Roster construction will be watched closely for UK basketball

Mar. 24—Roster construction for the next season is always a major discussion topic as soon as the current season ends for Kentucky basketball.

For a second season in a row, the view of next year's roster is against a backdrop of a UK season that ended in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

UK made it to the second round of the East Regional in Greensboro, N.C., and this time it was Kansas State delivering the knockout punch in the form of a 5-foot-8 guard from Harlem to got a return trip home to New York City for the Sweet 16.

The disappointment for UK fans has been palpable, but there is slight consolation in that this wasn't total shock of losing to a 15 seed on the opening night of the actual NCAA Tournament.

UK dropping a 75-69 decision to K-State, then having coach Jerome Tang proclaiming his team had more "dudes" than UK was a gut wrenching reality for most of BBN.

There's also plenty of other noise swirling around UK basketball as it moved past a one-weekend NCAA Tournament stay. Some of it was from mainstream media, social media, fans in the stands.

Kentucky was being questioned as irrelevant, and John Calipari was being rated for the hot seat list within a couple of days of their season ending.

Kentucky hasn't reached the Sweet 16 of the last three NCAA Tournaments, and that has gotten a glaring bright spotlight on Calipari's recent performance as UK's head coach.

This was the immediate chatter concerning the Wildcats, even with a "super class" coming in for Calipari's program in 2023-24. UK has the No. 1 rated recruiting class in the country with five highly touted prospects, four ranked in the top 10 nationally for the 2023 cycle, and three in the top five, according to 247Sports composite rankings.

Even with a roster full of top-level freshmen coming in, Calipari's ability to put together the team and get it running efficiently will be scrutinized in the 2023-24 season.

Those freshmen need to be as good as advertised, because if the expected exodus of senior UK players happens, the Wildcats will be an inexperienced team.

Calipari said after the loss to Kansas State that he expected all of UK's seniors to leave the program, although all have college eligibility remaining. Oscar Tshiebwe, Jacob Toppin, Sahvir Wheeler, CJ Fredrick, and Antonio Reeves are all seniors, and Tshiebwe, Toppin and Wheeler are expected to leave. Freshman guard Cason Wallace is expected to jump to the NBA Draft, where he is projected to be a lottery pick.

Chris Livingston has an intriguing decision to make, and whether he returns to Kentucky could have a big impact on its roster and what Calipari can do with it.

Livingston is a 6-foot-6, 220-pound wing who is a physical player who can score and rebound. As a proven sophomore, Livingston could be a leader for a talented freshmen bunch that could have players like DJ Wagner and Justin Edwards as stars.

Ugonna Onyenso is a 6-11 freshman shot blocker who said he will return for another season at UK. Onyenso played very little, but his first year was supposed to be spent learning against Tshiebwe, Toppin, Lance Ware and Daimion Collins.

Onyenso will be joined by freshman center Aaron Bradshaw next season, and there could be another inside player addition via transfer, joining whoever decides to return to UK next season.

Calipari has said he thinks Onyenso could be one of the best big men in the country next season. What Calipari says about next year's roster will be watched closely, as will the players attempting to become a team. The performance of that team will be analyzed and scrutinized like at no other season in Calipari's time in Lexington.

The UK program and Calipari have earned that by not reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament again.