LEXINGTON, Ky. — The recent postseason struggles for the Kentucky men’s basketball program are well documented.
It’s been more than 1,250 days since UK’s last NCAA Tournament win (a 2019 Sweet 16 triumph over Houston in which Tyler Herro was the star).
The last three seasons have seen John Calipari’s team unable to compete in the 2020 NCAA Tournament due to the coronavirus pandemic, miss out completely on the 2021 edition and lose in the first round in 2022 to Saint Peter’s.
It’s been awhile since UK has had the kind of national success in March the Wildcats’ program is known for.
But how much does this matter to Kentucky basketball recruits?
During the Under Armour Next Elite 24 showcase event in August in Chicago, the Lexington Herald-Leader spoke to four of Kentucky’s top recruits in the upcoming classes to ask them what impact recent UK results have had on their college choices.
Some responses, like that of class of 2024 shooting guard Ian Jackson (the No. 2 recruit in his class per the 247Sports Composite), centered around the winning mentality that comes with postseason success.
“I want to walk into a winning atmosphere where everyone has a mindset of just winning, so it does play a part in that. Not too big, but definitely a bit of a part in it,” Jackson said of a school’s recent NCAA Tournament showings.
“I feel like the teams that really win know what pros look like. They understand what it takes to be a pro and all the sacrifices and things like that, so I feel like it goes hand-in-hand really. You find a winning program, they definitely know how to produce pros.”
This sentiment was echoed by Elliot Cadeau, the top-ranked class of 2024 point guard who doesn’t yet hold a Kentucky scholarship offer.
“I love winning and I take pride in winning, so I definitely want to go to a winning organization,” Cadeau succinctly said.
Others, like talented point guard Boogie Fland (No. 13 recruit in the class of 2024 per the 247Sports Composite), said future basketball development takes priority over recent collegiate success.
“You take losses here and there, you’ve got to fail to succeed,” Fland said. “Even though you want to win, you’ve still got to go somewhere where you’re going to be developed so that you will get to that next level. It’s kind of a tough balance.”
That balance is reflected in the current landscape of college basketball recruiting for class of 2023 players.
Of the top 40 players in the class of 2023 in the 247Sports Composite, 23 have already committed to a college.
Those 23 committed recruits represent 15 different schools (including Kentucky and its three class of 2023 commits).
How did those 15 schools fare during the 2022 NCAA Tournament?
— Three missed the NCAA Tournament entirely: Oklahoma State (postseason ban), Oregon and Stanford;
— One lost in the First Four: Rutgers;
— Two lost in the first round: Connecticut and Kentucky;
— Five lost in the second round: Auburn, Baylor, Michigan State, Ohio State and Tennessee;
— One lost in the Sweet 16: Iowa State;
— One lost in the Elite Eight: Arkansas;
— One lost in the Final Four: Duke;
— One lost in the national championship game: North Carolina.
That means six of those 15 schools failed to win an NCAA Tournament game last March, and 11 of the 15 won one game or fewer.
Of course, the potential for college basketball team success is not the most important or sole factor during a player’s recruitment.
The current centerpiece of Kentucky’s 2023 recruiting class — star small forward Justin Edwards — said Kentucky’s recent struggles in the NCAA Tournament weren’t a factor in his decision to come to Lexington.
“If that was the case, (then) I’d probably never chosen Kentucky,” Edwards said. “At the end of the day it’s about me. I love winning. I hate losing.”
Another, somewhat non-quantifiable, aspect of each individual college basketball recruitment?
A player’s self-confidence in his ability to impact winning.
“The people that I’m trying to recruit (to also come to Kentucky), they’re my homies. So I’m like, ‘Yo, come join. Let’s win. Let’s get them back to winning,’ ” Edwards said. “I’m big on winning, I love winning. So it’s like, if we can get (UK) back to winning, it’s going to make us look better, and make Coach Calipari look better, like, ‘Oh, he did this with a young group.’ ”
