Two post-game quotes, courtesy of ESPN’s Chris Low, jumped out at us after the UK-UGA game Wednesday night. The first, from John Calipari, seems to indicate that Kentucky is putting itself in position to sign a few impact players in the late recruiting period (as if we ever doubted this). The second, from John Wall, is just a reminder that Wall is a money player and he knows it…perhaps more than anyone.

From Cal:

“Each situation is different, but I’ll sit down and be honest with every one of them [Wall, Cousins, Patterson, Bledsoe]. In most cases, you know what I’m going to say, because I’ve done it my whole career and then we’ll go back and better sign four or five more guys. Hopefully, they’re as good as the group we just brought in. And then after that, we’ll try to bring in four or five more. It’s a different day and age. You don’t have guys for three and four years.”

From Wall, on criticism of his shooting ability:

“I’ve been hearing that, but I can make shots when it’s time to make shots. I might not make them the whole game, and I might not be the best shooter there is in the country. But I can make shots when it’s time to make shots.”

Another big road test for the Cats faced and overcome.

The nation is well aware of the talent and potential of Kentucky. Most are also well aware of how deadly this team could be on any given night. But it seems there is a general disregard for the accomplishments thus far of this UK team, and a lack of overall respect for the quality of the SEC, as well.

The BBL thinks America should take Kentucky’s record for granted at its own risk. Winning in Athens is no small task. Yeah, Georgia has a losing record and no, they aren’t a postseason threat of any sort. But this is a team with a 13-3 home record that claims more quality wins than most teams in America (wins over Georgia Tech, Illinois, Vandy, Tennessee and Florida).

True, Georgia showed its immaturity and started to completely fold in the second half under heavy UK defensive pressure, but this was not an easy place to go into and win in convincing fashion. This was a solid road performance for Kentucky, regardless of what you might hear elsewhere in the national media.

Here our some of our thoughts in this first of two game summaries on UK’s solid 80-68 victory over Georgia.

John Wall found his stroke a bit Wednesday, hitting three of his first four threes and showing that he can make you pay for leaving him open on the perimeter. His first half left-handed dunk was absolutely stupefying. Overall, Wall showed great leadership and demonstrated that he has learned when to slow it down and when to push it. We are starting to change our minds about his progress…he is getting better.

Maybe the loss to Tennessee really was what this team needed to wake up out of the poor shooting funk they’ve been in. A 52% first half really set the tone and showed a short memory.

The return of Darnell Dodson was a beautiful thing to witness. We said here that DD’s body was wearing down and we were worried about his ability to contribute in March. Dodson showed his trademark lack of conscience and kept shooting even after a rough start. This is the kind of fearlessness UK needs to make a run, as his scoring provides another deadly weapon for defenses to respect.

Patrick Patterson continued his late season surge with another double-double, pulling in 10 rebounds to go with his 17 points. PP is the glue right now, and we think as he goes, so goes UK.

There is a lot that can be said right now about Eric Bledsoe. The guy has all the talent in the world, but just simply hasn’t been able to put it together for long stretches. His decision making is abysmal and the turnovers are bound to cost Kentucky at a critical moment. We still look forward eagerly to what he can do next year, but right now, sometimes Bledsoe is a liability to this team.

Coach Calipari threatened to play the bench more and followed through, giving valuable minutes to Ramon Harris, Perry Stevenson and Josh Harrellson, who all acquitted themselves nicely. Having upperclassmen contribute like these three is a total bonus. Harris and Stevenson looked really active and found their way into some rebounds and a putback or two. It’s clear that their legs are fresh due to the limited minutes they’ve seen this year. In all, the Kentucky bench dropped a season high 24 points.

Travis Leslie is seriously one of the top five college dunkers of all time. Hands down. No other way to put it. However, he struggled against UK’s length and athleticism, and had trouble with Darius Miller in particular.

DeMarcus Cousins had a mostly quiet night, relatively speaking. But his steal, open court handle and drive to the hoop with a left handed finish was a sign of the once in a generation potential this guy possesses. In a season of amazing highlights for Big Cuz, that was about as amazing as anything.

The Cats put together an absolute block party tonight, swatting 14 shots and showing that you simply can’t bring it into the lane on this team.

