaining minutes.
Seven players, give or take the occasional big man filling in for center Hunter Dickinson or foul trouble forcing Howard to dip into the tertiary portion of his roster. Calipari has talked about eventually whittling his rotation down to eight, but when will that happen?
True freshman Chris Livingston has been the curious case thus far, as he's yet to total 20 minutes in a game this season. Against Power Five foes (Michigan State, Gonzaga, Michigan), he hasn't played more than 11 minutes.
After battling for five rebounds, an assist and a steal in UK's 60-41 win over Bellarmine last Tuesday, Calipari made it known that he's looking to get the Akron, Ohio native more time on the hardwood in-game:
"I loved Chris again, I gotta figure out how to get him in."
Fast forward to Sunday's game against Michigan...Livingston played just seven minutes. What gives?
Well, Calipari wants to play Livingston at the "4" instead of small forward. The only issue is, the freshman has barely played at that position and still needs some time to get it down, hence his lack of playing time in London.
Another issue arises when you throw Daimion Collins in the mix. The sophomore has been far from good so far this season, but the potential is clearly there, and Calipari wants to get him in the game. You could move Collins down to his more natural role at center, but a clear-cut option to backup Oscar Tshiebwe managed to make his presence felt in a much bigger way against the Wolverines.
True freshman Ugonna Onyenso proved his worth in just seven minutes of PT, grabbing four points, two boards as well as a pair of blocks. While he wasn't the difference maker on Sunday, he sized up well against a former All-American in Dickinson and was far from a liability.
As a result, Calipari feels as though Onyenso needs to be the man coming in relief of Tshiebwe moving forward:
“You now know that I need to play Ugonna," he said after the win. "He’s gotta be that other big, and that’s what I’ll do.”
Granted, that likely doesn't mean we'll witness a crazy influx in minutes, as the only reason Tshiebwe will be on the bench is for quick breathers or foul trouble. Regardless, it seems like Onyenso will gobble up those few minutes that have normally gone the way of junior Lance Ware.
Kentucky finally arrived home to Lexington late Monday night, and will now have a welcomed break, not hitting the court again until this Saturday, when the Yale Bulldogs will visit Rupp Arena.
The time for ironing out the kinks is rapidly. Calipari will need to make some hard decisions in the near future as the Wildcats figure out the group they'll put on the court come crunch time down the stretch of the 2022-23 campaign.
For more on the win over the Michigan Wolverines, click here.
More on Cason Wallace and Sahvir Wheeler's performances here.
Game Notes on the win can be found here.
The Wildcats moved up three spots to No. 16 in the latest AP Poll.
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