John Welch brought an NBA perspective to this Kentucky team. What has he seen so far?

Arrive at Rupp Arena two or three hours ahead of Kentucky’s scheduled tipoff, and you’re bound to see him out on the court.

Like clockwork, there’s John Welch, the 60-year-old assistant coach — a new addition to John Calipari’s UK staff this season — putting this or that player through a strenuous workout before the game. A ball of energy, Welch bounces around the court, getting in players’ faces defensively, whipping passes around the perimeter and working up a sweat as he yells out orders and encouragement to whichever Wildcat is the focus of his attention at that moment.

Following two decades in the professional ranks, a return to college basketball was bound to be a bit of a culture shock for Welch, right?

“Not much,” Welch replied when asked about the difference between coaching NBA players and helping mold the (mostly) young Wildcats on this 2023-24 roster.

This particular set of personnel probably has a lot to do with that.

Welch was announced as part of Calipari’s coaching staff over the summer, a buzzworthy addition to a Kentucky team that — in the eyes of many critics — had grown stale in its offensive approach to the game.

“Johnny Gym Rat,” as Calipari referred to Welch in that introductory statement, had the reputation as one of the sport’s best at player development and a résumé that featured five NBA stops across 18 seasons as an assistant coach at the highest level.

Welch was also well-acquainted with Calipari. Though he was never on the same staff as UK’s head coach — like current assistants Orlando Antigua, Bruiser Flint and Chuck Martin had been in the past — Welch and Calipari still had a history that stretched back more than 20 years. Welch, while an assistant with the Memphis Grizzlies, was the guy who introduced Calipari — at the time, still early in his tenure in charge of the Memphis Tigers — to Vance Walberg, the innovator of the dribble-drive motion offense that has helped shape the fortunes of both coaches.

Calipari and Welch remained in touch ever since those Memphis days, and when Kentucky had an opening this past offseason, little time was wasted. Calipari specifically mentioned Welch’s ties to Walberg at the time of his hire, implying the fit was tailor-made for this UK team.

“With the strength of our guards and perimeter players, we need to get back to that style of play,” Calipari said at the time. “John will be involved heavily in our offensive strategy and will be our lead coach in on-court player development. We’re excited to have him join our program.”

There’s plenty of credit to go around for Kentucky’s stellar start to the season, and while Welch didn’t claim any of it Monday — in his first meeting with reporters since joining the program — he’s clearly had an impact on the Wildcats’ success.

And the approach of this team has made the transition a smooth one for the NBA veteran who last coached in college in 2002, when he was part of Jerry Tarkanian’s staff at Fresno State.

“When NBA teams get the players, one of the first things they try to do is teach them to be a pro,” Welch said. “There’s different people in that capacity, and that’s their job — to get professional habits. And, I think, what Kentucky has done here is they start ’em early. They teach ’em professional habits when they get here.”

Eating correctly, lifting weights, taking care of their bodies, Welch said, were all examples of things NBA rookies typically have to adjust to as they begin their journeys in the league.

“Things are done here the same way they are at the professional level,” he continued. “So I think the players here have a little bit of an edge, because they’re used to that already.”

And, on this particular Kentucky team, there’s plenty of NBA-level talent.

Welch explained that the bulk of his job — working with young players, looking for ways to get them better — wasn’t really that big of an adjustment. He said he typically ended up spending more time with the younger guys on his NBA rosters, and the league got younger and younger over the years from when he first started as an assistant in 2002 following more than a decade in college basketball.

“And these guys, they’ll be there next year,” he said of Kentucky’s players. “I’m surprised how similar it is. Our guys, it’s just a great setup for them. They live 30 steps away.”

Welch motioned to the glass doors that opened in the direction of the UK player lodge with that last remark. The 60-year-old coach spends his days in the Craft Center — as he said, just a few dozen steps across the parking lot from the lodge — where he helps Calipari run Kentucky’s practices and works out UK’s players individually. So far, he’s having a ball with his students.

‘Really amazing’ addition

Welch had barely been on UK’s campus before the reviews started rolling in.

