At Kentucky, however, most eyes don’t focus on spring football, or baseball, despite the Wildcats 30-3 start and #1 national ranking.  Our focus remains on one sport--basketball.  365 days a year, 24/7, it´s all basketball.

With a national championship in hand, and a week to celebrate, attention now turns to recruiting.  Under John Calipari, the Wildcats have brought in the best recruiting classes in the nation the past three years, but with that bonanza of talented players comes much roster churn, and never so much as this year.  It is highly likely that Kentucky will lose its top six players to the NBA draft, and virtually certain to lose its top two.

Anthony Davis will certainly leave, and why wouldn’t he?  Most draft projections have him slated as the top pick and it simply makes no sense for him to come back, as delicious as that prospect would be to Kentucky fans. 

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist hinted late in the season that he may want to return, but he is projected as the second pick in most mock drafts, so my hunch is that Calipari will strongly urge the freshman to make the leap to the NBA.

Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones both returned after last year with the intent to improve their draft status, and most likely have.  I don’t see any scenario that either of them return.  Darius Miller is a senior, which leaves the only possible returnee being point guard Marquis Teague.

Teague could certainly benefit from another year in college, but if NBA teams are waving a fat contract in front of him, it’s hard to see why he would return.  Teague’s brother plays for the Atlanta Hawks, so Teague has perhaps a different perspective when getting advice on what to do than many other players.  Still, I think the chances are less than 50-50 that Teague returns which would leave the Cats without any of their top six players from this year.

With that said, this is Kentucky, and we have John Calipari, and other programs don’t.  We don’t rebuild, we reload.

Which leads us to tonight, the eve of the next signing period.  Two of UK’s prime targest, Nerlens Noel and Shabazz Muhammad, are set to announce their college picks tomorrow night on ESPN.  The bottom line is this-if the Cats sign both of them to go along with signees Archie Goodwin, Ryan Harrow and Alex Poythress-Kentucky will be primed to repeat in 2013.  Even if UK gets just one of the “big 2”, they should be a top-5 team next year.

Another target of Calipari is Connecticut senior Alex Oriakhi who is transferring from the Huskies due to their NCAA tournament ban next season.  Oriakhi would be immediately available and brings the experience not only of a senior but one who won a national title under UCONN’s Jim Calhoun two seasons ago. Oriakhi is friends with Nerlens, and the two have apparently talked about the possibility of playing together next season.

Needless to say, the next couple of days could be huge for the Wildcats.  While the NCAA has set a ridiculous deadline of tomorrow for underclassmen to declare for the NBA draft, the NBA’s deadline is April 29-so don’t be surprised if several players announce they are coming back and then opt to leave.  It’s yet another example of the NCAA NOT putting student-athletes first.

Whatever happens, the Wildcats look primed to have another great year next season under John Calipari!  Go Cats!

Doron Lamb led all scorers with 22 points, but the player of the game and the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player was Anthony Davis.  While Davis scored just 6 points, Davis dominated both ends of the court with 16 rebounds, 6 blocks, 5 assists, and 3 steals while holding Kansas 7-footer Jeff Withey to just 5 points on 2-of-8 shooting.

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 11 points after suffering what looked to be a shoulder injury early in the game on a hard foul while at the same time making Jayhawk Tyshawn Taylor shoot just 8-of-17 from the field for a quiet 19 points.   Terrence Jones added 9 points and 7 rebounds while senior Darius Miller had 5 points and 6 rebounds.

As a team, Kentucky held the Jayhawks to just 35.5% shooting while dominating the glass in the first half.  UK set a record for most blocks as a team in a Final Four game with 11, passing last year’s UCONN team.  In addition, Kentucky finished with a 38-2 record, tying Memphis for the most wins in a season but setting a record for the most wins from the national champions.

Kentucky has now won 8 national championships in four different decades and under five different coaches.  Since UCLA won their 11^th title, UK has won three, and the Wildcats should be ranked top five nationally again next year.