Oh, and also, once again, basketball royalty was in attendance Wednesday night, as the bread truck himself, Mr. Charles Barkley watched the Cats and Dogs get down.

We won’t jump to any conclusions after watching Kentucky fall to Tennessee 74-65 Saturday afternoon in Knoxville.

Sure, there are plenty of eyebrow raisers about the way Kentucky played. But all in all, this was not an extremely damaging loss. The Cats may drop a spot in the polls, but nothing more. Their No. 1 seed resume wasn’t tarnished, and they still have two more chances to clinch an SEC regular season championship.

Nonetheless, the BBL offers our thoughts on Saturday’s loss.

Why They Lost
The primary reason for Kentucky’s defeat is a very simple one. The Cats shot the ball woefully from start to finish.

You won’t win many games when you shoot 2 for 22 from beyond the three-point arc and 35% from the field overall. You also won’t win many games on the road against ranked opponents when you get behind by as many as 19 points in the second half.

The fact that Kentucky tied the game and was in a position to possibly win it is, if anything, a testament to the fight in this group. And don’t believe any of the pundits who will try to say that UK crawled back into this game on talent alone.

Kentucky played excellent halfcourt defense in the game’s final 15 minutes, rebounded well and showed a combination of determination and heart that is frankly rare for a team led by underclassmen. Couple this with the fact that UK was playing an early Saturday game on the road after a late game Thursday night, and it really is remarkable how it all went down.

But let’s also give some credit to Tennessee and coach Bruce Pearl. The Vols defended well and executed another well devised gameplan of slowing the tempo and looking for scoring options late on each shot clock. They got good contributions from 10 different players, and really played unselfishly, getting some great interior passes for buckets late in the game.

Cause for Concern
No secret here. Kentucky has to find a way to knock down perimeter jumpers.

They will be zoned relentlessly by every opponent from here on out. Good decision making from John Wall and UK’s ability to attack the offensive glass will help, but at some point, someone has to step up and make defenses respect UK from outside.

At times, we thought Eric Bledsoe, Darius Miller or Darnell Dodson could be the guy to do it. But this has just not panned out. Dodson has faded badly. His body seems worn out and he doesn’t have the same quickness on his release. He’ll need to get stronger next year if he is to become a big time scoring option. Miller, while hitting only one of five from three, stepped up and scored some big baskets during the Cats big second half push. Bledsoe chipped in nine points and five boards, but was hot and cold for most of the day.

Unfortunately, John Calipari decided not to give DeAndre Liggins a lot of good minutes. Liggins made a nice move to the hoop and hit a runner early in the game, but was essentially not heard from the rest of the game. We’d like to see him get a few more of Bledsoe’s minutes, given Eric’s poor shooting and penchant for turnovers.

Signs of Promise
All in all, the Cats performance wasn’t too far off what has become the median—another double double from DeMarcus Cousins, a solid yeoman performance from Patrick Patteson and spectacular plays and heady leadership from Wall. It was mostly the supporting cast that left a lot to be desired.

Perhaps one of the most encouraging takeaways from the Tennessee loss came in a one line quote from Wall after the game. “Just imagine two weeks from now, if we lost this game, our season’s over with,” he told reporters.

It’s hard to make a big deal about such a small comment. But the BBL thinks this speaks volumes about where this young team’s mindset is. These Cats are not motivated by a desire to do anything less than win the national championship. And their gutty comeback—spurred by Wall’s intensity—reflected this sentiment.

Tennessee is a deep and talented team. They’ve beaten top ranked Kansas already this season, and showed they can play with anyone. UK shouldn’t hang their heads on this one. The Cats close out the regular season with a road date at Georgia and a home tilt with Florida. They’ll need a few days rest and a short memory. All goals remain intact and all possibilities are still open. The road only gets tougher from here.

And so, the Cats got their revenge. The 82-61 win over South Carolina Thursday night in front of packed Rupp Arena was mighty satisfying for a Kentucky team that continues to improve, gel personnel wise and find all sorts of lethal weapons with which to punish the opposition.

As usual, we offer you our thoughts on what’s developing with this special group of Wildcats.

First off, let us just say that Rupp Arena is becoming the place to be seen in college hoops. After hosting such illustrious spectators as LeBron James and Ashley Judd earlier this season, Ben Roethlisberger and Magic Johnson showed up to watch the Cats hoop Thursday night. Says a lot about the state of basketball in Lexington.

