Kentucky coach John Calipari has loaded his roster with so much talent, so much depth that his No. 1-ranked Wildcats actually have [two five-man platoons to throw at opponents][1] this season.
Is this guy some sort of evil genius? Bill Self and his No. 5 Kansas Jayhawks will find out for themselves [tonight in Indianapolis, at the Champions Classic][2].
Calipari said Monday at a press conference — [detailed by The Courier-Journal][3] — that he isn’t playing each of his top 10 players in two distinct units to make himself look good.
> “I’m not doing this to be a genius.
> I’ve already told you,” the UK coach
> said. “They all deserve a chance to
> show what they are. They’re going to.
> Would I love to do this the whole
> year? Absolutely. But we may not be
> able to. It will be decided on the
> court. If anybody uses this as an
> excuse, then you won’t play.”
The Wildcats’ starting platoon features:
• **Aaron Harrison** — 6-foot-6, soph. G (7.5 points)
• **Andrew Harrison** — 6-foot-6, soph. G (9.5 points)
• **Alex Poythress** — 6-foot-8, jr. F (7.5 points)
• **Karl-Anthony Towns** — 6-foot-11, fr. F (5.5 points)
• **Willie Cauley-Stein** — 7-foot, jr. F (9.0 points)
Those guys would play at least 30 minutes a game in most programs. But Calipari is so confident in his next five, no one on the team has averaged more than Cauley-Stein’s 24.5 minutes through two games.
It’s a minuscule sample size, but at this point, Kentucky’s leading scorer, Trey Lyles, comes into games with the bench platoon:
• **Trey Lyles** — 6-foot-10, fr. F (13.0 points)
• **Tyler Ulis** — 5-foot-9, fr. G (8.5 points)
• **Devin Booker** — 6-foot-6, fr. G (5.0 points)
• **Marcus Lee** — 6-foot-9, soph. F (3.0 points)
• **Dakari Johnson** — 7-foot, soph. C (9.5 points)
> Says Calipari: “Bottom line is I’m
> doing this for these players. They
> will decide how this plays out. My
> hope is that they all play, and
> they’ll all play because they deserve
> to all play.”
UK (2-0) warmed up for this early-season showdown vs. the Jayhawks (1-0) with wins over Grand Canyon and Buffalo.
On average, the Wildcats have only taken 16 seconds per possession. With top-tier athletes who aren’t asked to play as many minutes as your typical star players, UK benefits from fresh legs. Just another advantage of Calipari’s platoon system.
Against inferior competition, Kentucky has scored 48.7% of its points off dunks and layups, 18.6% from free throws, 17.3% from behind the 3-point line and 15.4% on 2-point jump shots.
If KU’s perimeter defenders can keep the Wildcats from getting to the paint, that should take the nation’s No. 1 team out of its comfort zone.
And then how would players react, in the midst of this Calipari experiment? Like everyone else, we’ll have to wait and see how a two-platoon team responds to adversity. Is it any more difficult to recover and respond?
It seems the mad scientist, with so many tools at his disposal, isn’t too concerned.
> “I’m enjoying it,” Calipari said,
> “because I know no kid’s getting left
> behind. And I know the easiest thing
> for me to do is play seven guys.”
[1]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2014/nov/18/column-calipari-system-adds-intrigue/
[2]: http://www2.kusports.com/news/2014/nov/18/arch-rivals-ku-uk-all-american-reunion/
[3]: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/uk-beat/2014/11/17/qa-john-calipari-previews-kentucky-kansas/19177641/
