University of Kentucky head coach John Calipari is tempering expectations as his No. 4 Wildcats prepare for the start of the 2022-2023 college basketball season.
After being bounced in the first round of the NCAA tournament by No. 15 seed St. Peter’s, expectations are high in Lexington for a bounce-back performance, but Calipari is warning that it may take time.
"I like the pieces," Calipari said in a video posted to social media. "We got the Player of the Year, we’ve got another first-team all-conference, we’ve got good young guys. But let me explain to you, and you know I’m honest about stuff. We’re not where we need to be right now.
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"And I’m looking at November and December saying, ‘We could be a little shaky.’"
The Player of the Year Calipari referred to is reigning 2022 Naismith Men’s College Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe.
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Tshiebwe will return for his second season at Kentucky after averaging 17.4 points, 15.2 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game. But Tshiebwe is coming off of a minor knee surgery in early October, and his return to the court is not clear. Calipari said he’d be cautious with his big man.
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"I'll keep him out longer than he probably should," Calipari said at the SEC Tipoff event in October, according to ESPN. "But he's pretty resilient. We'll see."
Calipari also brought in the fifth-ranked recruiting class of the offseason, adding two five-star players in Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston.
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With a team dealing with injuries and trying to integrate young freshmen, Calipari is looking toward the second half of the season for his team to start clicking.
"What we need to do to win at the highest level is going to take us a little time," Calipari added in the video.
"The big picture of this is January, February, we’ve got to be at our best," he added.
Kentucky opens the season Nov. 7 against Howard before playing a non-conference slate with Michigan State, No. 2 Gonzaga, No. 22 Michigan and No. 8 UCLA on the schedule.