DeMarcus Cousins is ridiculous. The big man hasn’t even grown into his body yet, has very little vertical leap at this point, and yet he is already nearly unstoppable, showing amazing touch, a variety of moves and a fierce desire to score and dominate games. Enjoy him for another month, Cat fans, this guy will be taking his road show to NBA millions soon and, barring something unexpected, a long and fruitful pro career. Maybe HOF?

Darius Miller is back…again. When Darius gets a good start, he plays with confidence and is capable of knocking down any shot. UK will need this production big time in March.

We thought Patrick Patterson had completely disappeared just two weeks ago. We were wrong. PP is back in the NBA lottery pick hunt, and his soft hands and scoring ability are coming up big. He finally showed up with a nice all-around game against a South Carolina squad that had become his nemesis over the past couple seasons. That up and under move in the early second half when he scored with the left hand was the real deal.

One quick thought. Patterson and Cousins would be the starting power forward-center tandem for 20 NBA teams right now.

South Carolina made the game interesting at multiple points and remained within striking distance for far too long. But as has become customary with this team, you never really got the feeling that Kentucky was letting it slip away. It was just a matter of when the next big run would be. It’s that kind of confidence and swagger that separates this UK group from any other since the Pitino era.

DeAndre Liggins is flat out all over the court. Guy has become a totally different person. His length and lateral quickness make him a nasty defender and excellent garbage rebounder. He just gets better with every game. As much as the complexion of this team will change next season, the BBL can’t wait to see what happens when Liggins becomes a featured option. We’re calling it now. He’ll be an Evan Turner-esque stat stuffer and all-SEC standout next year.

John Wall is still the catalyst and it’s hard to find too much bad to say about him. But he and Eric Bledsoe are still too out of control. They push the ball when it doesn’t need to be. It makes us wonder if both of these superb talents being on the floor at the same time contributes to them pressing too hard. Next year, sans Wall, it will be interesting to see if Bledsoe can improve his grasp of game tempo. Right now, EB is sort of lost. His jumper is broken and his sense of awareness on the court is at a season low.

South Carolina is in good hands under coach Darrin Horn. They have some active, athletic big men who block shots and get a lot of buckets around the goal. If Horn can keep recruiting like he has, and word is his next class is top 25 caliber, then this team will be a force in the SEC East for the next few years.

If you doubted that the diminutive Devan Downey could play in the NBA, that pull up 35-foot jumper before halftime should probably make you think differently.

As we stated last week, sometimes Brad Nessler seems to be the superior analyst to Dick Vitale. Thursday night, a few possessions into the game, Vitale claimed that South Carolina had no answer for Cousins on the interior. To this, Nessler responded, “I don’t think anyone has an answer for that, Dick.”

Good win for the Cats. Now do the John Wall.

Yes, this is what you think it is. The John Wall dance now has an official rap song to go with it. It’s not too bad either.

Check out the video here:

Points for creative rhyming of Patterson and Cousins, among others.

As we said earlier in the year, stuff like this just serves as a reminder that Kentucky is back. And not a moment too soon.

Wow, what a war.

Kentucky pulled off a huge win Saturday night over Vanderbilt in a game characterized by rugged physical defense, poor shooting and high drama in the closing minutes.

As John Calipari said in the post-game interview, “that was an Elite Eight style game.” He was right. The atmosphere was about as intense as any in college hoops this year.

While Kentucky did not play a great game, this was the kind of gritty performance that championship teams are capable of displaying. Here are some of the BBL’s thoughts:

John Wall showed once again why he is everyone’s leading contender for player of the year. He did not have an excellent game, but par usual, he stepped up big time in the clutch hitting a go ahead basket and a free throw and blocking a would-be game-winning shot inside the final minute.

Unfortunately, Wall and Eric Bledsoe were just plain sloppy tonight, missing multiple opportunities to get the ball to DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson on the low block, while combining for five turnovers and a slew of poor shots. The maddening thing is that neither of these kids have shown a lot of progress in terms of learning to be more patient with the ball. This is probably the BBL’s single biggest criticism of Kentucky and Calipari at the moment.