Coach John Calipari won his first championship after four Final Four appearances with three different schools.

But there is also nervous anticipation-the kind that comes from knowing without a doubt that the Wildcats are the best team in the nation – that they deserve to win it all – but knowing that the Kansas Jayhawks want it just as much, and, though they may not be as talented, certainly have the ability to take what UK fans believe is rightfully theirs.

I’m also feeling a little nostalgic.  I’m in my 40’s, and although I grew up in Southern Indiana, my blood is as Blue as it gets.  My dad was a Kentucky fan for most of his life, and I got my love for the Wildcats because of him, but something changed in his later years.  He became convinced that Coach Rupp was racist, and it turned him away from the Cats.  I didn’t realize this until later in life, and tried unsuccessfully to combat this notion that has no basis in fact. 

We had friends of the family that were really close, however, so close I called them aunt and uncle.  They were season ticket holders, graduates of UK, and as Blue as Blue gets.  They kept the Blue flame alive in me, much to the chagrin of my parents, who turned to the hometown Louisville Cardinals to follow.

The first Wildcat team I really remember following was the 1974-75 team that ended Indiana’s undefeated season in the Mideast Regional finals but lost the national title game to UCLA.  I remember being so proud of Wildcat Mike Flynn, who was from my hometown of Jeffersonville, Indiana. 

I remember the 1978 team that won the NCAA title over Duke.  Like many young Wildcat fans of the time, I copied Kyle Macy’s routine every time I shot a free throw, even though it didn’t help me nearly as much as it did him!

I remember suffering through the early 80’s and watching Indiana and Louisville winning two national titles each.  Even though UK had some terrific teams in that era, including the 1984 Final Four team featuring the Twin Towers (Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin), I often wondered to myself whether the Cards and Hoosiers had passed my Cats by, especially after the debacle that was the Dream Game in Knoxville that saw the Cats fall to Louisville.

I remember heated arguments with my brother, a U of L fan, because neither one of us was mature enough or smart enough to understand that basketball isn’t worth arguing about, but that we could both co-exist as fans of heated rivals.

I remember the dark years, the sadness and anger that followed the disaster that Eddie Sutton visited on the program, landing Kentucky on probation, nearly getting the so-called death penalty, and the national disgust and ridicule that was heaped upon us, and deservedly so.  I remember the day the sanctions came out and feeling like I was at a funeral…but I also remember the elation I felt when Rick Pitino was brought in to resurrect the program back from the depths.

I knew Pitino would turn things around, but I never dreamed he would do it so quickly.  That 14-14 year of 1989-90 was one of the most fun seasons I remember, even though the Cats weren’t even on live TV.  It wasn’t that they were great-they certainly weren’t, but it was the fight that they had that made me happy.  In a season where the most optimistic forecasts were a six-win season, those Wildcats were already clawing their way back.

The next season the Cats rose to 22-6, but were still banned from post-season play, but it set up one of the most Unforgettable seasons in UK history, one that left me weeping as Duke’s Christian Laettner ended perhaps the best game in college basketball history with a miraculous shot that has been shown countless times since.

Then there was the national championship in 1996 with Tony Delk, Walter McCarty, Ron Mercer, Derek Anderson, and company.  Like this season, there was little doubt about UK being the best team in the country.  The comparisons don’t end there.  Like now, the Cats were a perfect 16-0 in the SEC yet lost in the SEC tournament championship game.  That team also suffered just one regular season loss and then avenged it in the NCAA tournament.  They were arguably one of the best teams to ever wear the Kentucky uniform.

And they probably would have won it all again in 1997 if it weren’t for the knee injury to Derek Anderson - which would have led to the rare three-peat, as the Wildcats won it all again in 1998 under new coach Tubby Smith led by Jeff Shepherd.

When Tubby left, the Wildcats again faced dark times with new coach Billy Gillespie.  It takes a special person to coach at Kentucky, and it was obvious early on that the job simply overwhelmed Gillespie, who was fired after two seasons.

