Now that the Calipari era is over at Kentucky, we are taking a look back at our dream starting lineups made up of Kentucky players from 2010-2024. These teams listed below are based on the players’ tenure at UK (not NBA), with factors such as offensive/defensive abilities, tournament performance, and overall greatness at UK considered.
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Gavin Metcalfe
PG: John Wall
SG: Aaron Harrison
SF: Julius Randle
PF: Anthony Davis
C: Willie Cauley-Stein
6th Man: Jamal Murray
I think that my team has great offensive upside while they can also punish their opponents defensively. With Anthony Davis and Willie Cauley-Stein down low, it will be a difficult task to score points in the paint for the opposing team, and because they are constant lob threats on offense, it will be hard for teams to contain them. With John Wall at the helm, he will constantly distribute the ball while also getting in the paint and getting tough buckets. This team does not have the best shooting ability outside of Aaron Harrison. Probably the most clutch shooter in the Calipari era, Aaron Harrison will provide three point shooting for our offense while still being a menace on defense. Julius Randle is another big body who can distribute the ball while also getting buckets in the paint. This team will be a hard team to defend. They won’t shoot the most threes, but they will constantly get baskets inside. But, their defense would ultimately carry them to winning it all.
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Jack Wheeler
PG: John Wall
SG: Jamal Murray
SF: Antonio Reeves
PF: Anthony Davis
C: Demarcus Cousins
6th Man: De’Aaron Fox
My starting five has a little bit of everything. We have shooting (Reeves, Murray), playmaking (Wall, Murray, Fox) and we definitely have rebounding, defense and a massive post presence with Davis and Cousins. My Antonio Reeves pick might be controversial in some peoples eyes but I think it is an obvious answer. The small forward position during the Cal era has been weaker than the other positions and the only other option I considered was Michael Kidd-Gilchrist but this squad needed more shooting and spacing which is why Reeves won out.
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Jake Varga
PG: John Wall
SG: Antonio Reeves
SF: Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
PF: Anthony Davis
C: Karl Anthony-Towns
6th Man: De’Aaron Fox
This all-time Cal team encompasses everything that brought him so much success in his years coaching at UK. First off all, John Wall epitomizes how a Cal guard should play in his dribble-drive offense. The lanes he will open up and the space he will create will make everyone on the court so much better, especially Antonio Reeves, my deadeye shooter (more efficient than Jamal Murray). Also, all of these guys play solid defense, including two of the Cal era’s best defenders, Anthony Davis and Michael-Kidd Gilchrist. Along with all that, this five will also have KAT’s post hook to fall back on, which I consider to be maybe the easiest two points I’ve ever seen in college basketball. And when all else fails, I’m more than confident that I can throw De’Aaron fox in the game and give anyone 39, like he did vs UCLA in the sweet sixteen.
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Ethan Donlon
PG: John Wall
SG: Jamal Murray
SF: Malik Monk
PF: Anthony Davis
C: Karl Anthony-Towns
6th Man: Tyler Ulis
I chose this team because we have a great balance of offense. On this team I have a great leader and person with amazing court vision in John Wall, and to match that, you get all the shooting abilities from the deep three from Jamal Murray. You get stellar paint work from AD and KAT as well. While a good offense is nice to have, defense wins championships, and this team has a pretty strong defense with John Wall and Malik Monk and two good paint-defending bigs.
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Griffin Mattingly
PG: De’Aaron Fox
SG: Immanuel Quickley
SF: Antonio Reeves
PF: Julius Randle
C: Anthony Davis
6th Man: Oscar Tshiebwe
These players are the cream of the crop for Kentucky during the John Calipari era. Fox dazzled with his lightning-fast speed and playmaking abilities at point guard, including a freshman NCAA Tournament record 39-point game vs UCLA. Quickley's sharpshooting and defensive tenacity made him a force at shooting guard, and his 92% at the free throw line was clutch. Antonio Reeves provided consistency and automatic scoring at the small forward position. He shot over 50% from the field and averaged 20+ per game in his final season. Julius Randle is the definition of grit and tenacity at PF. The big-body led his team with double digit scoring and rebounding averages, and was a main reason the Cats found their way to the 2014 championship. AD’s presence added to the unstoppable 2012 offense and made paint scoring impossible for Kentucky’s opponents. He set the UK single season block record with 186 swats. Lastly, I have full confidence that Tshiebwe can come off of the bench and add to this team in many ways.