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It is crunch time for roster management as Kentucky is looking to make some additions in the portal. However, things aren’t going well as the team just missed on a Final Four participating big man from the portal, and some of their depth just transferred elsewhere. 

Former San Diego State Big Man Heads to Arizona

Former San Diego State Aztec, Keshad Johnson, has committed to play for Tommy Lloyd at Arizona. This is a big blow to Kentucky as it seemed that they had all of the momentum about a week ago after his, reportedly, “very successful” visit to Lexington. 

Keshad Johnson makes it official, committing to Arizona over Kentucky and others.

Johnson just posted this picture featuring Arizona head coach, Tommy Lloyd, and alum, Andre Iguodala. pic.twitter.com/DRau9fnU94

— Tristan Pharis (@TristanUda) May 20, 2023

Unfortunately, Johnson still chose to head to Arizona over Kentucky, leaving John Calipari with limited depth at the position. Ugonna Onyenso is back for his sophomore season and is expected to take a leap forward. Aaron Bradshaw comes in as a freshman but is expected to play more at the four rather than the five spot. 

Outside of that, the Wildcats are left with pretty much nothing. Oscar Tshiebwe is still set to enter the NBA Draft, but could come back. However, it does seem unlikely given his fabulous combine performance. Daimion Collins is still in the portal and theoretically could come back to Kentucky, but that seems unlikely as well given the tragic family troubles that have occurred to the Collins family. Moving close to home seems more likely. 

Now Kentucky’s focus lands with grand transfers that return to school after not hearing positive reinforcement from the NBA scouts. We won’t have any names for at least another two weeks, but for fans that are panicking right now, try and stay patient. The roster you see now will not be the roster you see when they head to Canada for their preseason exhibition games. 

Lance Ware Heads to Villanova

Lance Ware is going to remain a Wildcat for his final season of college basketball, but it won’t be in Lexington. It will be in Philadelphia.

Still a wildcat😂😂

— lance (@lanceware55) May 20, 2023

Ware never played a ton of minutes at Kentucky. He never scored a lot of points or had crazy stat stuffing games. What Lance Ware brought is a certain level of toughness that is desperately needed on good teams, and that Kentucky could be missing in 2023. Ware was a fan favorite from the very beginning as a result of that toughness and effort, and for that, he will be deeply missed at Kentucky. 

As mentioned earlier, Kentucky already has a scary lack of depth at the five spot, and losing Ware certainly doesn’t help. They will need to replace the toughness and grittiness off the bench for 2023. 

For more Kentucky Basketball content, check out the links below!

–Kentucky Basketball Roundup: Potential Transfer Addition, Transfer Deadline Passes

–Kentucky Basketball Roundup: The Transfer Portal Predicament

–Kentucky Basketball Roundup: A Surprise Return, More NBA Decisions