Between 2009 and 2015, Kentucky went to five Elite Eights, four Final Fours, two title games and won one national championship. In that span, John Calipari hand-picked his favorite five-star recruits, including three future No. 1 draft picks and ten top-10 selections.
From 2016 to 2022, the Wildcats have been to two Elite Eights with three top-10 draft picks. The stars have certainly come through — Jamal Murray, De’Aaron Fox, Bam Adebayo and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander are all max-level players in the NBA — but recruiting just hasn’t been the same.