Again, the program was in need of a charge to put it back where it belonged, and they found it in John Calipari.

While many national media types groaned at the hire due to Calipari’s two vacated Final Four seasons, a closer look at both of those incidents show that Calipari was not implicated in either, and the Kentucky administration decided it was OK to hire him, and the rest is history.

What Calipari has accomplished in his first three seasons is astounding.  35-3 in his first year and an Elite Eight appearance, 29-9 last season and a Final Four appearance, and now 37-2 and playing in the national championship game - simply amazing!

There are those who don’t like the recruiting strategies of Calipari, but that’s not his fault-talk to the NCAA and the NBA about that.  His results speak for themselves.

Win or lose tonight, this season has been one for the ages.  37 wins breaks the school record for wins.  Anthony Davis has been the most dominant player in a generation, nearly sweeping all of the national awards and a lock to be the top pick in the upcoming NBA draft.  Though young, these Cats play with a fire and passion not seen in many years.

Seasons like this don’t come along very often.  1996 was one of them.  1978 was another.  After that, take your pick, but you see the trend.  Seasons like this come along once in a generation.  They are the seasons you remember forever, seasons that raise banners, and seasons that families talk about for their lifetimes.

Kentucky basketball is an emotional thing to those who call it their passion.  It’s more than a basketball game, and those on the outside looking in don’t quite understand that.

It’s like a family.  We mourn its losses, including legends such as Coach Rupp and Bill Keightley.  We also weep with joy at its triumphs.  We feel empty when the season ends, and nervously watch the recruiting circuit to see who our next family member will be, and then we welcome them into the family as if they were sons, no matter where they come from.

Wildcat basketball is bigger than one coach, one player, or one team.  It’s the fabric that binds families, communities, and a Commonwealth.  It permeates every corner of Kentucky and is followed all over the world.  This is who we are, this is what we do.

This is Kentucky basketball.

Doron Lamb had 10 points, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 9 in just 23 minutes of play due to foul trouble, and Marquis Teague had 8 points to go along with 5 assists.

After the Cardinals took an early 2-0 lead, Kentucky went on an 8-0 run to force a timeout by Louisville, and the Wildcats never trailed again in the game.  Kentucky built a lead as big as 10 points three different times in the first half, but Louisville wouldn’t go away and UK led 35-28 at the half despite shooting 60% to just 37% for the Cardinals.

The Cats looked like they might pull away early in the second half as they built their largest lead of the game at 45-32 with 16 minutes to play in the game, and led 46-34 at the under `15 TV timeout.   Louisville held the Wildcats scoreless for the next 5 minutes, however, and went on a 15-3 run to tie the score at 49-49 with 8:45 to play.

Kentucky then responded with back to back baskets by Kidd-Gilchrist to push the lead back to 53-49.  Louisville cut the lead to 53-51 with 7:34 left, but a 7-0 run over the next 4:23 pushed the lead to 60-51 and the game got no closer than five the rest of the way.

Wildcat fans have to be thrilled by the way the Cats responded to the Louisville run late in the second half.  Hats off to Louisville-they did everything they had to do to keep this game close.  Not only did they dictate the pace, but their pressure defense forced 14 turnovers and it also bothered the Kentucky backcourt much of the game.  The Cardinals pounded the glass and out rebounded the Cats 16-5 on the offensive glass.

Yet, with all of that, when Louisville made their run to tie the game at 49-49, the Wildcats did what they have done so many times this season – they swatted away a pesky opponent and used their dominant talent to win.  Simply put, the Cards were outmanned and Kentucky just had too many weapons for them.

Certainly, there were some troubling things in this game…Terrence Jones disappeared again for much of the game, but unlike previous games, when challenged by Coach Calipari, Jones responded and got some huge rebounds down the stretch.  Kidd-Gilchrist struggled with foul trouble, partially thanks to unexplainable charge calls, and he suffered what was called a “quad injury.”  He returned after the injury and looked fine, however, and was huge down the stretch.

