So come on now, Kentucky basketball isn’t really getting Kofi Cockburn and Jalen Duren and Marcus Carr and Kevin Durant and Aaron Rodgers and Megan McCain and all the other free agents and wanna-be free agents out there in the potential transfer portal.
Right?
But what if it did? What if John Calipari’s 2021-22 Bounce-back Tour added Cockburn, the 7-foot Illinois center, to his already new-and-improved roster? And what if Cal bagged Duren, the nation’s No. 1 hoops prospect who is also eyeing the G League and a reclassification to 2021? And what if the Cats could get Carr, the gifted Minnesota point guard who might be at the tip-top of the towering transfer list for the upcoming back-to-normal campaign?
Would it be too much?
Not that any of this is going to happen, mind you. Yet the world wide web is full of summer speculation concerning the possibility that, after saying he didn’t see any future additions, Calipari could be changing course considering the glittering new properties that popped up on the market.
There’s Cockburn, the mammoth 7-foot, 285-pound center from Kingston, Jamaica, who averaged 17.7 points and 9.5 rebounds while shooting an impressive 65.4 percent last season for the Illini. Yes, that’s the same Illini that employed Orlando Antigua as an assistant coach last season. It is the same Antigua who recruited Cockburn to Champaign-Urbana. Antigua is now back at UK. So, after withdrawing his name from the NBA Draft but inserting his name into the transfer portal, might Cockburn rejoin his old coach? “It’s a serious option,” Cockburn told ESPN.
Already in the Big Blue fold is Oscar Tshiebwe, the muscular 6-9 transfer from West Virginia via the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Tshiebwe is the expected starter at center. Still, Cockburn would be hard to turn down. The big guy was consensus second-team All-American, after all.
But where would that leave UK’s quest for Duren, the 6-10, 230-pound center out of Montverde Academy (Fla.) considered the No. 1 player in just about any class he chooses to occupy? Just last week, Duren trimmed his consideration list from 11 to five — Kentucky, Miami, Memphis, the G League and the National Basketball League in Australia. If Duren does reclassify to 2021, adding Cockburn might turn him away from UK. Or, just maybe he might like a twin towers idea.
Then there’s Carr, the 6-2 guard from Minnesota who recently withdrew his name from the NBA Draft and is said to be considering Kansas, Louisville, Texas and Kentucky as his potential forwarding address for his senior season. All the Toronto native did last year was average 19.4 points and 4.9 assists per game for the Golden Gophers. Carr joined Cockburn as first-team All-Big Ten.
PLENTY OF COMPETITION FOR PLAYING TIME AT UK
Calipari already owns a crowded backcourt, especially after Davion Mintz announced last week he’s returning to school for a sixth season. Georgia transfer Sahvir Wheeler and heralded freshman TyTy Washington are the expected point guards. A plethora of perimeter threats will compete for playing time on the wing.
Ah, but college basketball coaches are no different than any other coach. They hate the idea of declining the opportunity to get another good player. Not enough scholarships? They’ll figure it out. Not enough playing time for everyone? They’ll figure it out. Potential chemistry problems? They’ll figure it out.
Better to be caught with too many than too few. That’s especially true when you are coming off a 9-16 season in which not all those involved lived up to their preseason clippings. It happens. It just rarely happens at Kentucky.
The guess here is that Kentucky’s attractive add-ons won’t happen. Not all of them, anyway. Carr appears the least likely to hop on board. Memphis is reportedly the leader for Duren, if the phenom doesn’t opt for the traditional pro path (G League or NBL) over the new college NIL. The most likely addition is Cockburn, given his ties to the UK staff. He might end up back at Illinois, however.
Still, after last season’s nightmare, you can forgive Big Blue Nation for dreaming of a potential dream team on a summer’s day. And, after all, who knows?
