Kentucky men’s basketball sophomore Ugonna Onyenso makes season debut against North Carolina
Kentucky men’s basketball got another 7-footer back on the court Saturday night.
After strong suggestions all week long that sophomore center Ugonna Onyenso could make his season debut for the Cats on Saturday against North Carolina in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta, head coach John Calipari followed through and gave Onyenso his first minutes of the 2023-24 season.
With 13:04 left in the first half of Saturday’s game and Kentucky holding a 15-8 lead over UNC, Onyenso checked into the game for freshman center Aaron Bradshaw.
By the end of what became a thoroughly entertaining 87-83 Kentucky win over UNC, Onyenso had totaled 10 minutes of playing time.
For the game, Onyenso had 1 point, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 3 blocks in his time on the floor. Onyenso also had a team-worst plus/minus of -13.
Onyenso had emphatic blocks in both the first and second halves.
Foul trouble in the first half for Bradshaw and fifth-year forward Tre Mitchell — and early in the second half for Bradshaw again — provided the chance for Onyenso to play a bit more that originally planned.
Pregame, Calipari said on UK radio that Onyenso joined the Wildcats in Atlanta on Saturday morning and that he could play about five minutes in the game.
Following Saturday’s game, Calipari said Onyenso had the flu, and that’s what delayed the sophomore’s arrival in Atlanta.
Onyenso went through full pregame warmups with Kentucky ahead of the matchup with North Carolina. This marked the first time this season that Onyenso went through the full pregame warmup process with the Cats.
Kentucky started Bradshaw against the Tar Heels, the first start of his college career.
Onyenso makes season debut after a strong return to UK practice
Earlier this week, Calipari said on his weekly radio show that Onyenso would be back in the Wildcats’ practices this week.
On Thursday, UK assistant coach Bruiser Flint spoke to reporters as if Onyenso would be on the court at some point against the Tar Heels, who are anchored by preseason All-America center Armando Bacot.
Onyenso, a second-year big man who is originally from Nigeria, hadn’t played for Kentucky yet during the 2023-24 season, prior to Saturday’s appearance.
He sustained a foot injury the day before UK began play in the offseason GLOBL JAM tournament in Canada in July.
As a freshman, Onyenso only played 110 total minutes, but he blocked 16 shots during that span, including four games with three-plus blocks in the first three weeks of the season.
Onyenso’s playing time significantly dropped off, however, when SEC play arrived. Over the final two months of the season, Onyenso only played in one game, a three-minute appearance in a 32-point blowout home win against Auburn in February.
“Ugonna was really good yesterday. He really was,” UK assistant coach Chuck Martin said on the “Behind Kentucky Basketball” podcast Wednesday. “He looks healthy, he looks strong. He looked really good defensively — in pick-and-roll coverage — considering he hasn’t done anything in three or four months.”
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