Kentucky's Tidied-Up Rotation Yields Better Flow, On-Court Chemistry

Say goodbye to 10-man rotations for the rest of the season in Lexington. John Calipari may have found the right mix of Wildcats moving forward.

John Calipari was a man all about opportunity when it came to trying to get the 2022-23 version of Kentucky off on the right foot. 

As UK meandered through the first third of the regular season, a majority of the roster saw their minutes fluctuate as Calipari tried to find the right rotation. The result was a bulk of inconsistencies, partially — if not fully — responsible for four losses in a two-month span. 

Players like CJ Fredrick, Jacob Toppin and Chris Livingston were all considered vital pieces to the team, but infrequent offense and defensive blunders led to less minutes on certain occasions. As a result, bench players like Daimion Collins, Ugonna Onyenso and Adou Thiero would get some sparse run on the floor, but due to either a lack of real playing time or overall skill level, not much changed as buzzsaws like Gonzaga and UCLA cut right through the Cats. 

After taking a beating in Columbia at the hands of Missouri, a change was made upon returning to Lexington. Opportunity was going to begin to fade for those who have had a hard time finding it. When Louisville entered Rupp Arena, Calipari began to take a different approach. 

While 10 players still entered the game at some point for UK, just six would see double-digit minutes. Calipari had a heart-to-heart with Toppin, inserting him back in the starting lineup, playing alongside Livingston to open a game for the first time. The rest of the starting five saw point guard Sahvir Wheeler play 39 minutes in the win over the Cardinals, while guard Cason Wallace and center Oscar Tshiebwe each played 37. Shooting guard Antonio Reeves would be the sixth-man, equating to just 17 minutes of his own. 

Calipari would take it up a notch on Tuesday night when LSU came to town. In Kentucky's pregame radio show, he made it known that his bench players "aren't getting as many minutes." That statement would hold true.

It would be those six players — plus Collins — against the Tigers. No two-to-four minute swing for whichever tertiary player. The rotation was held firm, and it paid off. 

Tshiebwe and Wallace each played a full 40 minutes, Wheeler finished with 37 with Toppin and Livingston combining for 60. Collins would be the only player to not reach 10 minutes, playing nine. 

The result? Just a 74-71 victory, but a vibrant one at that. LSU fought tooth-and-nail to try and grab a slick road win — with plenty of help at the end from the Wildcats — but 51.9 percent shooting, a nine-rebound advantage on the glass and just six turnovers propelled UK ahead. 

Toppin doubled down on his new form with a 21-point night, Tshiebwe dominated per usual with 19 points and 16 boards, Wallace poured in 14 points while Wheeler took a stab at a triple-double, garnering 11 points, nine assists and six rebounds. 

So has Calipari unlocked the right mix of players and the correct rotation?

"We'll see going forward," he said after the win. "You're noticing, we're flowing more in sync. You could just see it. So it's all the stuff we've been talking and working, and they have responded."

The flow could come from a number of places, but the lack of substitution helps, simply because the same players are out on the court with each other for more time in-game. Chemistry is of course built in practice, but nothing beats performing together against another opponent. 

Kentucky's chemistry as a unit was called into question, especially after the embarrassing 14-point loss to Mizzou. The energy on the bench was nowhere to be found and there was hardly any synchrony with one-another on either end of the court. 

To remedy that, Calipari dug through his mental archive and pulled out some old tape from his days coaching at UMASS. Sometimes the old dog doesn't need to learn new tricks, because the old tricks still work every once in a while: 

"You have to understand, I've had teams where I've played five guys, and six and seven played nine minutes," he explained. "I had guards that played 38 minutes a game at UMASS. I did it -- I've done it that way, and here is what happens. You start seeing chemistry and them growing together because they are on the court a lot. And I thought that's what this team needed." 

The record speaks for itself, as UK is now 2-0 with the starters playing a hefty chunk of the minutes. While it's worked thus far, Calipari urged the need for one more piece to emerge if the Cats are really going to take things to the next level. 

"Adou and Ugonna did not get an opportunity. I grabbed them after. I just said, 'You've got to be ready.' Antonio didn't get a whole lot of minutes. Well, Chris was mixing it up and doing some good stuff. So I left him in there. But we need Antonio. We need CJ. We need one more guy that can go and stretch a game for us," he said. 

After two months of bumbling and irreverent basketball, a flip appears to have been switched in Lexington. The question is, will it be maintained? 

"I believe in them. We're talking about all these teams. You're seeing teams get knocked off. We've got a top-five point guard. We can really shoot the ball. We don't shoot it every time but we can really shoot the ball. We also have ... We've got Oscar! No one else has him," Calipari declared. 

"Takes time when you have a new team. I'm impatient, too. We've just got to keep striving. I mean, the next game we play, that's all I'm worried about." 

More on the win over LSU here.

Game notes from the victory here.

Watch: Tshiebwe, Wheeler and Toppin speak to the media here.

Want the latest on national football and basketball recruiting, including Cats targets? Head over to SI All-American for the latest news, blogs, and updates about the nation's best prospects.

Sports Illustrated also offers insight, information and up to the minute details for gamblers. Check it out here.