Kentucky Basketball: BBN, The Enemy is Us

Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Of course, there are trolls out there. Fans from rival schools that will toss out unfounded allegations against the University of Kentucky Men’s Basketball team and against head coach John Calipari. There are also many media types, locally and nationally, that revel in any type of misfortune that the Cats or Cal find themselves in. That’s to be expected. With long term and current success, there’s nowhere to go but down and as Wilt Chamberlain so eloquently put it, “No one roots for Goliath.” But sometimes, especially when the Cats struggle, some of the harshest trolls out there don’t come from the outside, but come from within the Big Blue Nation itself.

After the win over Boston University, Coach Calipari warned the media that the players are not robots. They’re not going to be able to go out every night and dominate as they did in the previous game against Kansas. The kids are human and they’re going to have off nights. Obviously, we all know that. We all know that no one, no team, is perfect, but when the kids with Kentucky on their chests have an off night, the Big Blue Nation, the most vocal part of it, turns on Cal and the players quicker than any outsider.

Last year, Andrew and Aaron Harrison helped lead the team to the national title game. Aaron’s exploits are the stuff of legend. Andrew’s steady play helped to turn around a team that many, Kentucky fans included, left for dead after the debacle in Columbia against South Carolina. On the season, the Wildcats are 10-0. The defense has allowed 60 points once and 50 points twice in that span. Of course, the height and the depth of the frontline gets all the headlines, but the perimeter defense has been pretty good too. And so have the Harrisons.

Mandatory Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Look, they’re going to have off nights. Every player on every team will have one. I’m going to ride with Andrew and Aaron until they show me they can’t get the job done. I’m going to stop demanding that Alex Poythress become the player I think he should be and instead enjoy him for the player he is. I’m not going to call this team a “horrible defensive team” when the eye test and the stats prove otherwise. I’m not going to second guess Cal because 3 Final Fours in 5 years is tough to do. I’m going to trust that except for the year his best player went down with injury, Calipari has had the Cats going deep into the tournament. I’m going to not stress about every missed shot. I’m not going to worry about every turnover. I’m going to sit back and enjoy the process as this team grows and gets better.

For all the faults of these players and all the mistakes they’ve made and will make, is there anyone else besides Aaron Harrison you want taking a shot with the game on the line? Me neither. Let’s enjoy what these guys are doing and stop being our own worst enemy.