Kentucky basketball fans are in for a treat. Normally we'd be waiting several more months before the start of college basketball action. While the real season is still most of the college football season away, Big Blue Nation will be treated to four exhibition games in the Bahamas in five days this week and into the weekend.
As usual, it's a drastically different roster than last season for John Calipari, but there's more continuity than there has often been and the Wildcats will be ranked among the nation's contenders by anyone writing about the sport.
Here's what Cats Illustrated writers are looking for out of UK's upcoming exhibition tour.
Jeff Drummond: Although it feels a little awkward because we're just now fully engaged with UK Football, I'll be excited to see the Cats play some competitive basketball games against someone in a different uniform this week. The flood relief telethon scrimmage last week at Rupp Arena was surprisingly good from a competitive standpoint, so these games should be even more interesting to watch.
One of the main things I'll be keeping an eye on is how John Calipari utilizes his depth. We all know that he prefers a smaller rotation, but I see at least nine guys on this roster who can legitimately help them this season -- if not start a game somewhere along the way. The UK backcourt is particularly interesting. We know that Sahvir Wheeler is going to run the point. Cason Wallace looks like the dynamic player at the 2 that his McDonald's All-American status suggested. But you might have three more guys -- sharpshooting redshirt CJ Fredrick, proven D1 scorer Antonio Reeves, and versatile freshman Chris Livingston -- who are worthy of being in the starting lineup. How does Cal manage the minutes with those guys?
David Sisk: I may be in the minority here, but the results of the games in the Bahamas are not going to be riveting for me. But getting first glimpses of players in a competitive setting for the first time will be interesting.
I’m particularly interested to see how some of the younger players perform. We are all curious to see Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston. Wallace has added muscle, so it’s almost like the new version. How quick is he? Can he score? Can he play on the ball? Is Livingston more of a 3 or a 4?
I’m also curious to get an overall body of work from Antonio Reeves as well as to gauge the improvements of Jacob Toppin and Daimion Collins. Both returners have gotten some rave reviews in the off-season. Can Collins handle the physicality from older players, and is Toppin ready to take his game to the next level? Hopefully we will have better ideas by this time next week.
Travis Graf: I think I’m most intrigued by how Jacob Toppin looks with an increased workload and minutes. He’s never been “the guy” at his position until now, and I feel like you could see another version of a Junior Nick Richards jump with him.
Next, I’m interested to see how the team looks under the new strength and conditioning coach. Can you see added muscle, more spring, or just overall more mobility?
Lastly, I’ll be looking forward to watching freshmen Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston, who are more physically imposing freshmen than Kentucky has had in recent memory. Will their physicality be as noticeable on the court as it appears to be in pictures?
Justin Rowland: Let's start with what we know. Sahvir Wheeler can create open shots for others, Jacob Toppin is rounding into a more complete player, UK's freshmen have some dog in their game, and the Cats return the National Player of the Year, who will again be awesome.
But there's a lot we don't know. How much will Cason Wallace be handling the basketball? How much of Antonio Reeves' scoring ability and production will transfer now that he's in a very different situation and not the go-to player? Will Toppin take a modest step forward or can he play like someone who's going to have an NBA career in front of him? How much is Kentucky going to get from Daimion Collins, and what does the rest of the lineup look like when he's on the court?
