John Calipari gives statement on disastrous Kentucky Basketball offseason
It’s safe to say this has been one of, if not the worst offseason Kentucky Basketball has endured under head coach John Calipari.
After another first-weekend exit in the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky watched all but two players eventually leave via the NBA Draft or transfer portal. The two guys coming back — Adou Thiero and Ugonna Onyenso — combined to score 4.8 points per game.
And Onyenso did actually try to transfer before ultimately returning.
Wednesday saw Oscar Tshiebwe and Chris Livingston keep their names in the draft, despite being projected to go undrafted, while Antonio Reeves announced his return to school, though it could be a school other than Kentucky.
And to top it all off, incoming freshman Aaron Bradshaw may or may not already have an injury he’s dealing with.
On Thursday, Calipari finally released a statement on Twitter,
“I woke up this morning thinking about our team now that the NBA deadline has passed. We support all of our players as they weigh their options and pursue their dreams, and it’s my job to make sure these kids are making informed decisions,” Calipari said.
“It may not be what you think, or I think, but it’s informed. But that also makes it hard to move until you really know what your roster is going to be. We’ve prepared for all scenarios, and now we can move forward.
“There’s so much misinformation out there, and most of it we can’t address publicly. Numbers being thrown around just aren’t accurate, who we are in contact with or who we are not in contact with, we don’t make it public. We want players who want this culture, who care about winning, understand what it means to play at Kentucky, both how hard and how rewarding it is, and have the ultimate drive to win and succeed on the biggest stage, which helps everyone.
“We have a talented group right now, which isn’t finished yet, but when it’s done, we will have a talented team who will chase the ultimate goal together and make BBN proud.”
On a more serious note, who read those comments and had this scene playing in their head?
Joking aside (we hope), Calipari and his staff have a lot of work to do to ensure this team does not fall on its face next season. As of now, they’re just an injury or two away from a walk-on playing starter minutes, which should never happen at a blue-blood program like Kentucky.
The clock is ticking.
Source: A Sea Of Blue
