Kentucky almost back to full strength ahead of NCAA Tournament

Kentucky is scrimmaging with a full roster ahead of the NCAA Tournament — well, one short of a full roster.

Four players missed multiple days of practice last week due to injury in Cason Wallace (ankle), Jacob Toppin (hamstring), CJ Fredrick (rib) and Sahvir Wheeler (ankle, medical procedure). All four sat Sunday through Wednesday before ramping things back up Thursday, the day before the team’s SEC Tournament debut — and finale.

The result was what it was: an 80-73 loss to Vanderbilt in the quarterfinals, one and done in Nashville. It was an effort John Calipari simply wasn’t content with, and he believes the lack of practice for his key rotation pieces played a part. And in win-or-go-home territory moving forward during March Madness, there’s no longer room for error. It’s not something he’s willing to risk with the season on the line.

“This week, I told them, you will either practice Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or you will not start and you will come off the bench if you’re a starter,” Calipari said Sunday after Kentucky’s NCAA Tournament draw was finalized. “And if you’re on the bench, you’re going to be deeper on the bench. When you’re just doing scripting and not competing, it takes an edge away. We have to compete before we go in. So those are just some things.

“They gotta practice. That’s what happened last time, they practiced on Thursday. We weren’t the same. So, you gotta be here practicing, or you’re coming off the bench, and you’re not gonna play as much, unless you get in there and we need you, and you play well? Okay, we’ll leave you in.”

Pretty straightforward. Calipari wants to roll with what the team game-planned for leading up to the team’s matchup vs. No. 11 seed Providence — and hopefully beyond.

The good news? Three of the four injured Wildcats were full-go in practice, with the fourth also participating in a limited capacity.

“Everybody went, one did not do the body-to-body stuff. Everybody else did,” Calipari said during his call-in radio show Monday evening. “A couple of guys, I told them if they need a sub, we’ll have one of the guys sub for you. If not, let’s go. Let’s get this done.”

The players and their respective participation should not come as a surprise. Wallace, Toppin and Fredrick were full participants, while Wheeler was limited, KSR has learned. But all four were on the floor getting in work, a great sign leading up to the NCAA Tournament.

And it came in live scrimmaging, at least for the healthy trio. Calipari’s hope is the five-on-five action will help get the team back in the right frame of mind ahead of the most important weekend(s) of the season.

“It was good today, good to get back on the court,” Calipari added. “For this time of the year, for me to do scrimmaging — which is what we’re going to do tomorrow — that’s what this team needs. I think we got a little out of sync last game, and I want us to get back in the mindset we need to be in.”

It was a scrimmage that led to an epiphany for March Madness: Daimion Collins needs to play, for both schematic and rotation reasons. The Kentucky head coach is confident the sophomore forward can help this team now.

“If you can’t practice two or three days before the game, you probably shouldn’t be playing. This is a dog fight. It may mean you play less minutes,” Calipari said. “I’m thinking about some rotational things — I’ll be honest with you, I need to get Daimion on the floor more. … He needs to be on the floor. He’s really good in the pick-and-roll, also gives you a shot-blocking rim protector. And he plays off of the way Oscar plays, get to throw him lobs. We all know the importance of Oscar, we all know it.

“But we need to get that kid on the floor, even if it’s at the four at times.”

Marcus Lee in 2014, maybe? That’d be ideal.

As for Kentucky’s depth elsewhere and Wheeler’s status ahead of Friday night’s matchup vs. Providence, Calipari wasn’t certain. He said Sunday evening, though, that the senior point guard was the lone exception to his practice-all-three-days rule. He’ll get some dispensation because his injury is the most significant of the four.

“I just told him, if it gets rough and you want to step off, I’m OK with you because he wouldn’t, in all likelihood, be starting anyway. But he practiced a little bit, but wasn’t live up in Nashville,” Calipari said.

Is there any hesitation in throwing Wheeler into the fire this late in the game, especially with the season on the line?

“That’s why he’s gonna practice for three days and he’s got to show us that he’s what he needs to be. And I said there’s nothing that would make me happier than him to impact the game.”

Certainly not a no. And the fact that he returned to practice Monday in limited capacity is a positive sign.

Full squad back in Greensboro? That’s the hope.