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Kentucky Basketball: 5 items on the 2018-19 holiday wishlist for the Wildcats

BOISE, ID - MARCH 15: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats reacts in the first half against the Davidson Wildcats during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Taco Bell Arena on March 15, 2018 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
BOISE, ID - MARCH 15: Head coach John Calipari of the Kentucky Wildcats reacts in the first half against the Davidson Wildcats during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Taco Bell Arena on March 15, 2018 in Boise, Idaho. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
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LEXINGTON, KY – NOVEMBER 21: Keldon Johnson #3 of the Kentucky Wildcats celebrates against the Winthrop Eagles at Rupp Arena on November 21, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
LEXINGTON, KY – NOVEMBER 21: Keldon Johnson #3 of the Kentucky Wildcats celebrates against the Winthrop Eagles at Rupp Arena on November 21, 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Kentucky Basketball came into the year with tons of hype, but they haven’t lived up to the Wildcat standard. What does Kentucky need this year for the holidays?

Kentucky should be used to the annual tradition of the change of power: freshman stars out, high school recruits in. With this transition, it takes some time for the Wildcats to be the team that everyone expects them to be. Freshmen need time to get settled into college both on and off the court. This is a normal thing that fans of one-and-done teams are accustomed to.

However, this year was supposed to be different. With transfer Reid Travis on the team, they were hoping to have a veteran presence to get started early. In fact, many believed that Kentucky had the best team in the country. However, they are now out of contention to be even one of the two best in their own conference.

There is plenty of time to fix the Wildcats’ problems, but it will take specific actions to improve on this season. They had two great tests to do so early in non-conference play, but they failed in both games. Now, they will have to rely on a great SEC schedule performance to improve their seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

Thankfully, this is a great time of year to ask for things to make your life better. With SEC play on the horizon in the new year, we have five things that Kentucky should be wishing for this holiday season. They might not need snow or mistletoe, but they definitely could benefit from these wishes coming true.