Kentucky centers Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso are expected to miss another several weeks following offseason foot surgeries, coach John Calipari said Wednesday.
At Kentucky’s pro day Wednesday, Calipari said on “SportsCenter” he has two big guys “who are out another five, six weeks.” He was referring to Bradshaw and Onyenso, who each had foot surgery during the offseason. Bradshaw suffered his injury at the McDonald’s All American Game last spring, while Onyenso was injured in July.
Bradshaw was ranked as the No. 6 recruit in the ESPN 100 for the 2023 class, while Onyenso played in 16 games last season, blocking 16 shots in just 110 minutes.
Both had indefinite timetables, but Calipari’s estimated return puts their availability for the start of the season into question. Kentucky opens the season against New Mexico State on Nov. 6 before hosting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Nov. 10. The Wildcats then head to Chicago for a Champions Classic showdown against potential preseason No. 1 Kansas on Nov. 14.
Without Bradshaw and Onyenso on the team’s trip to Canada for the GLOBL Jam tournament in July, Calipari was forced to use West Virginia transfer Tre Mitchell at the center spot. Mitchell was productive, and at 6-foot-9, he’s capable of playing in the post — but he’s more comfortable at the power forward position.
“You must have rim protection,” Calipari said Wednesday. “If you don’t have post presence, your team’s a fraud. Now maybe you can sneak by, but to win six without rim protection, that is really, really difficult.”
On the positive side, Calipari said Croatian big man Zvonimir Ivisic will be on campus Thursday. Ivisic was able to enroll at the school earlier this month, although it’s unclear when he will be able to get on the court for the Wildcats.
Kentucky welcomes the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class to Lexington this season, led by five-star recruits Justin Edwards, D.J. Wagner, Bradshaw and Robert Dillingham. The Wildcats are ranked No. 15 in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25.
“At Kentucky, winning 25, 22, 20 and not being in the Final Four, that’s not Kentucky good. We’ve been good, but not Kentucky good,” Calipari said Wednesday. “Now, let’s see where we are, let’s get this young team, let’s get some big guys.”
When asked what concerns him about this season’s team, Calipari added: “That we’re not going to have that big. That keeps me up. Our guard play is really good.”
