John Calipari knows he’s got his work cut out for him.
While Calipari usually has a brand-new team each season, this will be one of, if not his biggest rebuild/reload project to date. Gone is virtually the entire 2016-17 roster via the NBA Draft and graduation.
This year’s team will have only Wenyen Gabriel as the lone Cat who played significant minutes last season. While UK brings in another top-ranked recruiting class, it’s still going to be a major work in progress with as many as five new starters and 7-8 new rotational guys.
That’s why Calipari is already stressing patience with this team, as he knows the growing pains will be here for awhile.