John Calipari’s Final Four bed is quite comfortable, thank you

Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

John Calipari has had his share of detractors over the years and the biggest has been Yahoo writer / Rick Pitino book co-author Pat Forde. Forde has been an antagonist of UK fans for years and he reached the pinnacle of being a Big Blue villain a few weeks ago when he penned a column after the loss to South Carolina. In it, he said that Calipari had made his bed with the influx of one and done players and well, he had to sleep in it.

Today, the bed is a lot more comfortable and after Kentucky advanced to the Final Four, Forde was pretty much forced to eat some crow. And although I swore I would never link Forde again, in the spirit of temporary reconciliation, am doing so. So here we have … a bit of the column that Pat Forde never wanted to write.

"I’ll be honest, Cal: I forgot Lee was on the team. But you clearly kept him engaged, kept him confident – and you trusted him early in a huge game. The response was the Kentucky version of Tim Henderson’s two 3-pointers in the Final Four for Louisville last year against Wichita State. It was a season-saving performance nobody saw coming. That is great coaching. Now this needs to be said, too: You’re going to the Final Four with a team that is 100 percent of your making, and a team that is almost completely dependent upon freshmen. After providing about 64 games of ammunition since the 2012 title to those who weren’t sure one-and-done was a sustainable way to build a program, you’ve supplied a powerful rebuttal. Three Final Fours in four seasons says that your way works – it works better than any other way currently being implemented in college basketball. You proved your point, and your team is still playing. How good does that feel?"

Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

In the end, maybe we should THANK the NCAA for their seeding of Kentucky as an eight seed. This team is battle tested and is playing the best basketball of anyone in the Final Four. And in case you were wondering, their path to the Final Four was officially the toughest in NCAA History.

"Kentucky basketball just went through a murderer’s row to reach the Final Four, dropping three of last year’s Final Four teams — including the defending champion and tournament favorite — in the past seven days to earn a surprise spot in North Texas. Though it’s up for debate, the Wildcats road to the Final Four was likely the toughest in history. No one felt too sorry when Kentucky received a No. 8 seed in the NCAA tournament two weeks ago. When you’re one of the most prestigious programs in college basketball, have one of most hyped recruiting classes in history and enter the season No. 1, there aren’t many tears shed on your behalf. But everyone knew a No. 8 seed for John Calipari’s team was a joke, especially in a stacked region like the Midwest. Though Kentucky was a viable Final Four choice, few picked the ‘Cats to advance that far. How could you, when the team had to beat three powerhouses after a routine opening round win over Kansas State? It felt like an impossible task, but here’s how Kentucky did it:"

Let’s not forget, that UK faced number one Florida right before the NCAA. So in the last five games, Kentucky has lost to the #1 team by 1 point, and beaten the #2, #5, and #7 team. Bring Wisconsin on.

Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

At the end of this weird and wacky season, the Kentucky Wildcats are back where everyone expected them to be in October: in the Final Four. And while Kentucky has their share of haters, they just have to get used to it. The Big Blue Nation will over run Dallas.

"Andrew Harrison is the one with the hair. America, you’re going to have to learn this. Andrew has the hair, and Aaron has the jump shot, and Kentucky has both of them, and America you’re just going to have to deal with it. This is a nightmare for so many people, because Kentucky is Everything Wrong with college basketball. It has too many players who dare to go to the NBA to become millionaires as soon as they can. It has a coach who dares to recruit them. It has a fan base that shows up everywhere and dares to make itself heard. And this will not do for lots of people, so lots of people may not want to go to Dallas next week. Because Kentucky will be there. The twins, the coach, the fans. Big Blue Nation is coming to Texas after Kentucky beat Michigan 75-72 on Sunday for the Midwest Regional title at Lucas Oil Stadium. Kentucky will be in the Final Four for the third time in five years under John Calipari because Aaron Harrison, the one with the jump shot, buried a long 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left to break a tie. “It was ridiculous,” said Kentucky forward Julius Randle, a Dallas native who earned region Most Outstanding Player honors. “On that stage, that atmosphere, in that game. To take that shot to send us to the Final Four … “"