Kentucky bigs Aaron Bradshaw, Ugonna Onyenso out 5-6 more weeks

Field Level Media|published: Thu 12th October, 15:36 2023

Nov 23, 2022; Lexington, Kentucky, USA; Kentucky Wildcats forward Ugonna Onyenso (33) handles the ball during the second half against the North Florida Ospreys at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. credits: Jordan Prather-USA TODAY Sports

Kentucky coach John Calipari said on "SportsCenter" Thursday that two injured players, centers Aaron Bradshaw and Ugonna Onyenso, are still five to six weeks from returning.

That timeline means both players will miss the Wildcats' start of the season. They will face New Mexico State on Nov. 6 in their season opener.

Calipari told the program he has two bigs "who are out another five, six weeks," a reference to the 7-foot-1 Bradshaw and the 6-11 Onyenso, who both had foot surgery this offseason.

Bradshaw is a five-star incoming freshman who committed to Kentucky along with his high school teammate D.J. Wagner, a fellow five-star recruit. Onyenso, now a sophomore, played in 16 games off the bench last season and averaged 2.5 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.

Kentucky is waiting to see if 7-foot-2 Croatian signing Zvonimir Ivisic will be allowed to play this season. He enrolled earlier this month with the semester already in progress. Calipari said Ivisic will get to campus Thursday.

"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 (tournament games) without rim protection, that is really, really difficult."

—Field Level Media