Over the course of the past five months, it has been a topsy turvy season for Big Blue Nation. There's been ups, such as UK's fifteen point win at Louisville. There have also certainly been downs, like going 2-6 on the road in SEC play. I regret that I have not been here to document the season, because it has been more than what I think anyone imagined that this season could be. The script couldn't have been written any better. I cried on Sunday when Kentucky returned to the Final Four for the first time in thirteen seasons, the longest drought in school history.
Flashing back to a year ago, I would not have been emotional if Kentucky beat West Virginia and made the Final Four last year, because that team was expected to do so. I also would not have been emotional if the Cats made the Final Four in 2003 or 2005, when top seeded UK teams lost in the Elite Eight, a major road block for the Cats since the Championship season of 1998. The fact that last year's team DID NOT make it with five first round NBA draft picks, and this team DID reach the Final Four despite 8 regular season losses, no Enes Kanter, and an incredibly tough region to get here (defeating WVU, OSU, and UNC), all adds to the beautiful script of this amazing run.
Josh Harrelson, who averaged a couple of minutes per game a year ago sitting behind big men DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, and Daniel Orton, and expected to sit behind Enes Kanter this year, is the best 'feel good' story in all of college basketball this season. DeAndre Liggins also has a pretty good story himself, and the other veteran, Darius Miller, had dreamt of this experience his entire life growing up in Maysville, KY. John Calipari, who has been known as a fantastic recruiter and an average coach, has proven that he is in fact one of the best X's and O's coaches in the game this season, beating every team that has defeated him in a rematch games this season. The only "V word" describing this Final Four appearance for Calipari is vindication. He's proven that he can win with less, like he has already proven at UMass (but others seem to forget), and that he can also do it without even a hint of trouble with the NCAA with this current roster.
Of the Wildcats' eight losses, six of them have been avenged, earning them the potential nickname of the "Payback Cats". Five of the six SEC losses on the road were avenged with wins at Rupp Arena or in the SEC Tournament, including two wins against Florida after losing in the final seconds in Gainesville. The Cats also lost to North Carolina in the regular season after defeating them in the East Regional to advance to the Final Four. They lost to UConn in the Maui Invitational Championship in November, and they also hope to avenge that loss on Saturday in the Final Four. If they do, 7 of their 8 losses will be avenged. Arkansas, who they only faced once, would be the only team on the schedule that the Cats did not defeat. You'd expect Harrelson and Brandon Knight, who had 0 and 6 points respectively in November against the Huskies, to have much more of an impact this time around.
There couldn't have been a better script for this team to make it to the Final Four, and perhaps, a National Championship. Regardless of how the team fares in Houston, they have accomplished the very rare feat of exceeding the always high exepctations at the University of Kentucky. With Enes, this team was thought to have a chance to still be playing right now. Without him, they weren't given much of a shot at all. It's been a blessing in disguise for Josh Harrelson, who has emerged as a fan favorite and has played himself into a chance of playing at the next level. On paper, the Cats look to be even better next season, perhaps a pre-season #1 ranking, but that team has a tall task infront of them to accomplish what this team already has and hopes to do Saturday and Monday night: bringing home the 8th National Championship to its rightful place in Lexington, KY.
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