Cats back in rightful place

At Big Blue Madness, Coach John Calipari's "Domination Proclamation of the Big Blue Nation" promised that he would bring the Cats "back to their rightful place atop the mountain of College Basketball". Three months later, and about ten months since Kentucky was eliminated from the NIT, they now stand alone as the only remaining undefeated team and will be ranked #1 in the country tomorrow in both polls, likely a unanimous pick. It will be the first time the Cats have been ranked atop of the polls since 2003, and after the last few years, #1 has never felt so good!

Many rolled their eyes at Coach Cal's pledge in November that when this team comes together and plays as a team that they would be "unbreakable and unbeatable", but after their 31 point win over Arkansas to improve to 19-0, nobody is laughing anymore. Just a regular win would have given the Cats' a #1 ranking, but Saturday's dominating performance made them a no doubt #1. Conversations around the college basketball world have changed from "When will they loose a game?" to "WILL they loose a game?" We're almost into the month of February, and with a few more consistent performances like Saturday, the conversations will start to begin about this team's place in history as possibly the greatest college basketball team, ever.

Earlier in the week, ESPN's Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon had a serious conversation about who would win if the Cats faced the NBA's New Jersey Nets. They actually both agreed that John Wall would easily be the best player on the court. NBA scouts have also tabbed backup point guard, Eric Bledsoe, as the 2nd best point guard in the country and a possible lottery pick behind his teammate, Wall. Like most of Calipari's teams, this one is very talented, but greatness didn't happen right away, either. Veterans were learning a new offense and freshman were adjusting to the college game, as they barely escaped teams like Miami of Ohio and Sam Houston State, but still managed to keep winning while learning to play together. The same team that gave up 15 three pointers against Miami in November, including 8 from some guy named Nick Winbush, limited one of the best shooters in the nation (Arkansas' Rontei Clark) to only 2 of 9 shooting behind the arc.

A team that was thought to have a relatively weak bench (at least compared to the production from their starters), saw scoring from 12 of 13 players on Saturday, including 18 points from Darius Miller and electrifying sparks off the bench from Daniel Orton, Perry Stevenson, Josh Harrelson, and DeAndre Liggins. Liggins, who hadn't appeared in the Cats' first nine games of the season for disciplinary reasons, is now proving to be a key player off the bench along with Daniel Orton. Both Orton and Liggins look poised to take over next season in much bigger roles, that is, if they can earn a spot in the starting lineup after Calipari probably signs another #1 recruiting class.

The progression of Liggins, a former McDonald's All American who would probably start on any other team in the country, has adjusted his attitude to become a key part of the Cats' success this season. Wall, Cousins, Bledsoe, and Patterson make this team the best team in the country this season, but players like Liggins, Orton, Miller, Harris, Harrelson, and Stevenson could all contribute to this team achieving their ultimate goal and becoming one of the best teams in history if they step up more consistently and take off the pressure of the aforementioned more consistent top scorers.

Yes, this team is very talented, but the coaching job that John Calipari has done this season is very under appreciated. He has molded a team of 6 newcomers and 7 returning players to create one heartbeat. He's taught an 18 year old kid on the cover of Sports Illustrated how to keep his focus and stay humble. He demands perfection of his team and in his standards, they're only about 10-9, not 19-0. Calipari's high demand and high standards is exactly why he hasn't let them slip up in 19 games and may not let them slip up all season. He's minimized the roles and playing time of starters on last years team, but they've accepted and embraced their new roles and are having a blast, more fun then they ever did playing 30 minutes a game on an NIT team. From Wall, to Patterson, to Liggins, to Stevenson, and all the way down to Mark Krebs, every player is just thrilled to be a part of this team. It's not easy making so many talented players happy and satisfied while playing so well together, which is why this has so far been one of the best coaching jobs the game has seen.

The Cats have remained undefeated longer than any team since Illinois in 2005. That team also probably deserved some consideration as one of the best team's college basketball has seen, but will never be remembered as one of the greatest teams because they didn't win the National Championship game against North Carolina. Especially for a Kentucky team, winning it all is what will ultimately define this team's success. The Cats could very well lose at South Carolina on Tuesday, a game that Seth Davis picked about a month ago to be the Cats' first loss of the season. Winning on the road at Vandy is always tough too, and ESPN's College Gameday comes to town on February 13th along with Bruce Pearl's Volunteers. Plenty of challenges await the Cats. It's not inconceivable to think this team could be 40-0 National Champions, but it's also very possible they could lose a game soon, or two, or maybe even three. Either way, if they want to be compared with the '96 Cats as possibly the best team in history, they need to win the big one in April. Coming from the NIT to #1 in 10 months has been a very wild ride, but there's still a long ways to go, so buckle up...and enjoy the craziest ride Kentucky basketball has ever had!

P.S.- Just a reminder to everyone that College Gameday tickets for the 13th go on sale tomorrow at 10 AM on Ticketmaster! Tickets are free with a shipping and handling fee, and as many as 8 can be purchased by one person. Let's pack the house!