“He’s really great,” sophomore center Ugonna Onyenso said in July. “He’s taught me things that I didn’t even know about myself. So, practicing with him, it’s really been amazing for me, because he’s really going to help me long-term. Telling me what to do and how to use my body. I’ve been surprised, practicing with him, because I’ve figured things out that I didn’t even know about myself. Things that I didn’t even know that I could do. He’s really amazing.”

Fellow sophomore Adou Thiero also praised Welch in those early days. As he spent more time with them, Kentucky’s freshmen — the bulk of this team’s contributors — started doing the same. For a program that prides itself on getting guys to the league, Welch’s credentials at the next level made him a must-listen to a group of players hoping to land there soon.

“Having him here, I’m really happy. Because I’m going to take advantage of having someone that’s coached in the NBA,” Onyenso said. “I’m going to take advantage of that. So, whatever he tells me, that’s how it is. And that’s how I’m going to take it.”

That’s the kind of audience Welch has found so far.

“Usually, every group has a couple guys that just — not bad guys, but they’re just difficult,” he said. “And we just don’t have that. And part of it, Coach Cal has set this up in such a way that I think everyone conforms to the group, and I feel like it’s a great situation.”

The results so far have been eye-opening.

Calipari specifically said that Welch would be assisting with offensive strategies at the time of his hire. There, Kentucky has been among the best in the country.

At the start of this week, the Wildcats ranked third nationally at 90.8 points per game, third in assist/turnover ratio, fourth in the country in 3-point shooting at 40.6% and fourth among major-conference teams in adjusted tempo, a stat that’s indicative of how fast a team plays.

This particular style hasn’t been the norm for Kentucky in recent years.

It starts in the backcourt, one of the reasons Calipari said from the get-go that Welch would be such a perfect match for this UK roster.

“He loves point guards,” Hall of Fame coach George Karl, who hired Welch while in charge of the Nuggets and Kings, told the Denver Post in 2012.

Welch ended up with quite the trio in his first season at Kentucky.

“All three of them are great,” he said of the freshman combo of Rob Dillingham, Reed Sheppard and D.J. Wagner, all teenagers who are projected as first-round NBA draft picks.

Welch said that UK’s squad two seasons ago — the one ranked fifth nationally in offensive efficiency with Sahvir Wheeler, TyTy Washington, Kellan Grady and Davion Mintz in the backcourt — was one of the best “running teams” in the country.

“And I think we’re back there this year,” he said. “And I think your point guard is very important there. Pick and rolls have become a central point of most teams’ offense. I think we’re running more and more now. A lot of times, your point guard is your decision-maker. You need someone that can make plays for others, and I think we’re fortunate in that we have multiple guys that can make plays. We have multiple guys that can run pick and rolls. We have multiple 3-point shooters on the court at one time.

“It speaks to our depth. If you only have one guy that can create a play, there’s so much pressure on him. And the less shooting you have on the court, the harder it is to make plays, the less space on the floor. The key is to have multiple playmakers and multiple shooters, and that’s, I think, one of our strengths.”

It has been so far, with five players averaging more than 12 points per game — and assist numbers that have been consistently superb — going into Tuesday night’s SEC home opener against Missouri.

“Unbelievable,” Welch responded when asked if he’d been surprised by how capable that trio, in particular, and this team, in general, had proven to be so quickly in the season. “Just being in the gym with them, just how skilled they are and how well they shoot the basketball, has been very surprising to me. The difference between this and the NBA? Very, very little.

“I wasn’t sure going into the season how good of a shooting team we’d be. I don’t think anyone was. And, so far, so good.”

These Wildcats entered the week on pace to break the program’s all-time record for 3-point shooting in a season. The 1995-96 NCAA title team made 39.7% of its shots from deep, as did Calipari’s 2010-11 team that advanced to the Final Four.

And those are the type of longer-term, team-oriented goals that this team has in mind. Kentucky was ranked No. 6 heading into Tuesday night’s game, with plenty of room to grow over the next couple of months, before postseason play begins.

Welch sees a roster of players that’s not only talented, but hungry, too.

“Oh, definitely,” he said. “We have a great group of guys. I hope next year’s team is like this. But I somehow have a feeling this is a special group. If the group’s like this every year, what a treat that would be.”

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