Kentucky Basketball: 5 Reasons Next Year's Team Could Be Better Than This Year's

Coming off of a national championship, coach John Calipari's Kentucky Wildcats will be looking to make a repeat performance in 2012-13.

Coach Cal's teams run a pipeline to the NBA (see Derrick Rose, John Wall), but each year he reloads to make another deep tournament run.

Despite losing six players to the league in the 2012 NBA Draft, nobody is expecting the Cats to take a serious step back next season.

Here are five reasons that next year's Wildcats might be better than this year's squad.

Good Vibes in Lexington

As the reigning champs, next season's Kentucky Wildcats have to be among the favorites to win the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

The reverential Dick Vitale is a believer in Kentucky blue, going so far as to give the Wildcats a preseason ranking of No. 2 in the nation, just behind Big East powerhouse and in-state rival Louisville.

The dominant Wildcats did not lose a game at home last season, winning by an average margin of 27.6 points per game.

Kentucky won 12 games by more than 20 points, while only North Carolina, Louisville, Alabama and Vanderbilt got within 10 points.

The swag will be there again next season for the Cats.

Coach Cal is yet to lose a home game at Rupp Arena, 2012-13 should be no different.

NBA-Level Talent

Don't be surprised if the Cats have the 2013-14 NBA Rookie of the Year playing for them next season.

Pro prospect-wise, next year's Wildcats team rivals this year's squad, and is head and shoulders above the rest of the SEC.

NBADraft.net already predicts at least three lottery picks from Kentucky in the 2013 NBA draft.

Freshmen big men Nerlens Noel and Alex Poythress are expected to be top five picks, while a good showing by guard Ryan Harrow might push the junior into the top 10.

Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had the Wildcats going No. 1 and No. 2 overall in the 2012 NBA Draft.

Will the 2013 draft start with Noel and Poythress?

Talent-wise, few teams come close to Kentucky, giving Big Blue Nation a serious advantage on the court.

No. 1 Recruiting Class

Rivals.com ranks the Kentucky 2012 recruiting class as the best in the nation. 

Featuring three 5-star recruits, the Wildcats will be reloaded and ready for 2012-13.

Center Nerlens Noel will be leading the squad and could become Anthony Davis 2.0 for the Cats. Add in the lanky 6'8" Alex Poythress, and this team should wreak havoc on the wing and in the paint.

Freshman guard Archie Goodwin will be the floor general for Kentucky next season. With explosive athleticism and good decision making, Goodwin will follow a long list of top-notch Kentucky guards.

Expect these freshmen to dominate the game next season, and keep Kentucky among the nation's elite.

Guard Game

What do Derrick Rose, Tyreke Evans, John Wall, Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight all have in common?

All were coached by John Calipari.

Coach Cal has a knack of turning prep-star guards into dominant backcourt players.

The aforementioned players share some on the court qualities as well. All are quick and agile, can create their own shot and distribute the ball at an efficient rate.

Guards Ryan Harrow and Archie Goodwin will be the Wall/Bledsoe backcourt for Kentucky in 2012-13.

A smart system that maximizes a guard's ability to drive and dish will have Harrow and Goodwin keeping the Cats among the most prolific and efficient offenses in the nation next season.

Calipari Factor

After failing to get his team over the hump since he began his coaching career as an assistant in Kansas in 1982, Calipari finally earned a championship with the Wildcats in 2012.

Coach Cal is among the most polarizing figures in college basketball.

He is a win-now coach that capitalizes on the NBA's insistence that a prep-star spend at least a season playing for a college team. Rather than build a program around longevity, Calipari reloads his roster every offseason.

After multiple disappointments in the Final Four, Calipari's 2011-12 Wildcats team had it all.

What is to say that they don't have the personnel to repeat next season?

The Wildcats have the talent, schemes and brilliant coaching to make Kentucky the first back-to-back national champions since Florida did it in 2006 and 2007.

Louisville, Indiana, Kansas, Duke and others will be looking to make a splash next season, but Calipari and the rest of Big Blue Nation has all the ingredients to win again.