This Kentucky basketball team should be fun. But there could be troubling times ahead.

First things first: This Kentucky team is equipped to play an entertaining brand of basketball.

If that wasn’t already clear from the Wildcats’ stint in Canada for the GLOBL JAM exhibition tournament in July, it was certainly apparent Saturday night.

The annual Blue-White Game, which was played at the Truist Arena on Northern Kentucky University’s campus, featured plenty of highlights for the sizzle reel.

Rob Dillingham was a revelation to anyone who judged him on his subpar GLOBL JAM performances. The shifty, 6-foot-2 freshman guard dazzled with 40 points, scoring every which way from all over the court. He added seven assists, five rebounds and a defensive effort that had John Calipari singing his praises afterward, but his scoring attack — tough drives to the basket, points in transition, creating space to hit perimeter shots — stole the show.

D.J. Wagner once again showed he can be that dynamic, quick-with-the-ball point guard that Calipari covets. Justin Edwards was tentative at first, but he flashed enough over the course of the night to show anyone watching why he sits No. 1 on some 2024 NBA Draft boards. Fellow freshman Reed Sheppard made plays on both sides of the ball, doing what he needed to impact the game while playing within the flow of it.

Sophomore Adou Thiero, who played just about every position for the Cats last season, seems ready for a bigger role to match his bigger frame. He had 26 points and nine rebounds.

And fifth-year players Antonio Reeves and Tre Mitchell will be the old reliables on this team. Reeves went 1-for-9 from 3-point range Saturday, but everyone knows he’ll make shots when the real games begin. Mitchell is a steady, heady veteran who should help lead this team.

That’s a strong core of seven Cats.

And it’s a competitive bunch, too. UK’s early practices have been tough ones, and Calipari noted after Saturday’s scrimmage that members of the White team — featuring presumed starters Wagner, Reeves, Edwards and Mitchell, plus veteran walk-on Brennan Canada — were mad enough to “chew light bulbs” during their eventual 100-89 loss to the Blue squad.

“We’ve got a good group,” Calipari said. “We’ve got some warriors. And that’s what you want.”

That’s the good news for Kentucky.

The bad news is who didn’t play.

Aaron Bradshaw. Out. Ugonna Onyenso. Out. Zvonimir Ivisic. Out.

UK’s three 7-footers all watched the scrimmage from the sidelines.

Only Ivisic was expected to play. The 7-2 recruit from Croatia arrived in Lexington last Thursday, and Calipari said the following night at Big Blue Madness that he would make his on-court debut for the Wildcats in the Blue-White Game. He practiced for the first time Wednesday night. On Saturday afternoon, Calipari announced on social media that Ivisic would be held out of the scrimmage. The UK coach said after the Blue-White Game that he shouldn’t have promised the fans that Ivisic would be on the court. Three practices in three days took their toll.

“I mean, he was cramping — his calves, his hamstring, his groin, his knee,” Calipari said. “I mean, he had everything going. ‘My ankle.’ And I just said, ‘Stop.’ We could have him for here, and then I’d be a man of my word. Or we could worry about the season. And I’m worried about the season. So I want to give him some time. Let’s see what this body can take.

“Now, I’m like, ‘You went three-a-days (back in Europe). How can our one practice wipe you out?’ Well, they didn’t play this way (in Europe). And it wasn’t as physical.”

That’s understandable. But Kentucky’s season opener — against New Mexico State on Nov. 6 — is not far off. Getting Ivisic in game shape by then seems to be a major question mark. Calipari said as much Saturday night, noting that he was confident the NCAA would clear Ivisic — a 20-year-old who played for a professional team in Europe — as an amateur in time for the start of the season. Will Ivisic actually be ready to compete by then? That’s another question.

“I think he’s fine. That’s not what I’m worried about,” Calipari said of Ivisic’s eligibility. “What I’m worried about is his body. … My worry is: physically, how much can he play? That’s my worry. Now, let me say this. After three days of practice, it wasn’t a whole lot. And it was three days of practice.”

Bradshaw and Onyenso are both still recovering from offseason foot injuries and the medical procedures that followed. Calipari said at UK’s Pro Day event Oct. 11 that they should be back in “5-6 weeks,” but he’s since walked back those comments. He said Saturday he wasn’t making any more predictions there.

“I’m not giving you a date, because I don’t know a date,” Calipari said of Bradshaw, later adding that Onyenso would likely be the last of the trio to be ready for game action.

The season opener is two weeks away. Eight days after that, Kentucky plays No. 1-ranked Kansas (and All-American-caliber center Hunter Dickinson). Two weeks later, No. 13 Miami comes to Lexington. Not long after that, UK will face No. 19 North Carolina (and Armando Bacot, another All-American candidate in the post). And then the SEC schedule will be right around the corner. No easy games in that league this season.

Even when Bradshaw and Onyenso are ready to return (and Ivisic is ready to contribute), the transition process is likely to be complicated. Kentucky saw it last season, when Oscar Tshiebwe missed the final few weeks of the preseason and the first two regular-season games due to a knee injury. Tshiebwe was the reigning national player of the year, and he had some great games early on, but he didn’t really consistently look like himself until the Cats were well into conference play. And he had a full summer of good health to prepare, as well as a game and body that were made to dominate college basketball.

All three of the 7-footers on UK’s current roster are viewed more as long-term prospects who likely won’t come close to reaching their full potential for years. They needed all the development they could get over the past few months. Collectively, they got very little. And all of these uncertainties are sure to disrupt the jelling process that is so important with young teams such as this one.

For the time being, Calipari appears likely to go with a lineup that features Mitchell — a 6-9 forward — at the “5” spot most of the time, with converted 6-8 wing freshman Jordan Burks backing him up and Ivisic giving whatever minutes he can.

“Tre’s good at the ‘5’. How’s Adou and Justin as ‘4s’? I mean, I think we have enough,” Calipari said. “But it’d be nice to have that one guy with size. What happens is, even if he’s not like blocking every shot — (Ivisic is) still 7-2. And so is Aaron. And now when you drive in there and you’re 6-2 — he’s 7-2. You’re (shooting) more pull-ups than trying to get layups. Even if he’s not blocking them, you’ll be lucky to make it. You gotta shoot it higher.

“So, yeah, we need those guys. And they want to play in the worst way. All three of ’em. I mean, it’s driving them crazy.”

While playing a fast-paced, fun-basketball lineup featuring Mitchell at the “5” and a bunch of playmakers elsewhere should prove entertaining, it’s not the style Calipari prefers. His talking points year round revolve around rebounding and rim protection. His best teams have been ones with a game-changing shot-blocker or two around the basket.

For now, this team won’t have that. And all the talent in the world at the other positions might not be able to make up for what’s missing.

Asked after the Blue-White Game for his takes on the strengths and weaknesses of playing such a style, Thiero said one word into the microphone. “Speed.”

A strength, for sure. Dillingham quickly agreed, before making some points of his own.

“But you saw in Canada — we were definitely a little smaller,” he said, correctly. The Cats were outrebounded over four GLOBL JAM games against competition not nearly as good as some of the teams they’ll face early this season.

Dillingham noted that the smaller lineup can stretch the floor, with Mitchell making plays and shooting threes from the perimeter. And then, another but.

“But it does kind of hurt us that we don’t rebound as much,” he acknowledged.

Dillingham said he thought all three centers would be ready to go soon. He said he thought that the rest of the Cats would be OK in the meantime. But?

“But when we do have them back, it’ll be way better. For sure.”

Just when that will be, nobody seems to know.

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