In beating the Cardinals, the Wildcats are now 37-2 on the year and have set a new school record for wins, eclipsing the 1947-48 team who was 36-3.

As has been the case all season, this was a total team effort, and the Wildcats were not to be denied.  It was a gritty performance over a determined, tough foe.  Kentucky will now play Monday night for their eighth national championship, and I believe they will win it no matter who they play on Monday.

This team has a will to win and a toughness that I didn’t think existed in December.  They will not be denied.

Go Cats!

After falling behind 10-5 at the 16:20 mark of the first half, the Cats went on a 16-0 run over the next five minutes that essentially sealed the game as the Bears would never get the lead under double digits the rest of the game.  UK outscored Baylor 37-12 over the final 16 minutes of the first half to take a 42-22 lead at the break.

Baylor made a mini-run in the second half after Anthony Davis collided knees with Baylor's Perry Jones III and left the game grimacing in obvious pain and the largely partisan UK crowd at the Georgia Dome in an anxious, collective silence.  While Davis would return and play the majority of the second half, Baylor's defensive pressure and Davis being hampered coupled with less-than-stellar free throw shooting allowed the Bears to cut the lead to as little as 11 with 1:12 to play, but that was as close as they would get.

Doron Lamb also had 14 points while Terrence Jones pitched in 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists.  Darius Miller and Marquis Teague each had 8 points and 3 assists as the Wildcats ran their overall record to 36-2 overall which ties the 1947-48 Wildcats for most ever and, more importantly, moved the Cats to within two wins of winning their eighth national championship.

On Friday, the Wildcats avenged their only regular season loss with an exciting 102-90 win over the Indiana Hoosiers.  The game was a sprint by both teams from the opening tip and the offensive fireworks started.  Jones scored the first five points for the Wildcats and UK raced out to a 29-20 advantage midway through the first half, but Davis and Indiana's Cody Zellers were hampered by foul trouble which opened up the middle for both teams.  The Hoosiers battled back to take a 43-39 lead with 3:33 to play in the half but Kentucky ended the half on an 11-4 run to claim a 50-47 lead.

Indiana scored the first basket of the second half to cut the lead to 1, but UK went on a 9-2 run over the next three minutes to take a 59-51 lead and the Hoosiers never got closer than 5 the rest of the game.

Kidd-Gilchrist had one of his best games as a Wildcat with 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead five players in double figures.  Doron Lamb had 21 points, Miller had 19, Marquis Teague had 14 points and 7 assists, and Terrence Jones had 12 points.  Davis had 9 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks while playing just 25 minutes due to foul trouble.

While the Cats struggled at times to stop the Hoosiers, Kentucky had its most prolific offensive production since the first game of the year when they scored 108 points against Marist.  UK shot just 48% from the field, but made an NCAA tournament record 35-of-37 free throws.

The win over Baylor sets up an all-Kentucky national semifinal matchup as the Wildcats will face arch-rival Louisville on Saturday at the Superdome in New Orleans.  While UK beat the Cardinals 69-62 in December, the game was not an easy one and UK will have it's hands full with a much-improved Louisville team in order to advance to the national championship game.

A few notes...

• UK's four game average scoring was 88 points per game, 11 points over their season average of 77 PPG.  Their average margin of victory was 13.5 PPG.
• This is Kentucky's 15th appearance in the Final Four, tied with Duke for third place all time behind North Carolina and UCLA.  The other participants also have a rich history in the Final Four: Kansas (14 appearances), Ohio State (11), and Louisville (9).
• Between them, the four schools in the Final Four have 13 national titles with UK leading the pack with 7.  Kansas has 3, Louisville has 2, and Ohio State has 1.
• Saturday's matchup will be only the fourth time in Final Four history that two schools from the same state have played each other.

We will have more on the colossal game to come as the week progresses.  Until then, Go Cats!

Kentucky will now get a rematch with the Indiana Hoosiers on Friday night in the Georgia Dome for the opportunity to advance to the South Region finals.