The Cats dodged another bullet with regard to the referees’ leniency during the Eric Bledsoe blowup. A legitimate argument could be made for a flagrant foul or even an ejection, depending on the officials’ interpretation. As it was, Bledsoe was given a technical, as was Vandy’s Jeffrey Taylor, and no free throws were taken by either team. Bledsoe returned to the game three minutes later. He was largely ineffective, however, and showed a lot of immaturity in the game.

Kentucky is a different team when Patterson is involved in the offense and rebounding. His three point shot to put UK up three was enormous. It is just such a shame that somewhere along the line in the last couple years, PP lost some explosion. He still has a lot of raw power and can jump in traffic. But his two missed dunks vs. Vanderbilt were both critical. And these were not the first dunks he’s missed this year.

DeMarcus Cousins’ footwork is amazing. Drop steps, baseline spins, catlike quickness. Guy is the total package. Completely unstoppable on the block against a single defender. He absolutely must be double teamed.

Daniel Orton is an excellent outlet passer. He has great floor vision for a big man. His shot blocking, of course, continues to impress. If and when he polishes his offensive game and learns the difference between a good and a bad foul, he has All-American center written all over him. He is an abomination at the FT line right now, however.

A.J. Ogilvy couldn’t get a shot off against UK’s front line. In the mid first half, Orton swatted a running layup into the 10th row. A couple plays later, Cousins just completely denied him on a easy chip shot.

The BBL actually thinks it’s gotten to the point where Brad Nessler, as the play by play guy, is offering better in-game analysis than Dick Vitale. Nothing against Vitale. He knows the game and has been college basketball’s biggest ambassador, but at times he seems desperate to talk about matters unrelated or insignificant to the actual game. And of course, his thoughts and commentary seem to inevitably ramble their way to Duke.

John Wall still struggles a bit as a one on one defender, despite the great block. However, he’s one of the best help side defenders in the country, and he’s been taking some big charges in key moments lately.

Jeffrey Taylor is a potential future NBA star. Dude has a sick crossover, can shoot and has good overall athleticism. This comes in a 6-7 body.

Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings is one of the best in the business. He coached a near perfect game tonight. Excellent personnel rotation allowed him to keep Ogilvy on the floor after he’d picked up his fourth foul midway through the second half. Stallings also went to zone when Cousins came out of the game and threw some puzzling defensive looks at UK. His use of timeouts was also superb, as he iced UK foul shooters with great success late in the game. And of course, setting up the play that almost sent the game to OT was a work of brilliance and, for Kentucky fans, the stuff of nightmares with its resemblance to Christian Laettner’s turnaround jumper in ‘92.

Kentucky is now a near shoe-in for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, barring a complete collapse. Huge road win, and to anyone who watched, it served notice that this team just finds a way to keep winning.

Kentucky went into a hostile arena Tuesday night and, with the eyes of a national TV audience upon them, showed serious moxie in beating the Mississippi State Bulldogs 81-75 in overtime.

The game was officiated very closely, as both teams were called for a number of ticky-tack contact fouls from the start. MSU center Jarvis Varnado missed 16 minutes of the second half after picking up his second, third and fourth fouls right around the 18:00 minute mark.

With Varnado sitting most of the game, DeMarcus Cousins was a man child around the goal, finishing on a number of put back offensive rebounds. Unfortunately, he also was unable to play for long stretches due to foul trouble. Without him playing consistent minutes, UK once again struggled to score in the halfcourt set.

Thankfully for the Wildcats, Patrick Patterson decided to show up Tuesday, scoring 19 points and pulling in 10 boards. His highlights included a number of solid, low-post offensive moves as well as a game-tying jumper from the baseline that sent the game into overtime.

UK also received good play from Darius Miller in typical unsuspecting fashion. He made some huge shots in the second half, including a stretch of seven straight points at a time when the Cats had fallen behind by four.

MSU’s Dee Bost played a sensational game, seemingly driving by UK’s big men and scoring layups all night long. The Bulldogs also got clutch shooting from Barry Stewart and some key offensive rebound stick backs from Romero Osby.

As we’ve stated in the past, it’s obvious to the BBL that UK’s inexperienced guards will struggle significantly against veteran backcourts. They are easily pushed around when screened and routinely give up back door cuts due to a lack of concentration and focus. This is a recipe for disaster in a closely guarded and officiated NCAA tournament game.

