Kentucky Basketball: Are Wildcats falling behind on and off the court?

Mar 12, 2022; Tampa, FL, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari huddles up with forward Lance Ware (55), guard Sahvir Wheeler (2), guard TyTy Washington Jr. (3), forward Oscar Tshiebwe (34) and teammates during the second half at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports /

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TyTy Washington Jr. Kentucky Basketball (Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images) /

The Wildcats’ 2022 class doesn’t have the same fanfare

One big enabler of those inflated expectations in Lexington has been head coach John Calipari’s ability to recruit. If they gave out recruiting titles, Kentucky would be the biggest dynasty in the sport. Calipari could sell ice to an Eskimo as they say, and that has helped lead to a national title or bust exclamations from supporters.

Over the last decade, Kentucky has absolutely dominated the recruiting circuit by reeling in the no. 1 or no. 2 recruiting class in the country every year since 2013 according to 247sports. Of course, selling young men on playing at Kentucky should be easy because the recruits know two things.

First, they know they are going to have the chance to compete and succeed at the highest levels of the sport, and Kentucky will also prepare to not only get to the NBA but to be a star there as evidenced by Anthony Davis who stars for the Los Angeles Lakers and Devin Booker who helped lead the Phoenix Suns to the NBA finals last season and the league’s best record this season.

This summer things have shifted on the recruiting trail for the Wildcats. They are still bringing in high-end talent but currently, they have the 25th best-recruiting class in the country for 2022, but just the 6th best in the sec according to 247sports. Kentucky will almost always have really good teams and I know it’s early in the offseason but the commitments of two five-star freshmen Chris Livingston and Cason Wallace, don’t have the Wildcats in a familiar summertime spot.

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