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May see 5-for-5 substitution this year
Kentucky’s highly-touted freshman class struggled much of last season before hitting stride in postseason play and getting the Wildcats within one win of a ninth national championship.
Now the Cats have another top-ranked recruiting class, and freshmen Tyler Ulis, Devin Booker, Trey Lyles and Karl-Anthony Towns are a big reason why they are again ranked No. 1 in most preseason college basketball polls.
So how do this year’s freshmen differ from last year’s freshmen?
“I don’t know if they do. I would say on whole, they’re probably in better condition,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said during a preseason interview. “But I could say that because of the Bahamas trip (for six exhibition games in August). They’re probably more advanced of how we’re going to play. They’re probably able to play looser because they know it’s not going to be on them.”
That’s because Kentucky returns eight players off last year’s team, a luxury last season’s freshmen didn’t have from a team coming off an NIT loss to Robert Morris.
“Now all of a sudden you’ve got a team full of guys who played in the championship game and now you’re coming back and watching and learning. If you compete with them, you start building your own confidence. ‘This guy, I can compete with this guy.’ It’s a good thing,” Calipari said.
Senior walk-on Brian Long has played with numerous future NBA players over the past three years at Kentucky. He likes what he sees from his new teammates.
“As everyone saw in the Bahamas, Karl is tough,” Long said. “He’s young, but he’s really skilled and he can go inside and out. He’s going to be a tough matchup for people. All four of them are good additions, and they will help us in the long run.”
What about Ulis?
“I was really impressed with him just for the fact that he’s my size and seeing someone go out there that small and to see how physical and tough he was, offensively and defensively. He’s a real good passer. He’s just good. He’s a good point guard,” Long said.
What about Booker and Lyles?
“Booker can really shoot it. He’s going to help us, too. Trey is a McDonald’s All-American. I saw him last year in Indianapolis (in the state title game). I think he’s good, and he’s going to come in and help.”
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