Kentucky basketball is playing with a shortened rotation.
The Wildcats currently have three seven-footers out for either injuries or lack of eligibility right now, and not having a presence down low is bothering coach John Calipari.
“We need one of these big guys,” Calipari said after playing Stonehill. “We just gotta have a big guy. We get that– everybody will say ‘it’ll screw you up’. Let me deal with that. I’ll deal with that. I’d like to have all three of them to be honest.”
Here’s a status update regarding Kentucky’s three bigs.
Almost nothing has changed.
Aaron Bradshaw
Should be a week or two at most away from being able to fully practice and play. Bradshaw underwent surgery early in the offseason and should now finally be close to seeing the floor.
Getting Bradshaw back by the Miami game seems likely.
Ugonna Onyenso
Fans are going to have to wait a week or two after Bradshaw hits the floor to see Onyenso, who was injured right before Kentucky played in the GLOBL JAM in July.
Maybe we will see Ugo before the North Carolina or Louisville games? Certainly before conference play starts at Florida on January 6th.
Zvonimir Ivisic
Ivisic is still awaiting approval from the NCAA to be deemed eligible this season.
“The NCAA has 45 days to make a judgment from the time he gets here,” John Calipari said before the Kansas game. “If we had gotten him in earlier, we would know. It is what it is.”
Apparently there was a point where Ivisic was hurt after getting a week of practice in, but he’s since returned.
If there is a 45-day period the NCAA has to make a decision, that period would end today, November 18th, if his paperwork was submitted the day he was admitted, October 4th. If it was the day he arrived on campus (October 12th), then the NCAA would have until November 26th.It’s almost comical how slow the NCAA operates when it comes to making athletes eligible to play.