Early predictions for next season’s pre-season ranking?
@WilderTreadKSR
The Cats have landed at Bluegrass Airport and will be making their way into Rupp Arena shortly to celebrate the 2014 season. They’ll be greeted by thousands of fans and a brand new banner in the rafters.
Blue banners are beautiful.
(CoachCal.com)
© Bob Donnan | Getty
Thank you, Julius.
(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
I’m more disappointed this morning than I was last night but I’m still really proud of our kids that we had our chances to win the game. In the end, life goes on. I’m on my way to Mass right now. I love these kids, I love this team and I love the #BBN. Just sad it’s over. Thank you for your support this year.Back at ya, Cal.
1. Calipari Isin’t Changing Now
-Following the rough year last season and the majority of this season not going so well, there was a strong movement that John Calipari needed to change the overall atmosphere in the program. Whether that be in the recruiting strategy or toning down the hype during the off-season, it was clear that fan support had slightly dwindled in February. Well, you can screw that now. This run just amplified that Calipari knows what he is doing and while next year’s class doesn’t appear to have too many one and done guys, I would bet the overall caliber/type of player coming to Lexington is not changing much. Now, as far as the hype machine, you could still argue that needs to be toned back some, but only time will tell.
2. It’s All About the Guards
-I’m not sure this is breaking news, but if you haven’t figured it out yet, Calipari’s system doesn’t work without good guard play. Period. Ryan Harrow and Archie Goodwin never got it going and it showed. The Harrisons just got it together in time and in a big way, and you see the result. Yes, having Demarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis and Julius Randle is a nice bonus. But it doesn’t work well without good guards. If the Harrisons leave, next season will hinge entirely on Tyler Ulis and Devin Booker, soooooo….
3. It’s Time we Learn Patience
-When you have as much passion as this fanbase, it is very hard to be patient. It’s understandable. But at some point we are going to have to accept that every one of Calipari’s teams are going to have their rough spots during the early season. And heck, this season proved those rough spots can carry over into the conference season. If anything though, our impatience leads to additional pressure on these players. That added patience we need to develop also means cutting down on the hype (from us and the coach), even after this amazing tournament run. Keep that in mind if/when Ulis and Booker struggle next season.
4. Worst Case Scenario, We’ve Got Some Serious Talent Coming Back
-Marcus Lee is certainly back and Dakari Johnson should be 95% to come back. Those two alone make Kentucky’s frontcourt probably the best in the country next season. Throw in Alex Poythress and watch out. Now, while I already said Kentucky goes as it’s guards go, UK has some nice experience back next season, which is what many fans clamor for and claim is key in the making of an elite team. And oh if the Harrisons come back, the possibilities are endless.
5. We’re Still Better than Louisville
-Last year was a speed bump for UK in this rivalry. I think this year was more of the norm. 2 NCAA Tournament wins in the last 3 years. Yeah, Big Brother is still the best.
(Image via @sportingnews)
As the seconds ticked down, the chilling reality that Kentucky’s miracle postseason run was coming to an end settled over AT&T Stadium. Aaron Harrison, college basketball’s darling, missed the three he’s been hitting the past three games, and instead of a dog pile at center court, the team walked slowly off, confetti drifting slowly off their jerseys. The saddest one of all? Aaron, who put his hands on his head and squeezed his eyes shut to stop the tears.
The cruelest thing about tonight’s loss? Simple mistakes cost Kentucky the game. They were 13-24 from the free throw line, compared to UConn’s perfect 10-10 mark. Kentucky had been so reliable from the charity stripe in the postseason until tonight, a telling sign that they were mentally and physically fatigued. They couldn’t finish drives, got outrebounded, and lost most of those crucial 50/50 balls Cal preaches about. Even during their runs in the second half, Kentucky was unable to take the lead. Simply put, this team was done.
Even UConn’s Shabazz Napier (who was spectacular) said that he noticed UK was tired: “Them guys got a little winded, and we just took advantage.” Cal said fatigue and nerves were a factor, especially for Randle in the first half: “He’s a freshman and he was anxious. That was the National Championship in front of 17 zillion people and he ran up and down the court three times and he got winded. It’s normal.”
What went wrong? As much as we’d like to, we can’t blame the rumors that Cal was going to the Lakers. Cal shot them down in the postgame press conference, telling reporters he wasn’t even going to dignify that stuff with a response. Further, he said that he was not aware of Rex’s tweet until after the game, nor were the players. Mitch Barnhart confirmed that Cal will return, and there have been no talks about his job status.