Ultimately, Kentucky fought valiantly to win this game. The Cats outscored MSU 7-0 over the final three minutes of regulation, triggered by a huge three from DeAndre Liggins with about 2:00 to play. In overtime, UK’s size and depth overpowered MSU, which by that time was without Varnado, who had already fouled out.

We would be remiss not to mention that, as if on cue, John Wall became superman in the last two minutes of OT. Wall broke a 72-72 tie with a hanging, acrobatic layup, where he got fouled and hit the free throw to put UK up three. On MSU’s ensuing possession, he pinned a Bost layup attempt against the backboard to deny the Bulldogs a chance to get within one. Wall barely missed a triple-double on the night, ending up with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists.

Mississippi State also played their hearts out and kept the pressure on Kentucky by hitting some incredibly deep three pointers late in the game. The Bulldogs, desperately in need of a win to bolster their NCAA tournament resume, were playing without leading scorer Ravern Johnson who was suspended for breaking team rules.

UK was lucky to get out of Starkville with a win, proving how difficult it is to win on the road in a BCS conference. In fact, the BBL predicted a loss here earlier in the season. Now, at 25-1, Kentucky’s season is beginning to look historic. But Saturday’s game at Vanderbilt should be another huge challenge.

It’s now looking more and more likely that UK will receive a No. 1 seed in the tournament. This would be an absolutely tremendous achievement in Coach Calipari’s first season at UK.

And so the regular season comes down to this. The Kentucky Wildcats, 24-1 overall and 9-1 in the SEC, embark this week on a brutal six-game stretch that will test the mettle of this young team and go a long way toward dictating the fate of the 2009-10 season.

Four of the games will be on the road, and five out of the six come versus teams still deserving strong consideration for NCAA tournament bids. None figure to be cake walks.

Murderer’s row starts off Tuesday night in Starkville against a dangerous Mississippi State team that the BBL feels is one of the few squads in the nation not at a disadvantage athletically when matching up with the Cats. When breaking down the schedule earlier this season, we actually predicted a loss for Kentucky in this game. Though the Bulldogs have struggled this year, nothing changes in our assessment of how these teams match up.

Personnel at a Glance
MSU is a tall, rangy team with a lot of active leapers who will rebound, scrap and block shots. Defensively they are the best team in the conference in points allowed, and it all revolves around 6-9 center Jarvis Varnado, who is 16 blocks shy of the NCAA record.

Offensively, point guard Dee Bost has a quick first step and can get into the lane or pull up and hit outside jumpers. He’s coming off a huge game vs. Auburn where he scored 32 points and hit seven threes. State has a bevy of wing scorers in Phil Turner, Ravern Johnson and Barry Stewart, none of whom are scared to pull the trigger from long range.

They go about eight deep and have an assortment of good rebounders, starting with Varnado, who pulls down an SEC leading 11.3 per game.

Plan of Attack
Mississippi State will attempt to drive the lane early to loosen up Kentucky’s perimeter defense. If the Bulldogs can find creases in UK’s halfcourt defense, the Cats will need to watch for kick outs and be ready to close on three point shooters. None of State’s shooters need a lot of daylight to pull.

On the defensive side of the ball, MSU will likely follow the now standard blueprint for teams playing Kentucky and run a 2-3 matchup zone with Varnado manning the middle. Varnado is giving up a couple inches and about 30 pounds to DeMarcus Cousins, but with his condor like wingspan and uncanny timing, he will be a tough obstacle to shoot over for Cousins or any Wildcat who gets into the lane.

A big X-factor in this game could be MSU’s Kodi Augustus, a broad shouldered 6-8 power forward who can play out on the perimeter. He’ll likely draw Patrick Patterson away from the basket and look to slash.

All in all, it’s likely to be raining three point shots for most of the game, and if MSU’s outside jumpers are falling, they have a good shot to win.

BBL’s Take
Kentucky will be facing a hostile crowd in “Stark-Vegas” as the Bulldogs need this victory to put themselves squarely into the NCAA field of 65. MSU has struggled through the middle part of the SEC season, but hasn’t lost a conference home game since last year. Without question this will be the toughest road setting the Cats have played in up to this point.

