Brown: Kentucky basketball is built to produce NBA players, not contend for a Final Four

Seven former Kentucky players will be on display for a global audience for this weekend’s NBA All-Star game in Indianapolis. Up to seven current Wildcats could conceivably be selected in June’s NBA draft should they all declare, including four first rounders.

Therein lies the problem for UK basketball.

It’s more suited to be an NBA factory that annually produces players for the draft. It's not built to be a program ready to win the SEC and contend for a Final Four. Kentucky used to be balanced enough to do both.

The past few seasons, that ratio has been skewed and we saw the worst example of how in Saturday’s loss to Gonzaga.

UK coach John Calipari’s rotation seemed more focused on showcasing talent for the league than finding a lineup with the defensive cohesion needed to win now. He trotted substitutions out during 15 stoppages in play in the first half against the Bulldogs, trying to find the right combination.

To be nearly midway through February without a set rotation is not optimal. That's part of the reason why the Cats don't have any defensive continuity. The other half of that is Kentucky has so many skilled players, there are no role players.

The Cats have more than enough offensive firepower.

Freshman guard Rob Dillingham sat for all but four minutes in the second half and the Cats still scored 53 points while shooting 60% from the field. That’s nothing for 30 NBA franchises, but there isn't another team among the other 361 Division I schools that could pull that off.

Gonzaga rebounded half of its misses against Kentucky and its 18 offensive boards led to 15 second-chance points.

UK needs someone whose strength is — or at least takes pride in — defending and rebounding. Those continue to be the areas causing the Cats to lose games.

I thought that might be sophomore forward Adou Thiero, but he scored 15 points and had the third most shot attempts against Gonzaga. The final offensive play with five seconds left was even geared with Thiero as the first option on a lob.

That’s not what role players do.

Defense is part communication and part effort. UK gets failing grades in both of those categories.

As great a story as freshman center Zvonimir Ivisic is, and as much potential as the 7-foot-2 Croatian possesses, it's clear he’s not ready to play in close games against top competition. The best playing scenario for him is when the game’s outcome has already been decided or in blowouts like UK's 109-77 win over Vanderbilt.

That’s why Gonzaga coach Mark Few consistently made Ivisic have to defend ball screens. A couple of those possessions in the first half ended with him giving guard Nolan Hickman a straight line drive to the basket or passively defending Graham Ike in the post for an easy score.

Gonzaga is just the latest team to expose how woefully deficient the Cats are. But the list is growing.

Check the Tennessee tape. Or Florida. Or Texas A&M. Even Georgia. Those are the four opponents that scored 90 or more points and the Cats only managed to beat the Dawgs.

Prior to this season, the last four games UK allowed 90 or more points came over the course of five seasons. Duke scored 118 in 2018-19 in the Zion Williamson game. North Carolina reached 100 in 2016-17, but Malik Monk's 47 points powered the Cats to a win in Las Vegas. UCLA scored 97 that same season in a loss. And Kansas netted 90 at Allen Fieldhouse on Jan. 30, 2016.

It doesn’t happen often, nor should it occur with the regular frequency of a commercial break.

Kentucky’s problems won’t be solved by a tweak. Being fully healthy will help, but that alone is not the answer. A change in Calipari's approach has to take place. He's got to clearly define some players' roles for defense and rebounding alone.

That may be a hard sell for a freshmen class that ranked No. 1 nationally and is individually stacked with future NBA players.

Bringing in so many skilled players makes for a fun offense to watch. And the Cats will again shine come draft night. But there won't be any fun in Lexington when UK makes another early NCAA Tournament exit. If nothing changes soon, that's where this season is headed.

Reach sports columnist C.L. Brown at clbrown1@gannett.com, follow him on X at @CLBrownHoops and subscribe to his newsletter at profile.courier-journal.com/newsletters/cl-browns-latest to make sure you never miss one of his columns.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball: John Calipari's program isn't built to win titles