What now?
Amid the tears (and there were plenty of tears), the players were asked whether or not they’d return next season. Most refused to answer and said they couldn’t focus on that at the moment, but Willie Cauley-Stein said that while he hasn’t decided about the NBA yet, part of him thinks “Why not stay until they make me leave?” The loss is doubly cruel for Willie, who could have had a huge impact in this game, but was forced to watch from the sidelines. He echoed his comments from after the Robert Morris loss last season, and said he can “definitely” imagine coming back: “To me, there’s still emptiness to fill.”
Before you get too hopeful, remember that Archie Goodwin said something similar last year.
Don’t let tonight ruin the run
Was tonight painful? Yes. But don’t let it ruin what has been a truly magical run. When everyone had given up on them, this team stormed back and proved them wrong, looking like a team of destiny until the final minutes. Calipari opened his postgame press conference by telling reporters that even in defeat, he is proud of this team, the best group of kids he’s ever coached:
His brother Andrew sums it up best: “This loss, it hurts really bad. But it’s nothing compared to what we accomplished.”
As the seconds ticked down, the chilling reality that Kentucky’s miracle postseason run was coming to an end settled over AT&T Stadium. Aaron Harrison, college basketball’s darling, missed the three he’s been hitting the past three games, and instead of a dog pile at center court, the team walked slowly off, confetti drifting slowly off their jerseys. The saddest one of all? Aaron, who put his hands on his head and squeezed his eyes shut to stop the tears.
The cruelest thing about tonight’s loss? Simple mistakes cost Kentucky the game. They were 13-24 from the free throw line, compared to UConn’s perfect 10-10 mark. Kentucky had been so reliable from the charity stripe in the postseason until tonight, a telling sign that they were mentally and physically fatigued. They couldn’t finish drives, got outrebounded, and lost most of those crucial 50/50 balls Cal preaches about. Even during their runs in the second half, Kentucky was unable to take the lead. Simply put, this team was done.
Even UConn’s Shabazz Napier (who was spectacular) said that he noticed UK was tired: “Them guys got a little winded, and we just took advantage.” Cal said fatigue and nerves were a factor, especially for Randle in the first half: “He’s a freshman and he was anxious. That was the National Championship in front of 17 zillion people and he ran up and down the court three times and he got winded. It’s normal.”
What went wrong? As much as we’d like to, we can’t blame the rumors that Cal was going to the Lakers. Cal shot them down in the postgame press conference, telling reporters he wasn’t even going to dignify that stuff with a response. Further, he said that he was not aware of Rex’s tweet until after the game, nor were the players. Mitch Barnhart confirmed that Cal will return, and there have been no talks about his job status.
Image @USATSportsImage
Amid the tears (and there were plenty of tears), the players were asked whether or not they’d return next season. Most refused to answer and said they couldn’t focus on that at the moment, but Willie Cauley-Stein said that while he hasn’t decided about the NBA yet, part of him thinks “Why not stay until they make me leave?” The loss is doubly cruel for Willie, who could have had a huge impact in this game, but was forced to watch from the sidelines. He echoed his comments from after the Robert Morris loss last season, and said he can “definitely” imagine coming back: “To me, there’s still emptiness to fill.”
Before you get too hopeful, remember that Archie Goodwin said something similar last year.
(Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Was tonight painful? Yes. But don’t let it ruin what has been a truly magical run. When everyone had given up on them, this team stormed back and proved them wrong, looking like a team of destiny until the final minutes. Calipari opened his postgame press conference by telling reporters that even in defeat, he is proud of this team, the best group of kids he’s ever coached:
“I’m proud of these guys, and we had our chances to win. That game stayed a one-point game. We’re missing shots, we’re missing free throws and we hung in there. These kids never gave up.”James Young agreed, saying that the thing he’ll remember most about this team was its fighting spirit:
“That we really fought, no matter what, no matter how much we were down. We just kept our heads up and just kept fighting for each other.”Randle said this team is special, and he hates that it ended like this:
“This group of guys are special. We have been through a lot this season. How we kept fighting and we were able to make this run just says a lot about the guys. I just hate that it ended like this.”It all comes back to Aaron, the star of the story who vowed the Cats still had left in them a month ago. With red and puffy eyes, Aaron told reporters that he is hanging onto the happiness that comes with being part of ”one of the greatest runs in college basketball history.”
His brother Andrew sums it up best: “This loss, it hurts really bad. But it’s nothing compared to what we accomplished.”