Kentucky will need to get out to a good start and hope to get some transition buckets to silence a raucous crowd. State will try to take away the penetration of John Wall and Eric Bledsoe, but if the Cats can find a way to get the ball to the middle and pull Varnado away from the basket, they should find a lot of open looks.

UK will also need to attack the zone more effectively than they did against Tennessee last Saturday. This means Wall and Bledsoe being more patient with the ball and recognizing when they can draw two defenders at a time to find open gaps from the wing. If Kentucky has a good shooting night, they should escape with a huge conference road win and take another big step toward a top seed in the tourney.

The stage is set for a memorable night in Lexington, Kentucky.

If you didn’t see it, the Kentucky faithful created a scene this morning at ESPN’s College Gameday, putting 20,000 plus fans in Rupp Arena by 10 am.

Kentucky will meet Tennesee in less than an hour, in what should be one of the Cats stiffest tests, on paper, of the entire season. This is an excellent chance for the Cats to solidify their No. 1 seed resume in the eyes of the nation, and send a message to the rest of college basketball that they are for real.

Here are the keys to the game:

John Wall and Eric Bledsoe must make good decisions. One of the BBL’s concerns all year has been the mistake prone styles of the freshman backcourt duo. Sometimes it seems as if these two haven’t progressed very much with their ability to recognize what the defense is giving them. Both seem to have only one speed—turbo—and it has gotten them into trouble. If Wall and Bledsoe can manage tempo and take only what’s available on offense, Kentucky will be in good shape. Tennessee is sure to run some fullcourt pressure, but that could be a recipe for highlight reel, fast break funk for the Wildcats.

Kentucky will need to keep Tennessee from getting easy transition buckets and points in the paint. The Vols simply do not have a good shooting team. They have no pure shooters who can beat you consistently from deep. And their bigs are mostly finesse players. But they are long and athletic and have some guys who can slash and create shots around the rim. UT will likely pull Wayne Chism and Kenny Hall away from the basket on offense, and force DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson and Daniel Orton to defend on the perimeter. If Tennessee consistently penetrates and sends guys to the rim to crash the offensive glass, they could make things interesting.

Kentucky should work the low post on offense in every halfcourt set. There is currently no one in the college game with a back to the basket offensive game like Big Cuz. No one. UK should feed him early and often. Cousins is a good passing big man, too, and if he is doubled, UK could have a field day getting cutters open in the paint. The overall team size and rebounding ability of Kentucky will play an important role, too. This is the type of game where even Ramon Harris and Perry Stevenson could get some easy garbage buckets and layups as UT tries to collapse on Kentucky’s big men.

UK needs to show swagger and killer instinct. The Cats are confident. There will be a truly historic crowd on hand tonight and an environment capable of showing America the absolute height of college hoops excitement. The young Cats will need to overcome any early jitters and play with a sense of urgency and high energy. If they can build a big lead, we expect John Calipari to step on the gas to make a statement. There is no love loss between Coach Cal and Tennessee head man Bruce Pearl. This could be a golden opportunity for UK to show they can put even good team’s away.

BBL’s Take. Kentucky has every advantage. Tennessee plays an up-tempo pressing style. They want to run and showcase their athleticism. But they are lacking good ballhandlers and have no dead eye shooters. If they try to press UK into mistakes, they may see things get ugly, considering Kentucky’s track team personnel and what should be a raucous home crowd. If UT elects to slow it down and zone the Cats in a halfcourt game, DeAndre Liggins and Darnell Dodson will need to shoot well and the backcourt will need to keep mistakes to a minimum. We think even in this style of game, the Vols will struggle to score enough to win. We like the Cats chances of a big double digit victory, and frankly don’t see Tennessee being able to keep this one tight to the final horn. But stranger things have happened.

In the past 12 months Kentucky basketball has run the gamut of emotions in a way few programs (possibly in history) ever have. Reflecting on where the Big Blue Nation has been since this time last year requires a seat belt and a willing suspension of disbelief.

Approximately one year ago this week, Cat fans were riding high. Kentucky had re-entered the AP Top 25 on Jan. 26th for the first time all year on the back of a five-game winning streak to start SEC play and 11 victories in their past 12 tries, with the only loss coming on a last second shot at eventual Big East champion Louisville.

