Kentucky Basketball: What to Watch for in 1st Week of Wildcats' 2014-15 Season

The 2014-15 Kentucky basketball team is going to blow out the majority of its opponents this season, starting with two games in the opening week.

The Wildcats take on Grand Canyon on Friday in the Cawood Ledford Classic and Buffalo on Sunday before a much-anticipated clash with Kansas on Tuesday. While John Calipari could easily beat Grand Canyon and Buffalo with his second unit, there will be more to watch for than just a couple of warm-up victories.

With that in mind, here are a few things to keep an eye on in the first week of Kentucky’s 2014-15 campaign.

Line Shifts

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Calipari has nine McDonald’s All-Americans on his roster and 10 players who could very well be lacing it up in the NBA within the next couple of years.

Considering there is only one ball and 40 minutes of game time to go around, it will be interesting to see how he divides the playing time. Remember, Calipari noted that he would rotate entire five-man units into the game this season like a hockey line shift, via Andy Katz of ESPN.com:

"

We didn't have the players last year to do this. We will have two 5-on-5 platoons and a guard sub and a big sub, and that puts you at 12. You're working to get in the top 10. It means we have to play faster and have to press more. Who those two groups will be is going to unfold.

"

Presumably, those top 10 players are Karl Towns, Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Willie Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, Marcus Lee, Tyler Ulis, Alex Poythress, Dakari Johnson and Devin Booker in some order.

James Crisp/Associated Press

It would make sense if a handful of players began to separate themselves from the rest of the field over the course of the season. Calipari will clearly reward those guys with more playing time, especially in critical games against Kansas, North Carolina, Louisville and Florida. 

However, if there was ever a time to test a radical new substitution pattern, it would be in these initial two games in the opening week. It may sound a bit crazy, but all 10 of these players are elite college prospects with professional aspirations. Calipari has to find a way to get them on the court at some point.

Who Emerges in Frontcourt

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Between Poythress, Towns, Cauley-Stein, Lyles, Johnson and Lee, Calipari has six potential All-Americans in the frontcourt.

While the five-man substitution pattern will certainly be intriguing, who emerges as the go-to big guys will have far larger implications on the entire season than Calipari’s initial rotation. Eventually, Kentucky is going to need to settle on a crunch-time lineup, which means Poythress and Lyles may have to demonstrate their versatility as small forwards (something Poythress has already done).

It will be interesting to see who gets the minutes in the key moments in the first halves of these two games when it is still actually close.

By crunch time, the Wildcats should have both games well in hand, so whoever is on the floor at the end of the game will not tell us nearly as much as it would in a showdown with Florida.

James Crisp/Associated Press

The Wildcats have boasted a player with at least 100 blocks in each of the last three seasons. It remains to be seen whether there will be someone on the floor long enough to keep that streak going in 2014-15, but these early games are an opportunity for the big men to separate themselves from the rest of the pack. 

Fans should keep an eye on Lyles and Towns in particular, seeing as how they are the incoming freshmen. Blowout games or not, there are bound to be some initial college nerves to work through. The faster that happens, the faster the Wildcats can start dominating opponents on the glass and in the paint on the way to a potential national title.

Tyler Ulis Entertainment Factor

James Crisp/Associated Press

There is not nearly as much backcourt depth for Kentucky as there is in the frontcourt, so Ulis will be an important contributor all season.

If we are working under the assumption that the first-week games will both be easy victories, Ulis should be on the floor for extended minutes and virtually the entire second half so the Harrison brothers can rest their legs and prepare for Kansas.

Ulis’ dynamic athleticism and speed in the open floor will give fans something to watch and cheer for in the closing minutes of games that are already well in hand.

Ulis checks in at 5’9” and will be the sparkplug off the bench all season with an ability to get out in transition and harass opposing ball-handlers. He may turn the course of a critical game or two during the season with an impressive burst of energy, but these early games will give him an opportunity to settle into the college level. 

Kentucky is going to need him to do just that before its date with the Jayhawks.

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