One of the most popular refrains of the John Calipari era in Lexington has been Kentucky will eat first.
The original context here was simple: Regardless of what rule changes would come (when the comment was made in 2017, the questions surrounded the one-and-done rule), Kentucky would get its pick of the litter in recruiting.
This year Kentucky has eaten, well, last. It faced a near-unprecedented roster dilemma for a program of its caliber, having just seven scholarship players (all freshmen and sophomores) fully committed on June 1 for the upcoming season. But Calipari and the Wildcats have stuck the landing, making multiple important, late moves to position Kentucky to at least be back in the national contender conversation. The latest addition: Kentucky’s taking advantage of coaching uncertainty at West Virginia to land Mountaineers big man Tre Mitchell, who averaged 11.7 points and 5.5 rebounds on an NCAA tournament team a season ago.
