Despite losing three starters to the NBA Draft, more than half of his team's offense, and facing several uncertainties going into next season, men's basketball Coach John Calipari said he isn't worried about his team's future.
A good mix of skilled recruits and returning team veterans should give the Tigers enough to follow last season's national championship game appearance with another successful season, Calipari said in a teleconference last week.
"I'm obviously excited about a few things," Calipari said. "One, the excitement about our program has impacted recruiting. So a lot of kids that have interest in us are interested in the specific style in which we play, I think when you talk to all of them, it's the style and the ability to do certain things offensively and how we play defensively."
Last year the Tigers were 19th in the country with an average of 79.9 points per game, outscoring opponents by an average of 18 points per game. This type of run-and-gun style is what has been attracting many of the nation's top prospects to look at the Tigers.
With the departures of freshman phenom Derrick Rose, the team's leading scorer in Chris Douglas-Roberts and the team's leading rebounder, Joey Dorsey, the 2008 recruiting class will have some big shoes they must help fill.
Calipari said he expects incoming freshman Tyreke Evans, 6 feet 5 inches, one of the top high school shooting guards in the nation last year, to help carry a share of the scoring load next season.
"He'll do what he does best - score points and take double team where he can get the ball to an open teammate," Calipari said.
Other incoming players Calipari said he expects to make an immediate impact are junior college transfer guard Roburt Sallie, 6 feet 5 inches, who played with current Tigers Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier at Laurinberg (N.C.) Prep, and incoming freshman Wesley Witherspoon.
"The biggest thing (about Sallie) is when Antonio Anderson and Robert Dozier come back and say, 'Coach, he's a great guy. He will be a great teammate,'" Calipari said.
Last year's team was so successful because they were "friends first, teammates second," Calipari said. "Can we get back to that? It's what we're trying to do."
Witherspoon, a 6-foot-7-inch swingman, is expected to come in and could fill in nearly every position on the floor.
"Wesley can play the 1, 2, 3 or even the 4 if we need him to," Calipari said. "He plays above the rim. He's got to work on his shooting, but that's about getting in the gym during the summer."
With such versatility, Witherspoon gives the Tigers the option of playing him at point guard during certain stretches in the game, where the Tigers wouldn't have a player on the floor under 6 feet 5 inches. They could also play him at power forward, which gives the Tigers the athleticism to get up and down the floor at a lightning pace.
Evans, Sallie and Witherspoon give the Tigers so many different options that Calipari could use, which he said will be exciting to figure out where all of the pieces fit in.
"I'm excited about the team that we have coming back. We have size. We have length. You know, obviously, we are going to be missing three tremendous players. We are losing 53 percent of our offense and probably just as much of our rebounding and three starters," Calipari said. "Well, that happened three years ago when we lost Shawne (Williams), Darius (Washington) and Rodney Carney."
In 2006-07, the year after those three left, the Tigers went 30-3 and undefeated in Conference-USA play.
One player Calipari expects to step up and make a major impact is senior Robert Dozier. The 6-foot-9-inch forward, who worked out for several NBA teams in preparation of the draft but chose to return to school, is expected to be a "top 10 player in the nation."
Last year, Dozier was third on the team in scoring with 9.2 points per game, second in rebounding at 6.8 and averaging more than a block and a steal per game.
Even though Calipari said he is excited about the team he'll be putting on the floor next season, he knows there is room for improvement if they hope to return to the NCAA championship game.
"We're long, we're athletic. We have combo-type players where anybody can play just about anywhere on the floor," Calipari said. "Hopefully, we're a better perimeter shooting team and a better free-throw shooting team."