Rebirth or False Omen?
Just the week before, Kentucky had fired off a national salvo in an 18-point victory at highly regarded Tennessee. In that historic triumph, a primetime ESPN audience witnessed Jodie Meeks break Dan Issel’s single game school scoring record by dropping 54 points on 10 threes, an array of dazzling drives and a perfect 14-14 night from the free throw line.

At that moment, UK had seemingly exorcised the ugly legacy of the controversial Tubby Smith ouster, a string of embarrassing Rupp Arena losses to the likes of VMI and Gardner-Webb, and a general slide toward mediocrity over the last half decade.

Some pundits, who we will graciously neglect to mention here, even began touting Kentucky as an SEC title contender and a darkhorse Final Four threat. And at least for a week or two, the subtle, creeping rot of the now forgettable Billy G era still lay dormant and unseen.

A Black Hole
As tends to happen to programs rife with poor leadership and off-court drama, those happy times were short lived and in the ensuing eight weeks, the other shoe dropped…and dropped, and dropped again.

Without rehashing the dark days in great detail, suffice it to say that the 2008-‘09 Cats tanked, losing 8 of 11 games after debuting in the AP poll, fizzling out of the SEC tournament early and missing the NCAAs for the first time since the late ‘80s probation era. After an uninspiring double digit loss to Notre Dame in the NIT, Coach Billy Clyde was fired and Kentucky was left in a complete state of uncertainty.

How bad did it get? A promising incoming recruiting class began to reconsider their commitments. UK’s top candidate Billy Donovan publicly rejected any interest in the coaching vacancy, and leading scorers Patrick Patterson and Meeks openly weighed their NBA options. In addition, a costly and debilitating lawsuit by Gillispie loomed. Overall, on March 28, 2009, the Kentucky men’s basketball program was a shambles.

Only four days later, ironically on April Fool’s Day, UK formally announced the hiring of John Calipari, and in just the span of one short press conference the chaos and dread of the preceding weeks began to dissipate.

Emotional 180
Within days, Coach Cal convinced Memphis commits Darnell Dodson and DeMarcus Cousins to come to Lexington, then signed top 20 PG Eric Bledsoe, while maintaining Gillispie commitments from Kentucky Mr. Basketball Jon Hood and bluechip center Daniel Orton. The big news came about six weeks after Cal’s hiring—consensus top HS player John Wall would play college hoops for the Wildcats.

Though Meeks declared for NBA early entry, Patterson decided to stay and two months after reaching an epic nadir, Kentucky suddenly boasted an array of personnel to rival, on talent alone, any college hoops roster of the past 10 years.

Calipari didn’t stop there. Endearing himself to the program, the oft-stigmatized coach went on a state-wide campaign march, promising a return to glory to fans across the Commonwealth. It wasn’t all roses, however, as Cal’s name came up in multiple speculative articles about his alleged missteps at Memphis and UMass, where NCAA sanctions have tarnished his rep.

But UK found its way into the preseason top 10 in nearly every imaginable poll, and things were looking promising by the time football season started.

A Return to Prominence
The 2009-’10 Cats got the season going like a cannon shot—winning both blowouts and nail biters in spectacular fashion. John Wall needed one game to become household name material in the college b-ball zeitgeist, and the rest of the supporting cast showed flashes.

Then the Cats stepped up an early season of impressive potential by making believers out of the mainstream media. Wins over defending champs North Carolina and UConn in Madison Square Garden drew accolades, while victories vs. traditional powers Indiana and Louisville added polish. UK steamrolled through the holiday season and worked its way up the polls, all the while providing Sportscenter top plays material with regularity.

What next?
That brings us up to present day—an 18-0 team with a hot 3-0 start to the SEC schedule (almost sounds a little familiar). With a win this Saturday over former UK great John Pelphrey’s Arkansas Razorbacks—a game, by the way, in which UK will be heavily favored—Kentucky will become the No. 1 team in the nation for the first time in the regular season since 1996, and it will come exactly 52 weeks after UK’s ill-fated poll debut from last year.

Truthfully, though this season still has a ways to go, such a milestone would represent a full circle of fortunes. But if this retrospective tells us anything, let it be that greatness can come in a flash, and be taken away even quicker. Win or lose Saturday, Cat fans would be wise to remember that.