This week, the AP Top 25 preseason rankings were released prior to the upcoming season starting in the near future. The season looks bright for the Wildcats, who last season, saw their chances of winning an NCAA championship slip away from their finger tips. Their defeat against the University of Connecticut, raised many questions regarding the future of the program and how good they would be without key players that left the team to join the NBA. Key players that departed include Julius Randle and James Young. Both contributed significantly to the Wildcat offense last season. This season however, Kentucky is ranked number 1 in the preseason rankings after retaining 9 McDonald's All Americans. The return of the Harrison twins and the size that returned allows Kentucky the ability to dominate in the upcoming season.
Incoming freshman Karl Towns Jr. is one of the top Centers in the country, coming out of South Jersey from St. Joe's Metuchen, provides a strong inside presence that can block out other opposing big men. He can score inside from the paint, but can also spread the floor and shoot the three point shot. He will help the Harrison twins and Dakari Johnson a ton, and could thrive in a Kentucky offense that focuses primary in the paint. Other notable big men that played in John Calipari's offense include all star center, Anthony Davis, who led the Wildcats to an NCAA championship before he left for the NBA. Other notable recruits include Trey Lyles, the number 8th top ranked PF in the country, but could be coming off of the bench in a platoon offense in an effort to get top players equal minutes. Tyler Ulis provides ball handling as well as a defensive presence at the point guard position, and a supplementary backup off the bench for the Wildcats this season.
The biggest difficulty for the WIldcats this season would be based upon how John Calipari utilizes his team. He is attempting to become the first coach in Division 1 to incorporate a platoon system, and the other known coaches to do this is in Division 3. The Wildcats are geared for another March Madness run, and with returning stars and a top recruitment class, they proved they have the potential to do so again.
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