Kentucky Wildcat Basketball: A funny thing happened in between dream teams

Last season the 2009-2010 version of the Kentucky Wildcats gave John Calipari the ultimate season long honeymoon period as new coach at Kentucky.  They steamrolled their way to the Elite 8 with a 35-2 record and John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins were almost daily topics on Sportscenter.  The Wildcats were ranked number one in the polls for most of the season and they had a number one seed in the NCAA Tournament.  All throughout the Bluegrass, Kentucky fans crowed about their return to the top of the mountain and Kentucky’s quicker than expected return to basketball royalty.

Even with the shocking loss to West Virginia, the Big Blue Nation (for the most part), accepted the loss with class and dignity and continued their love affair with the Wildcats.  John Calipari signed another number one rated recruiting class and Kentucky fans expected another title run in 2010-2011.  Around that same time, John Calipari locked up yet another top rated recruiting class for 2011 and visions of another 1996-1998 like run danced in Wildcat fan heads.

Then the NBA cam calling and John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Patrick Patterson announced their intent to leave Kentucky for the cash filled NBA pastures.  That was expected.  #5-3 teams suffer such losses.  But then Daniel Orton and Eric Bledsoe, considered keys to that 2011 title run, announced their intent to depart for the NBA.  Couple that with the graduation losses of Ramon Harris, Mark Krebs, and Perry Stephenson, plus the departure of Darnell Dodson and Kentucky fans had serious concerns about this season.

80% of last season’s starting lineup and 9 total players from the 35-3 roster were gone and the cupboard was bare with a “Bad News Bears” collection of players.  You had Josh Harrellson, better known for his jean shorts than for his ability to grab a rebound as he played just 84 minutes in the previous season.  You had Jon Hood, who played just 74 minutes and averaged 1.2 points per game.  And then we had DeAndre Liggins and Darius Miller.  Liggins had the reputation of a malcontent because of the infamous Las Vegas situation and the fact that he did not take the floor for the first part of the season, due to undisclosed reasons.  And then Darius “disappearious” Miller, the starting SF who had tons of potential but seemed to disappear during long periods of gametime.  This, ladyies and gentlemen was the foundation of your 2010-2011 Kentucky Wildcats.

Yes, the talented freshmen were on the way, but fan expectations were lowered, due to the fact that every pundit on television continues to beat down the fact that “You can not go to the Final Four” with a freshman based team.  Preseason predictions put this team in the second half of the top 20, leading some Kentucky fans to write off this team’s title hopes and wait for next season.

Then the Enes Kanter decision hit Lexington like a bombshell and the refrain became “Wait till next year”.

The faithful started to build hope after Kentucky knocked off the Washington Huskies in Hawaii.  Freshman Terrence Jones was a super stud with 16 points and 17 rebounds while Brandon Knight exploded for 24 points.  That was enough for a 74-67 win and a 4-0 start to the season, but this team was looking like another year of one and doners as veteran leadership was nowhere to be seen. The premature UK title hopes dissipated as UK lost two of three versus traditional powerhouses Connecticut and North Carolina.  The loss to UConn was a blowout in which the freshmen did not play well, and the UNC loss was a harbinger of the season to come.

Throughout the season there were glimpses of what this team could be as they knocked off a very good Notre Dame team in Louisville.  And when the annual war versus the hated Cardinals came around, it was one of the “forgotten ones” Josh Harrellson that answered the bell, scoring 23 points and pulling down 14 rebounds in the nationally televised game.  Brandon Knight tossed in 25 and hope was renewed that the 12-2 Wildcats could overcome the loss of Kanter and force their way into the contender conversation.

But then came the SEC season and it was one of the most frustrating ones,  Kentucky played well at Rupp but inept became their middle name away from home.  The team that would be contenders became the team that choked in the clutch as embarrassing losses to Ole Miss and Arkansas followed,  The Arkansas loss let the Wildcats at 19-8 overall and just 7-6 in the SEC.  It’s not like these Wildcats were not showing heart, but they just couldnot win in the clutch.  They had closes losses … their last 5 losses were by a combined 11 points, but unfortunately John Calipari was also close to becoming “Ten Loss Cal”.  The anticipation for next year grew as these Wildcats looked more and more like a lock for a 8 or 9 seed in the NCAA Tourney.

But a funny thing happened in between dream teams…

The #13 SEC East leading Florida Gators strolled into Rupp Arena already with one win oer the Wildcats on their resume.  They left with a 76-68 loss and “Disappearus” Miller had a new career high with 24 points.  Kentucky got another chance at redemption when the Vanderbilt Commodrores came into Rupp.  They ran into a buzzsaw called Josh Harrellson who willed the Wildcats to a 68-66 revenge win.   A rare road win at season meant a sweep of the Vols and gave UK a big break … a first round bye in the SEC Tournament.

And the rest is history.  Kentucky played as a team and some of it’s best team defense since the Tubby Smith era and pulled over redemption wins over Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and these “avengers” also paid back West Virginia for last season’s loss.  They had one more redemption win under their belt, a thrilling triumph over North Carolina that landed UK in the Final Four for the first time since 1998.

In the end, this scrappy bunch of Wildcats did what last year’s dream team could not do and set the bar even higher for next year’s version.  This team which was almost overlooked delivered Kentucky back into the promised land when no one gave them a chance.

And for that I will be eternally grateful for them.

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