The return of college hoops' big man
— -- Earlier this month, Kentucky held a pro-style practice that was attended by nearly 90 NBA reps. Trey Lyles, Willie Cauley-Stein, Karl-Anthony Towns, Marcus Lee and Dakari Johnson stood next to one another in warm-ups.
It was a remarkable demonstration of the size and talent that Kentucky will use to chase its second consecutive Final Four appearance and fourth in six seasons.
"This year, we've got a few," coach John Calipari said about his squad's post presence.
Kentucky's bigs, however, aren't the only top-shelf power forwards and centers among the elite.
Big men throughout the country will bring sexy back to the post in 2014-15. They're the popular kids in college basketball again. The switch will shift the focus of the game inside for some of the top programs in the country.
Last season's Associated Press All-America squads did not include one player over 6-foot-9 and Julius Randle (third team) was the only true big man who cracked the list. Shabazz Napier was the hero in the Final Four and Doug McDermott won every award that mattered to anyone. Trey Burke, the 2013 Wooden Award winner, and Victor Oladipo starred in the previous season.
Yes, power forwards and centers have made an impact in recent years. But this year is the first time so many big men will anchor national championship contenders since Anthony Davis, Jared Sullinger and Thomas Robinson all tussled for the national title in 2011-12.
"It's a different big man," said Aaron White, Iowa's starting power forward. "It's not Shaq, back-to-the-basket big man. It's 6-10, 6-9 [players] that can shoot it, that can score a multitude of ways. That's the best kind of basketball, in my opinion."
Frank Kaminsky could end the year as the first 7-footer to win the Wooden Award since Andrew Bogut in 2005.
"It's almost like we should give him the ball every single play on the block," Josh Gasser said about his teammate and national player of the year candidate. "If you leave him one-on-one, he's so good he's going to score most of the time."
At Kansas, freshman Cliff Alexander is a force in the post and now the focus of Bill Self's plans while Calipari could implement a lineup that features a 6-10 small forward (Lyles), a 6-11 power forward (Towns) and a 7-foot center (Cauley-Stein).
But a few of Kentucky's SEC opponents have the personnel to battle with the wildcats. Bobby Portis -- who ranks at No. 52 in our #Cbbrank of the top 100 players in college basketball -- chose a sophomore season at Arkansas over the NBA. LSU's Jordan Mickey (No. 48), Jarell Martin and 7-foot-1 freshman Elbert Robinson III should be a handful for any squad in the country. Florida needs Chris Walker to blossom into an interior threat if it wants to compete for the SEC crown.
"We just need [Walker] to be mentally strong," Michael Frazier II said. "Don't get down on himself. ... He's already a gifted athlete, just a natural freak."
Texas might boast the most imposing frontcourt outside Lexington with Jonathan Holmes, Cameron Ridley, Prince Ibeh and Myles Turner, the No. 2 recruit in the 2014 class per RecruitingNation.
"Last time we had this depth was the year we went to the Final Four [2003]," Texas coach Rick Barnes said.
Arizona's Brandon Ashley returns from last season's foot injury to join Kaleb Tarczewski (No. 47) in a pairing that could lead the Wildcats to a national title.
"I think just having that dynamic between him and I on the low boards and in the post ... That's really going to help spread things out," Tarczewski said,
Duke's 6-foot-10 freshman center Jahlil Okafor has the hands of a wide receiver, the agility of a man half his size and the body of a semi truck. Think he'll get a few touches this year?
His team's greatest enemy, North Carolina, won't compete for a national title unless Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson improve.
Size and skill in the post could be essential elements in the final push for the national crown. Those without it might be exposed come March.
"It helps you space the floor," said Ohio State coach Thad Matta, who has coached four big men (Sullinger, Greg Oden, Byron Mullens and Kosta Koufos), who were first-round picks in their respective NBA drafts. "It helps you get to the foul line. It really opens things up when you know you throw it in there, something positive is going to happen."
A lot of good things happened for Kentucky in the post throughout last season's NCAA tournament run. Sure, Aaron Harrison hit the game-winning shot in his team's win over Wisconsin in the Final Four. But the Wildcats also outscored the Badgers 22-10 in the paint that night. Those advantages will persist this season now that Kentucky is bigger inside.
Calipari grabbed a snack and munched as he talked about his fleet of bigs during a recent conversation in Charlotte at SEC media day. Once he hits the clicker on his frontcourt garage, he can pick the Porsche, BMW, Ferrari, Maybach or the Bentley.
This isn't the first time a national title contender has possessed an army of 6-10 and 6-11 shot-blocking, dunking terrors. But few programs have ever had so many versatile forwards and centers.
Calipari can move his big men around the floor. And that will create a defensive quandary for squads that intend to reach the rim against the Wildcats.
"It makes you different defensively than everybody," he said. "You can force people off the 3-point line. You can force people to drive. You can be more aggressive."
Poor guard play will minimize the possibilities for Kentucky or any other program that relies on its frontcourt this season. The top backcourts will be pivotal, per the norm. So Harrison, Sam Dekker, Fred VanVleet, Stanley Johnson, Tyus Jones, Marcus Paige and others will demand the spotlight, too.
But they'll have to share it.
It appears that the road to Indianapolis will be clogged by shot-swatting, multidimensional power forwards and centers.
"When you don't score in the paint, it's hard to rely on jumpers and outside scoring," White said. "I know the college game is guard-dominated when you look at UConn winning a national championship with Shabazz taking over games. But a big thing, why he took over games, was because he got in the paint whether it was thrown in the post or him driving and kicking, you gotta get the ball in the paint."
