The Kentucky basketball team is poised for post-season success
Over the years, the University of Kentucky has accumulated the most wins in men’s college basketball, eight national championships, and many more impressive stats. Kentucky’s last championship came in 2012. The team, led by Freshman Anthony Davis, surmounted all competition and managed to win it all. But despite continuosly stellar recruiting from John Calipari, Kentucky hasn’t won a championship since. Although it may seem greedy to be disappointed after such a drought (after all, many teams haven’t won a championship ever), that is the reality for demanding Kentucky fans. The disappointment is more justified than you might think. I really thought we were going to win in the 2014-15 season when we went undefeated in the regular season, before finishing 38-1 with a loss in the semifinals. Or even the year before, when we made it to the National Championship game as an eight seed. But every time, the championship has eluded us.
Though Kentucky seemed poised to walk away with a championship several times, it never happened. Maybe this year is different. The Kentucky Basketball team of this season has something many of the other teams lacked: experience. Kentucky teams of the past have been headlined by one-and-done freshman phenoms, but that’s not the reality this year. Only Tyrese Maxey, in my eyes, has achieved the status so often achieved by Kentucky freshmen. The others have all been largely disappointing, particularly Kahlil Whitney, who failed to make any impact and then transferred.
This Kentucky team is led by Sophomore Ashton Hagans, who commands the floor and locks down any offensive player unlucky enough to match up against him. He is likely to win Defensive Player of the Year and is one of the best point guards in college basketball.
Along with Hagans, Nick Richards has had an outstanding junior year. After a disappointing freshman and sophomore year with little playing time, Richards stuck it out and returned for a third season. What a good decision that was! Richards continued to develop, becoming a leader on this team and excelling in both offense and defense, especially defense.
Other players with experience include Sophomore Immanuel Quickley, Senior Nate Sestina (a grad transfer following in the footsteps of Reid Travis), and Sophomore EJ Montogomery. Though it may seem ridiculous to view a sophomore as a “player with experience,” that’s the truth for UK, whose teams are usually comprised of majority freshmen.
Although UK does have more experience this year, freshmen still make up a fairly large portion of the team. Most notably Tyrese Maxey. The 2019-20 team also features Freshman Johnny Juzang and Freshman Keion Brooks. Though neither have had a breakout game yet, both are steadily improving as the season continues. Hopefully they continue to improve and become major contributors during the NCAA tournament.
The experience of this Kentucky team may well be the deciding factor in their efforts to win a championship. Right now, the team is being led to victory by Hagans, Richards, Quickley, and Maxey, with a few good performances by others. However, not everyone plays well at the same time. Kentucky only boasts four consistent, contributing players. And the ones who aren’t consistent only need a step to reach that level. If every player on Kentucky played as well as they should, not a team in the league would even stand a chance. And we don’t even need every player to play well, just one or two more guys. It doesn’t matter if it’s Montgomery, Sestina, Brooks, or Juzang; if they play well, it’s game over.
Every second, the NCAA Tournament and March Madness get closer, and UK is in the perfect position to succeed. Many of our players are underperforming, but we’re still succeeding. I don’t think we’re quite there yet, but if someone else steps up, we may take home trophy number nine.