Kentucky bigs to miss another 5-6 weeks; Wildcats unranked by FOX

By ADAM ZAGORIA

Kentucky will be without big men Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso for another 5-6 weeks while Croatian big man Zvonimir Ivisic is expected on campus Thursday, head coach John Calipari said during an ESPN interview.

Both Bradshaw and Onyenso are coming off foot surgery.

“We’ve got all these big guys out. We’re playing more 4-on-4 tonight,” Calipari said on ESPN (via On3). “We have three seven-footers. One should be here on campus [Thursday]. We have the two with the foot injuries who are out another 5-6 weeks.”

He added: “You must have rim protection [in March]. If you don’t have post presence, your team’s a fraud.”

Check out @UKCoachCalipari full @SportsCenter interview during our NBA pro-day. pic.twitter.com/2C5pMFNrrs

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) October 11, 2023

Ivisic, who committed in August, averaged 11.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 blocks in 19 minutes per game for Croatia in the recent FIBA U20 European Championship.

“Super talented, unicorn, needs to get stronger, but talented,” one Division 1 assistant coach said.

The Big Z arrival! @zvonimir_ivisic ready for #BBM23 pic.twitter.com/4Tjs3id1kr

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) October 12, 2023

The timetable on Bradshaw and Onyenso would put their returns in mid-to-late November, meaning they would likely miss the Champions Classic on Nov. 14 when Kentucky is set to face preseason No. 1 Kansas at United Center in Chicago. They open the season Nov. 6 against New Mexico State.

On3 reported that for Wednesday’s Pro Day: “Bradshaw and Onyenso [were] dressed in full uniform with sneakers — no boots — and getting shots up at Rupp Arena. No participation in team or individual drills, but still out and moving around in front of NBA scouts and front-office personnel.”

Kentucky lost big man Oscar Tshiebwe to the NBA Draft but added West Virginia transfer forward Tre Mitchell, who averaged 11.7 points and 5.5 boards last season at West Virginia.

“Tre Mitchell, come on now, he is a guy that makes everyone around him better, yet can still do stuff,” he said. “Great passer, great creator, really smart.”

KENTUCKY UNRANKED BY FOX

When John Fanta of FOX Sports dropped his preseason Top 25 on Wednesday, Kentucky was nowhere to be found.

So, what does everybody think? pic.twitter.com/x11PifuRVq

— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) October 11, 2023

Calipari’s team has won one NCAA Tournament game in the last four years — last March against Providence — and the pressure continues to mount for the Hall of Fame coach.

Asked about his recent postseason failures, Calipari said of the 2019-20 season that was ended by the COVID pandemic without an NCAA Tournament: “We could’ve won the national title with [Tyrese] Maxey, [Immanuel] Quickley, everybody. Wait a minute. The season was ended. No, no, we could’ve won the national title.

“But at Kentucky, winning 25, 22, 20 and not being in the Final Four, that’s not Kentucky good. We’ve been good, but not Kentucky good. Now let’s see where we are. Let’s get this young team, let’s get some big guys, nothing changes.”

He added that he can’t be overly concerned with what the fans are saying: “If I’m worried about what they’re saying in the seats, I’ll be up there with them shortly.”

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