Excitement Grows as UK Begins Practice
This season could be epic for the Kentucky Wildcats. And listening to Coach John Calipari talk about this year's team, you can sense that even he has to strain to temper his enthusiasm.
That’s right. Calipari, the same coach who in only two years at Kentucky has seen nine players drafted by NBA teams, seven of them in the first round. Calipari, whose two-year record at UK is 64-12 with two SEC tournament championships, one regular season SEC title, a 7-2 NCAA tournament record and a Final Four berth.
Yes, the guy who over the past decade has surrounded himself with arguably more talent than any other coach in his profession—that guy knows he has something extraordinary (maybe unprecedented) on his hands this season in Lexington, and he’s having a hard time containing it.
Check out the video below, courtesy of coachcal.com, and listen to how Cal talks about this team and the way they are practicing. Keep in mind that work outs just started in the past couple days.
http://cdn.coachcal.com/videos-2010/where-it-all-begins.ogv
It’s hard to blame him. On paper, this could be among the most talented and potential-rich Kentucky rosters of all time. And that is saying something. The 1995-1996 national title winners had nine players who eventually played NBA ball (not counting Scott Padgett who was academically ineligible that year). Cal’s first UK team (2009-2010) may one day have as many as eight, including five first rounders.
This year’s team could be as deep as either of them. After adding four McDonald’s All-Americans to a solid nucleus of returning talent, the ceiling is high. One can easily foresee Darius Miller, Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb, Marquis Teague, Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Kyle Wiltjer all playing for pay some day. And this says nothing of the bench, which is littered with highly touted, but mostly unrealized potential.
One thing is for sure, this team will be tall, fast and athletic. And judging by Calipari’s early season comments, anything short of a national title this season will be a disappointment.
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