The Kentucky Wildcats looked like a dead team entering March Madness in 2014, but then they sprang to life and made the national championship game before falling short. What will happen in 2015?
What Went Wrong Last Season?
The end of the season was a near-perfect and magical run for Kentucky, but up until then lots and lots of things went wrong for head coach John Calipari’s team. The Wildcats had All-American talent at many positions, and that talent was clearly able to blossom in March. Before March, though, Kentucky didn’t move the ball well, something Calipari talked about later in the season after his guards found out how to play better together.
Kentucky didn’t have a really consistent outside shooter, though James Young was the team’s best option. The Wildcats could not create good floor spacing because opponents didn’t trust UK to make long-distance shots. Without the ability to spread the floor, opponents were able to sag into the paint and defend forward Julius Randle, the team’s best and most reliable player. Kentucky had a lot of tall and powerful rebounders, but with everyone in the paint to worry about Randle, the Wildcats couldn’t find the balance or diversity that would have made them so much better during the full season. After a loss to lowly South Carolina on March 1, it seemed this team was never going to turn things around and live up to what Kentucky fans thought this team should have done when the season began in November of 2013.
What changed? The Harrison twins, Aaron and Andrew, started to hit big shots. Young became an even better shooter. Younger players such as Dakari Johnson used better footwork and made more plays near the basket on offense. Kentucky became impossible to stop on the offensive glass. Even when the Wildcats missed shots, they put them back and were able to put together long strings of successful possessions. The team never really figured it all out on defense, but its offense steamrolled in the Elite Eight against Michigan and in the Final Four semifinals against Wisconsin. The team woke up just in time to save its season.
Offseason Changes
The Wildcats lose Randle and James Young from their national runner-up team. They will, however, keep the Harrison twins, Marcus Lee, Alex Poythress, Dakari Johnson, and Willie Cauley-Stein. Heralded new recruits Karl-Anthony Towns and Devin Booker join the team, as will power forward Trey Lyles and guard Tyler Ulis. Kentucky might lose a star player in the post (Randle) and one of its better shooters on the wings (Young), but those losses seem to be more than offset by the returning core of players plus the new freshmen.
Projected Finish
The Wildcats should be able to learn from last season’s experiences and perform at a much more steady rate this season. If Kentucky plays up to its potential the whole way, this team should win the SEC and go on to another Final Four.
Pick: 1st In The SEC, Final Four