It can be safely said that there was no lingering effect from the lackluster performance at the SEC Tournament last weekend.  While many Cats fans fretted over the lack of urgency against LSU and the loss to Vanderbilt, all was forgotten as Kentucky raced out to an 8-0 lead over Western.  The Hilltoppers fought back, but a pair of runs by the Cats in the last 10 minutes of the first half gave UK a 45-26 halftime advantage and they never looked back.

UK surged to a 32 point lead at 74-42 with a little less than nine minutes left in the game en route to their 33^rd win of the season.  Terrence Jones continued his string of excellent play and went 9-of-13 from the field to lead four Wildcats in double figures with 22 points while collecting 10 rebounds for a double-double.  Doron Lamb had 16 points as did Anthony Davis while Marquis Teague had 12 points.

Overall, it was exactly the kind of performance expected by the #1 overall seed over a 16-seed, and after the SEC Tournament disappointment, it was exactly what UK needed.  In rolling the Hilltoppers in the fashion they did, UK also quieted most doubters who were questioning what was wrong with the team after the SEC Tournament.

On Saturday, the Wildcats were also impressive in defeating Iowa State.  While many in the national media, including Bobby Knight and Digger Phelps, thought UK may get beat, Kentucky denied any naysayers a reason to question them after thoroughly dismantling the Cyclones. 

Teague had his best game as a Wildcat and led all scorers with 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting while also handing out 7 assists.  Darius Miller had 19 points while Doron Lamb had 16 on 5-of-7 from beyond the arc.  Anthony Davis had 15 points and 12 rebounds while Jones had 8 points and 11 rebounds while getting three assists and two blocked shots.

In all, this was perhaps the best game the Wildcats have played all season, and Kentucky head coach John Calipari said as much after the game.  Cats fans and the Wildcats had the arena rocking in what has been described as one of the loudest NCAA tournament venues ever by national media. 

Now its off to the Sweet Sixteen and a rematch with the Indiana Hoosiers.  I’ll talk more about this game as the week goes on, but we all know that until the Vanderbilt loss the Hoosiers were the sole black mark on an otherwise amazing season.  Indiana is good.  Tom Crean is a great coach and a good friend of Calipari’s.  The Hoosiers have one of the great traditions in college basketball, and the game is better when they are good.  In another year or two, they could be legitimate national title contenders.

But not this year.  Kentucky players have been mad since getting beat in December, and they have been reminded of it countless times in an ESPN commercial.  Revenge can be a great motivator, but that won’t be the only one.  I believe this UK team is one of destiny and am as confident as I have ever been that they will cut the nets down in two weeks.  There’s just something about their makeup-they are warriors, competitors, and genuinely look at their teammates as their brothers.

UK opened as a 9 point favorite.  I don’t think it will be that close.  Indiana won’t beat Kentucky.

And neither will anyone else.  Go Cats!

• The Associated Press announced the winners of the Southeastern Conference post-season awards on Monday and Kentucky swept the top places on the list.  Anthony Davis was named the Player of the Year and the Newcomer of the Year while John Calipari was named the SEC Coach of the Year.  Michael Kidd-Gilchrist joined Davis on the All-SEC First team while Terrence Jones made the Second Team.  Congratulations to the Wildcats and Coach Cal on well-deserved honors.

• Western Kentucky and Mississippi Valley State will play Tuesday night right here in Dayton for the right to play Kentucky on Thursday.  In what is sure to be a great experience, President Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron are not only attending the game, but will also meet both teams.  I am certainly biased because I live in Dayton, but I can tell you that the Dayton area is very excited to be hosting the First Four.  UD Arena is a great venue for basketball that seats about 12,000 and the Flyer fanbase is passionate.  The ties to Kentucky are obvious for WKU given its an in-state school, but Mississippi Valley State also has a tie to the state.  Former Wildcat Sean Woods is the head coach and has done an incredible job in turning the program around.  Woods was a member of the 1991-92 team dubbed the “Unforgettables” and was the player who hit the running shot over Duke that lead to Christian Laettner’s now infamous shot to beat Kentucky in the regional final.  It’s hard to decide who to pull for more here.  UK will crush either one of them, but I lean toward supporting the Hilltoppers since they are in-state.

