Say what you will about John Calipari, but he supports his players as well as any coach in America.
In fact, Calipari has made it clear in the past that he would push certain players to the NBA Draft if he thought it was time, such as DeMarcus Cousins.
This year? It sounds like Calipari will welcome anyone back who wants to stay with Kentucky Basketball.
During his final Monday radio show of the season, Calipari made it sound like he’s ready to keep anyone who wants to come back next season.
“If someone says to me, ‘I’m coming back,’ the first thing I’m saying is, ‘There’s under eight months until the first game next year. Let’s go, because I want this taste out of my mouth.’”
This is great news if you’re hoping Kentucky keeps Reed Sheppard, who’s likely to be a lottery pick if he enters this year’s NBA Draft, which is viewed as a very weak class, so much that Sheppard could actually go in the top five.
But if Sheppard wants to return, it sounds like Calipari will let it happen and won’t force the Bluegrass star to strike while the iron is hot in regard to the NBA.
Will Sheppard actually consider a return? And who else may stay for another year?
When asked about the outlook at point guard, Calipari said he was hopeful of returning 1-2 players that could play that position. If that doesn’t happen, Calipari will look to the transfer portal.
“We’ve got one or two that could come back and solve that issue for us because of what they’ve been through,” he said. “And then if not, we gotta look who’s out there.”
Sheppard is an obvious guess as to who the “one or two” could be. I seriously doubt Rob Dillingham would consider a return. He’s also a projected top-10 pick but doesn’t have the obvious connection to Kentucky that Sheppard and his family have.
Could DJ Wagner actually consider returning for another year? It’s no secret his NBA stock has tanked since the start of the season. He’s now projected as a late second-round draft pick, and it feels like there’s a real chance he’d go undrafted.
Plus, Calipari has the family connection going in his favor with Wagner. Maybe there’s actually a chance we see Sophomore DJ Wagner.
At least one good thing came out of Monday.