2022 [CBB] [Preseason] Kentucky Wildcats Gearing Up

[Ezaco]

 

LEXINGTON, KY - It was a tough season here in Lexington for the football Cats. After starting off as a preseason favorite for national championship contention, the Wildcats surged for important victories against Wake Forest and Oklahoma. Unfortunately things turned south quickly after a new staff, and a loss to Missouri signaled a rapid downturn in their prospects. They ended the season 5-7, far away from the College Football Playoff and failed to even qualify for a bowl.

 

With that in mind it didn't take long before eyes in the bluegrass started turning to the old pastime of greatness... basketball. The shooty hoops sport holds a special relationship in the heart of all Kentucky fans, and when woes fall on the gridiron it's only a matter of time before those eyes wander back to it. And here we are, as the football season winds down, the air turns brisk and people move to permanent indoor dwelling... the shoes start squeaking on that waxed hardwood, the smell of the basketball leather rises in the air, and the swish of nylon nets being brushed with sweet, smooth motions of young men getting ready for one of the fastest and most exciting sports in college athletics.

 

The Wildcats are checking into the 2022 season for the first time, with the 2021 season having been canceled and not participating in the 2020 season. Arguably starting from behind, Kentucky seems to be poised for moderate success this season and set up for a bright future if things continue to hold true. Below is a look of the roster for the 2022 Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball Team.

 

There's quite a bit to be hopeful and excited for here. First and foremost is the four year senior Cyrus Rice who is an absolute stud and should be considered one of the best players in the SEC. A two-star recruiting coming out of high school, Rice has grown into his 7'1" body as a center to absolutely dominate the game inside the paint. An elite defender and inside scorer, there's very little Rice can't do, and that even includes stepping out as a stretch shooter and able to hit the net from 3-point land. Similarly, Harry Shaffer is another 2-star Senior who has developed into an extremely important and valued player for the Cats. The 6'8" Forward is still shaky with his ball movement skills, but from a shooting and defensive standpoint he is an absolutely solid contributer.

 

Looking to the future is the highly-touted five star Daryl Scott. A 6'0" Guard stepping onto campus for the first time, this is a kid who can move and handle the ball effectively, and is excellent at driving the ball for a stop-and-shoot midrange or slashing for a layup. If there's anything to complain about it's the work ethic since Scott has stepped onto campus, which could hamper his abilities and opportunities in game settings, and could affect his development as a player going forward. The Scott experiment is going to be something to watch not just among SEC rivals who are going to try and take the crown from Kentucky, but also nationally as what can happen with those five star freshmen.

 

The rest of the Cats fill out nicely as well. Gerard Chaisson is a great player who's going to do great things for Kentucky and could be looking at the NBA potentially at the end of this season or next, and Joshua Colfer is developing nicely as well, which is an important point for Kentucky as another four star recruit who needs to pan out for their future success.

 

Looking at the team as a whole, though, concerns begin to creep in. While Kentucky has some good individual defensive players, when considering them as a unit they leave quite a bit to be desired. It's not a bad defense, but it certainly won't win you a championship. Rebounding is much better, however, so the Cats should look to dominate the boards in most games that they play - featuring four elite rebounders in Bennett, Shaffer, Dupuis, and Chaisson. Scoring is where thing begin to get messy. Kentucky is a good-to-very-good post scoring team, dumping the ball under the basket is going to yield high results. Mid-range is where things begin to get shaky, though they have five guys who can fill it up from that no man's land, there's a few who they'll need to be careful letting handle the ball in that area. And beyond the arc it falls off slightly again. They're far from the worst 3-point shooting team in the land, but they're also quite far from the best.

 

 

A quick look at the out of conference slate for the Cats actually looks promising. Western Kentucky is not a very good team so that will be a good opener to get their legs underneath. Facing off against a weak Michigan State team will be another good follow up to rack up a win in the Champions Classic, but a visit to Tulane will be their first, early tough challenge for the season. After checking out a bad UCLA team they'll head over to take on another bad team in Gonzaga before coming home to face off against Washington. A quick trip up to Indianapolis for a neutral-site game against Indiana before heading back out west to face a decent Utah State team, they'll then have a quick SEC game against Georgia before hosting Louisville in the Battle of the Bluegrass. They'll finish their out of conference games in the middle of the season with the SEC-Big XII Challenge against West Virginia.

 

It's certainly a favorable out of conference schedule for Kentucky. There's a few challenges in there - notably Tulane and Utah State - but there's also quite a few games there against, frankly, bad competition which will be good for the win column, but it's not going to get them much in the Quartile wins for rankings and seedings come tournament time, especially in a weak SEC. The Cats will succeed with a favorable and good-looking record, you just want them to have some higher quality wins that they'll be missing.

 

The season kicks off soon, and that first opening game in Rupp Arena hosting Western Kentucky will have an electric atmosphere for them to feed off of. There's a lot of hope and hype on these Wildcats going into the season. Let's hope they can follow up on it.

 

[Sarge]

UK confirmed NOT a football school.

[Ezaco]

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