2022–23 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

2022–23 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
2022–23 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	( 16–0 SEC)
Head coach	John Calipari (14th season);
Assistant coaches	Orlando Antigua (7th overall, 2nd season); Ron Coleman (2nd season); Jai Lucas (3rd season);
Home arena	Rupp Arena
	Seasons ← 2021–22 2023–24 →

2022–23 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 1 Alabama†	16	–	2	.889	31	–	6	.838
No. 17 Texas A&M	15	–	3	.833	25	–	10	.714
Kentucky	12	–	6	.667	22	–	12	.647
No. 23 Missouri	11	–	7	.611	25	–	10	.714
No. 20 Tennessee	11	–	7	.611	25	–	11	.694
Vanderbilt	11	–	7	.611	22	–	15	.595
Auburn	10	–	8	.556	21	–	13	.618
Florida	9	–	9	.500	16	–	17	.485
Mississippi State	8	–	10	.444	21	–	13	.618
Arkansas	8	–	10	.444	22	–	14	.611
Georgia	6	–	12	.333	16	–	16	.500
South Carolina	4	–	14	.222	11	–	21	.344
Ole Miss	3	–	15	.167	12	–	21	.364
LSU	2	–	16	.111	14	–	19	.424

† 2023 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2022–23 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats, founding members of the Southeastern Conference, played their home games at Rupp Arena and were led by John Calipari in his 14th season as head coach.

Previous season

The Wildcats became just the tenth 2-seed to lose in the first round of the NCAA Tournament when they were shocked by 15th-seeded Saint Peter’s, 85–79, in overtime. It also marked the first time Kentucky had suffered a First Round exit under Calipari.

Offseason

Player departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason left
Davion Mintz	10	Guard	6'3"	195	Senior	Charlotte, NC	Graduated
Dontaie Allen	11	Guard	6'6"	205	Sophomore	Falmouth, KY	Transferred
Kellan Grady	31	Guard	6'5"	205	Senior	Boston, MA	Graduated

Class of 2022 signees

The Wildcats signed a three man class of Chris Livingston, Shaedon Sharpe, and Cason Wallace. Sharpe enrolled in January to join the 2022 team.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Chris Livingston SF	Akron, OH	Oak Hill Academy (VA)	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Nov 10, 2021
Chris Livingston SF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 91
Shaedon Sharpe SG	London, ON	Dream City Christian (AZ)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Nov 10, 2021
Shaedon Sharpe SG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 95
Cason Wallace CG	Dallas, TX	Richardson (TX)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Nov 10, 2021
Cason Wallace CG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 92
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 2nd 247Sports: 8th ESPN: 1st
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Kentucky 2022 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 22, 2021. "2022 Kentucky Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 22, 2021. "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 22, 2021. "Kentucky 2022 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved December 22, 2021.

Class of 2023 commitments

On November 20, 2021, Reed Sheppard verbally committed to UK over multiple offers, with Louisville and Virginia among the most active in attempting to recruit him. The son of former UK basketball players Jeff Sheppard and the former Stacey Reed, he was the first commitment to the 2023 recruiting class. At the time of his commitment, he was the #3 ranked combo guard in the 2023 class by 247 Sports.^[1]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Reed Sheppard CG	London, KY	North Laurel (KY)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Nov 20, 2021
Reed Sheppard CG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 86
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 21st 247Sports: 17th ESPN: 37th
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Kentucky 2023 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021. "2023 Kentucky Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021. "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021. "Kentucky 2023 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021.

Roster

2022–23 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	0	Jacob Toppin	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Rhode Island	Brooklyn, NY
G	1	CJ Fredrick	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS Jr	Iowa	Cincinnati, OH
G	2	Sahvir Wheeler	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Georgia	Houston, TX
G	3	TyTy Washington	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	197 lb (89 kg)	So	AZ Compass Prep	Phoenix, AZ
F	4	Daimion Collins	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	So	Atlanta	Atlanta, TX
F	12	Keion Brooks Jr.	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sr	La Lumiere School	Fort Wayne, IN
F	14	Brennan Canada (W)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	Sr	George Rogers Clark	Mount Sterling, KY
G/F	20	Zan Payne (W)	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	RS Sr	Lexington Catholic	Lexington, KY
G	21	Shaedon Sharpe	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Fr	Dream City Christian	London, ON
F	23	Bryce Hopkins	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	So	Fenwick	Oak Park, IL
G	25	Kareem Watkins (W)	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	Kingsway Regional	Camden, NJ
F	34	Oscar Tshiebwe	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Sr	West Virginia	Lubumbashi, DR Congo
F	55	Lance Ware	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	Camden	Camden, NJ
F	–	Chris Livingston	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	Oak Hill	Akron, OH
G	–	Cason Wallace	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fr	Richardson	Richardson, TX

Head coach

John Calipari (Clarion)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Tentative Schedule

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Regular season
November 15, 2022* TBD, ESPN	vs. Michigan State Champions Classic	Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN
December 4, 2022* TBD, ESPN	vs. Michigan	O2 Arena London, ENG
SEC Tournament
*	vs. SEC Tournament	Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN
NCAA Tournament
*	vs. NCAA Tournament	NRG Stadium Houston, TX
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

References

^ Borzello, Jeff; Biancardi, Paul (November 20, 2021). "Reed Sheppard, No. 37 men's basketball prospect in 2023, commits to Kentucky Wildcats". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021.

[1] Borzello, Jeff; Biancardi, Paul (November 20, 2021). "Reed Sheppard, No. 37 men's basketball prospect in 2023, commits to Kentucky Wildcats". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 20, 2021.

[1]

v t e Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
Venues	State College Gymnasium (1903–1914) Buell Armory Gymnasium (1910–1924) Alumni Gymnasium (1924–1950) Memorial Coliseum (1950–1976) Rupp Arena (1976–present) Joe Craft Center (practice)
Rivalries	Centre (historical) Florida Indiana Louisville North Carolina Tennessee Transylvania (historical)
Culture & lore	History under Adolph Rupp Fabulous Five Point-shaving scandal Fiddlin' Five Rupp's Runts The Season Without Celebration "The Shot" Unforgettables Untouchables Comeback Cats John Wall Dance Tweakables Pursuit of Perfection 2011 Indiana game Basketbowl Champions Classic CBS Sports Classic The Rivalry: Red v. Blue The Wildcat Scratch Blue "On, On, U of K" "Kentucky Fight" Big Blue Nation Blue blood status
People	Head coaches Honorees NBA draftees Players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics