There is real fear and loathing for Kentucky Wildcats Basketball’s 2013-2014 “Death Star”

Remember when these t-shirts came out when John Calipari came to town? Of course, “Envy our past, fear our future” was just a slogan then, but after Kentucky cut down the nets on number eight last spring and then crashing and burning this year, the hate is very real.  Perhaps the critics realize that this is just a rare down year in the Calipari era and they had better get their shots in now, but Kentucky is getting more national press than any other team that lost in the first round of the NIT.  Ever.

Much of the hate is genuine fear for what will happen next year, especially if players like Alex Poythress and Willie Cauley-Stein rejoin the best recruiting class of all time.  Call it the perfect storm for UK basketball.  Or if you are a hater, go ahead and rip off a Star Wars analogy and call Lexington the new Death Star in college hoops.

"There is plenty of solace for Williams and other Kentucky fans. There’s that Death Star in the distance—an NBA-ready recruiting class like none ever assembled. It contains a record six McDonald’s MCD +0.75% All-Americans, including the best players at four of the five positions. Former players are already saying the 2014 title is guaranteed. They’re probably right. If this is basketball brought to its cynical endpoint—a plug-and-play triumph of salesmanship—Kentucky fans don’t seem to mind. They celebrate Kentucky coach John Calipari, who has festooned his team with “friends of the program” including Jay-Z and LeBron James, whose donors contributed a $3.1 million “locker-room suite,” who famously said the 2010 NBA Draft was the greatest day in Kentucky basketball history. And here was Louisville coach Rick Pitino on Saturday night, back in Rupp Arena where he once roamed as Kentucky’s coach. He took a little jig step atop the tomb: “We don’t play the game for the lottery draft. We play the game for Louisville,” he said. Pitino conceded his players were marginal NBA prospects, not even in the top five among his most talented groups. But he beamed about their intensity, conditioning and growth as basketball players. Together, they have become the most fearsome team in the tournament. It wasn’t plug and play. It was wait and pray."

Take your shots, folks.  Like the great sports mag, The Wall Street Journal says, the new Death Star will be ready on November 1.  And the force will be with John Calipari.

Mar 15, 2013; Nashville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach John Calipari watches his team play against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament at Bridgestone Arena. The Commodores beat the Wildcats 64-48. Mandatory Credit: Don McPeak-USA TODAY Sports

And what was Darth Calipari doing this weekend? He was out recruiting and helping to ensure that the Death Star was fully functionable after next season. Calipari was courtside at the New York State Federation High School Playoffs on Friday night doing some recruiting:

"**Calipari is involved with Lincoln junior guard Isaiah Whitehead and also checked out Christ the King’s super-frosh, 6-4 Rawle Atkins (13 points). Whitehead went for 21 points, but Lincoln lost to LuHi 73-55."

Photo courtesy of Karl Towns Jr’s twitter account: @KATis32

Since we are on the subject of possible future Wildcats, there is a fantastic read on 2014 commit Karl Towns Jr. Seems that Towns and his father share a very special bond which was rooted in basketball and has now come full circle.

"When Karl Towns was much younger, he would tag along with his father to work. “We didn’t have a babysitter so I took Karl every day to my practices because that was the only way I could watch him,” said Towns’ father Karl. “Little Karl would come to practice every day, and I would find two JV kids to run around with him and it seemed like he just grew.” The elder Towns was a 6-foot-5 standout for Piscataway High School who went on to set records for blocked shots and rebounds at Monmouth University. His 15-year tenure on the sidelines at Piscataway Tech has featured an NJSIAA Central Group I title and several Greater Middlesex Conference Gold Division crowns. The bond shared between father and son originated from humble basketball beginnings but exceeds far beyond the boundaries of the court. Towns, a sophomore and Piscataway native, is the Home News Tribune Boys Basketball Player of the Year. On Thursday, Towns was named the 2013 New Jersey Gatorade Player of the Year, becoming the first athlete in St. Joseph High School history, in any sport, to receive the honor. The school opened in 1961."