When Kentucky won the National Championship in 2012, they were led by freshman standout Anthony Davis. Additionally, two other Freshman started on a Wildcats team that notoriously went 38-2, was the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and won the program’s eighth National Championship.
Two years later, a band of first-years came together at the exact right time to lead the Wildcats back to the title game. A group that had struggled throughout the regular season and were just a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament soon knocked off Wichita State (No. 1 seed), Louisville (No. 4 seed), and Michigan (No. 2 seed), to win the Midwest Region and advance to the Final Four. There, they beat Wisconsin, also a No. 2 seed, and went toe-to-toe with the UConn Huskies in an unfortunate finale.
Back then, Kentucky personified the one-and-done era, with stars like the aforementioned Davis, Julius Randle, John Wall, Karl-Anthony Towns, Devin Booker, and plenty, plenty more. Now, in the transfer portal and NIL era, the new big blue will have (essentially) an entirely new roster once more for the 2026-27 Season. This, I believe, is a good thing.
Coaches in modern college basketball have talked often emphasized the importance of roster retention. Retention is something that has weighed heavily on my mind since Collin Chandler entered the portal earlier this week. It would have been great to have “CC5” back for next season, especially given his ability to shoot the three at a consistent rate and maintain a solid presence defensively.
All the same, I’m not worried about next season from that same standpoint. Yes, Chandler wasn’t retained. But, at least in this sp
When Kentucky won the National Championship in 2012, they were led by freshman standout Anthony Davis. Additionally, two other Freshman started on a Wildcats team that notoriously went 38-2, was the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and won the program’s eighth National Championship.
Coaches in modern college basketball have talked often emphasized the importance of roster retention. Retention is something that has weighed heavily on my mind since Collin Chandler entered the portal earlier this week. It would have been great to have “CC5” back for next season, especially given his ability to shoot the three at a consistent rate and maintain a solid presence defensively.
All the same, I’m not worried about next season from that same standpoint. Yes, Chandler wasn’t retained. But, at least in this sp
When Kentucky won the National Championship in 2012, they were led by freshman standout Anthony Davis. Additionally, two other Freshman started on a Wildcats team that notoriously went 38-2, was the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and won the program’s eighth National Championship.
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