• Kentucky is still the #1 team in the land according to both major polls.  Unlike previous weeks, first place votes in the AP poll also went to Syracuse (1), Missouri (2), and North Carolina (1) while in the Coaches poll UK received all but one first place vote while Mizzou got the other.  Polls are great, but at this point they mean nothing, which is the beauty of college basketball.  The GAMES decide the champion, not polls and computers!

That’s all I have for this morning.  We will break down UK’s bracket tomorrow once their second round opponent is set.

Go Cats!

1.  While disappointed that the Cats didn’t close the deal and keep momentum going by beating Vandy, the loss isn’t the end of the world.  As we all know, the 1996 Wildcats had a very similar path in the regular season-early season loss, undefeated SEC season, and then a loss to Mississippi State in the SEC finals.  That team steamrolled to the NCAA tournament.

2.  With that said, the loss is also a little troubling.  Before the game, Coach Calipari talked about the team’s swagger turning into arrogance and wanting to prevent that.  During all three games, Calipari railed against the team in ways unseen to this point in the season.  Calipari and Darius Miller were clearly not on the same page against LSU and Florida.  Something wasn’t right in any of the three games, and that’s cause for concern.

3.  On the other hand, I would hate to be either Western Kentucky or Mississippi Valley State in Thursday’s first round of the NCAA.  The team’s demeanor after the loss was clearly angry by all accounts, and I expect that to be taken out on whoever the Wildcats play in the first round.

4.  UK wasn’t the only top team to take it on the chin during championship week.  Syracuse, North Carolina, and Kansas all took losses in their conference tournament. 

5.  Losing to Vanderbilt is nothing to be ashamed of.  The Commodores played the Wildcats tougher than any other league opponent and probably should have beaten the Cats in Nashville.  Vanderbilt was a preseason top-10 team and underperformed during the regular season, but appear to have turned the corner.  It’s possible the Commodores wanted this one more than the Cats, as tears were flowing – from Vanderbilt players – after the win.

6.  Speaking of wanting it more, is it possible that the UK players were simply reflecting Calipari’s downplaying of the SEC Tournament?  I get that Kentucky has one main goal which is to win title number eight, but I’m not sure how much you can expect from your team when the head coach constantly says how unimportant it is to win.  Calipari may be technically correct-winning or losing wasn’t going to change UK’s seed up or down.  But I have a major issue with Calipari’s vocal harping on how unimportant the conference tourney is.

We’ll be back with a preview of UK’s tournament game on Thursday after tomorrow’s games, which I will be attending in Dayton.  Go Cats!

Davis also had 12 rebounds for a double-double while Jones pulled down 9 and Kidd-Gilchrist had 8 as UK win their 24th straight game and ran their record to 32-1.

Florida led by as many as 10 points in the first half but a 10-2 run over the final 5:09 of the half was capped off by a three pointer by Anthony Davis with 15 seconds left lifted UK to a 40-39 lead.  After the intermission the Gators promptly took the lead again and led by as much as 5 with 10:21 to play, but UK put together a 14-0 run over the next seven minutes and never trailed again. 

Yet again, the game was another example of the Wildcats being tough down the stretch with the game on the line.  Terrence Jones has now strung together several nice performances and Teague rebounded from a less than ideal game Friday night to play very well against the Gators. 

Perhaps the only concern that has arisen is Darius Miller.  The senior guard has averaged just 15 minutes per game in the tournament and has not scored. 

Kentucky will now face Vanderbilt tomorrow for the SEC tournament title.  Vandy has gone 61 years without a tournament title, but UK will be going for the 28th tournament championship in school history.  Tip off is at 1:00 p.m. on ABC.