LEXINGTON, Ky. — Kentucky basketball was once a one-and-done NBA draft factory.

And while John Calipari's program still is, at some level, production has slowed over the years.

As the college basketball landscape has changed during Calipari's 14 years in Lexington, UK's longtime head coach has had to adjust his approach to building his teams.

In the last three NBA drafts, three players — one each year — who spent just one season at Kentucky were selected in the first round. Comparatively, following each of Calipari's first three seasons in Lexington, the Wildcats had nine one-and-done players — an average of three per season — selected in the first round of the draft.

Then, the focus was on reloading with another class of blue-chip prospects who would go on to become first-round picks.

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Now, two years after the NCAA passed legislation allowing players to transfer once without sitting out a year, UK is building more of its roster around the transfer portal.

During Calipari's first four seasons at UK, a total of five scholarship players joined the program as transfers. In half the time, the Wildcats matched that total with four transfer portal additions in 2021 and one in 2022.

But it's not a one-way street. With forward Ugonna Onyenso entering the transfer portal this week, seven UK players have transferred since the 2020-21 season concluded. That exceeds the number of outgoing transfers UK had in the first eight seasons (six) under Calipari.

All signs point to more change ahead.

Kentucky already has contacted at least six players in the transfer portal — including Kel'el Ware, a consensus five-star prospect in the 2022 class, who started his career at Oregon and forward Olivier Nkamhoua, who has spent the last four seasons at Tennessee.

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Impact NIL is having on college basketball rosters

Kentucky seniors Oscar Tshiebwe and Antonio Reeves are examples of the influence the changing landscape has had in the way players arrive in Lexington and how long they could stick around.

Both veteran players started their college careers elsewhere — Tshiebwe at West Virginia, Reeves at Illinois State. And both declared for the 2023 NBA Draft while leaving the option to return for the Wildcats next season.

Neither is a lock to be selected in this year's draft. While both may decide against returning to UK, two-year-old NCAA legislation granting name, image and likeness (NIL) rights has led some — like North Carolina star Armando Bacot, who last month announced he would return for a fifth season with the Tar Heels — to remain in school.

Tshiebwe and Reeves have until 5 p.m. on June 12 to withdraw their names from draft consideration. If they decide to return to school and transfer, they have until May 11 — when the portal closes — to make their decisions.

The Athletic reported Tshiebwe made half a million in a week's time last summer during the Wildcats' preseason trip to the Bahamas and had earned approximately $2.75 million in NIL deals as of August 2022. By comparison, a two-way NBA contract, which allows players to shuffle between an NBA team and its G League affiliate, pays an approximate salary of $502,000, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. The EuroLeague, the top level of basketball in Europe, pays between $500,000 and $800,000, on average, per EuroProBasket.com.

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The new options players have only adds to the complexities of roster construction for UK and college basketball program across the country.

For Reeves, returning to Lexington, according to Kentucky Sports Radio, could come with six figures in NIL money, much of it via the Wildcats' agreement with injury firm Morgan & Morgan.

Either way, UK's team for next season will include a five-man freshman class. While the nation's top-ranked haul is reminiscent of Calipari's early tenure in Lexington, much of the roster around them will be a reflection of a landscape changed by the transfer portal and NIL.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky basketball roster: NCAA transfer portal, NIL, NBA draft picks