Kentucky basketball's Ugonna Onyenso begins to prove John Calipari prophetic in SEC loss

LEXINGTON — Even before last season ended, John Calipari already was touting the future of the Kentucky frontcourt. Ugonna Onyenso, then a little-used freshman, would be “one of the best, if not the best, big men in the country,” Calipari said during his weekly radio show last March.

In Wednesday night’s overtime tussle with Florida at Rupp Arena, Onyenso put forth his strongest performance to date — showcasing why Calipari had been so complimentary 10 months ago.

Onyenso, who sat out the team’s gold-medal-winning foray at the GLOBL JAM event last summer in Canada, both preseason exhibitions and the first nine games of the 2023-24 campaign with a foot injury before making his debut against North Carolina last month in Atlanta, set career highs for points (13), rebounds (16) and blocks (eight).

But his outstanding outing came in a loss, as No. 8 Kentucky couldn’t hold on to a four-point lead in the final minute of regulation. Florida stormed back to win, 94-91, in overtime.

Onyenso credited the faith his teammates had in him for his superlative effort.

"They believed in me — I'm gonna say they believed in me more than I believed in myself," he said. "So I thought that my teammates were there to push me."

Onyenso did everything in his power to alter the result.

The 13 points usurped the nine he had last season versus Duquesne. The 16 boards shattered his previous high of 10, which he’d accomplished three times, most recently in UK’s 97-92 overtime loss to Texas A&M on Jan. 13. And the eight blocks surpassed the five rejections he had in that extra-period defeat to the Aggies.

According to UK statistician Corey Price, no player in the Wildcats' illustrious history had ever recorded a stat line like Onyenso's in a game.

Calipari admitted that Wednesday was what he envisioned when he sang Onyenso's praises last year. The coach, now in his 15th season leading the program, just wishes he had paid more attention to Onyenso's minutes.

"He was exhausted," Calipari said of Onyenso, who played a career-high 33 minutes. "There were a couple of plays late where I kept telling him, 'You cannot get blocked out. They're going to try. Just don't get blocked out. Run — run left, run right.' ... The way he played and the way some of our other guys played, you need to win that game. We just needed a couple of subs. We didn't have them."

Onyenso’s contributions — in his first start as a collegian, no less — couldn’t have come at a more crucial time for the Wildcats (15-5, 5-3 SEC).

That’s because his fellow frontcourt mates had nights to forget.

Senior Tre Mitchell had only five points (on 2-of-10 shooting) and missed all five 3-pointers he attempted as he posted the contest's worst plus-minus rating (negative-6). Freshman Aaron Bradshaw had only two points and didn’t grab a rebound in nine minutes. And Zvonimir Ivišić, another freshman in just his fourth appearance after a monthslong eligibility saga, had one point (off a free throw) and two rebounds in six minutes off the bench.

"Really should have had Aaron in for Tre a bunch more than I did," Calipari conceded.

Onyenso’s 16 rebounds nearly helped Kentucky fight Florida (15-6, 5-3) to a draw on the boards; the visitors outrebounded the hosts by two, 50-48.

Consider Todd Golden impressed with the 7-foot, 247-pound sophomore from Nigeria.

"You can tell by the way they've been playing and how he's been playing that he's become more of a focal point in the frontcourt. ... He dominated us on the glass," said Golden, in his second season as Florida's coach. "I think he's providing Kentucky with some toughness and physicality and rim protection. He had eight blocks tonight. I didn't realize that.

"He had a heck of a game, man. Goodness gracious. He's playing really well, and you can tell that he's becoming more confident out there."

That UK made the rebounding battle even that close was a gargantuan feat: The Gators entered Wednesday as the No. 1 team in Division I in rebounds per game (44.7) and No. 10 in rebound margin (10 more per outing than their opponents, the second-best figure in the 14-team SEC). Onyenso’s final rebound in regulation nearly was a game-sealing one: He pulled down a miss from teammate Rob Dillingham and put the ball in for two points, extending Kentucky’s lead to four, 83-79, with 37 seconds to play.

But Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. sank the game-tying 3-pointer with five ticks left, and UK couldn’t get off another shot before the second-half buzzer sounded.

"If I had made the layups that I missed, I think it would have given us a chance to win," said Onyenso, who was 4 of 11 from the field. "It was a tough loss."

While frustrated with his shooting around the basket, Onyenso excelled in another area: the free-throw line, where he connected on 5 of 6 attempts — a conversion rate of 83.3. It's the best percentage he's ever had in a game in which he shot more than two free throws. (Wednesday was the 27th appearance of Onyenso's UK career.)

"He did a great job making his free throws; I think he was (shooting) 45% coming into the game, if I remember correctly," said Golden, perfectly recalling Onyenso's free-throw efficiency (5 for 11) prior to Wednesday.

His unexpectedly superb shooting at the free-throw line easily could have been Onyenso's favorite part of a standout showing. Or he might have preferred his point or rebound total, which gave him his first double-double as a Wildcat.

"But I'm gonna say no," he said. "I'm gonna say the fact I almost had 10 blocks in tonight's game. I made a promise to get 10 blocks in a game — I'm gonna get it. I was this close to getting it.

"But it is what it is. You've just got to keep pushing."

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball: Ugonna Onyenso hits career highs in OT defeat