For Big Blue Nation its been a long time coming

By: Keith Garrett @_KeithGarrett It was nearly 2 years to the day, April 3, 2012 to be exact. Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had gotten beat on a back door play by Tyshawn Taylor who glided to an easy layup, only thing is MKG does not give up, he never gives up. MKG hustled back and blocked the shot with under 1 minute left to preserve a six-point lead. Later Anthony Davis would come out of nowhere on Elijah Johnson, who had to feel like the Spartans in 300 when the reign of arrows blotted out the sun, and made him rethink his 3-point attempt and came down with the ball still in his hand traveling. From there the wildcats would finish off the Kansas Jayhawks at the free throw line setting in motion the Kentucky Coronation and a celebration for the ages back in Lexington as Big Blue Nation proclaimed in one singular voice; Were BACK. There are no shortage of quotes regarding patience, trust me, I looked here are a few that are fitting for BBN; I'm extraordinarily patient provided I get my own way in the end - Margaret Thatcher It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience. - Julius Caesar It takes patience to appreciate domestic bliss; volatile spirits prefer unhappiness. - George Santayana My biggest weakness is patience, wanting to see things happen too quickly or get changes in place right away. Not having the patience to let things develop. - Paul Gleason

Since that night in New Orleans, it has been an exercise in exponential frustration for a nation that revels in playing the villain and thrives on the envy and hate of the rest of the college basketball nation. It did not start that way, however, Nerlens Noel had cut the iconic UK logo into the back of his high-top fade and vaulted the cats right back to the top of the college basketball world by bringing in the #1 or #2 class, depending on service, in the nation. Going into the season, Kentucky was a consensus top 5 pick and visions of repeat were dancing in Kentucky fans heads. The season started fine, the cats were 4-1 with only a loss vs. Duke, and then the cats took a trip to south bend. That is when the wheels started loosening; a dominating loss to the Irish, followed by an embarrassing loss at home to Baylor began the doubt and head scratching.

The Cats would go on a mini-cupcake run only to lose to the hated Louisville Cardinals for the first time under Calipari fueling a mini fire under the blue bloods. Then SEC newcomer and football school Texas A&M came to Rupp Arena and Elston Turner dropped a 40-spot on BBN and kicked the wheels off the bus. Losses at Alabama and Florida would follow, but an even bigger loss in Gainesville would set the downward spiral in full speed motion. Nerlens Noel, in a tremendous hustle play to prevent a fast break ran into the goal harness at the OConnell Center, which doubles as an arena football field apparently. The result was a torn ACL and a season ending injury for one of the most beloved UK players to ever suit up and a fan base in mourning. To say Noel was the heart and soul of the team was an understatement, UK came out the next game and travelled to Knoxville on the proverbial bubble. The result was a 30-point loss, I was there, and to be truthful, it was not even that close. The popularity of Kentucky Football had never been higher after that game. Two more losses at Georgia and Arkansas as well as a first round SEC Tournament loss to Vanderbilt and the stage was set for an NIT berth for UK. Not even the most cynical of UK fans could have envisioned the cats would be an NIT team under Coach Cal after his first three years of elite 8, final 4 and national title in that order. The loss to Robert Morris was maybe the least surprising loss of the year to most BBN faithful and thus the offseason had mercifully begun. To add insult to injury, the rival Louisville Cardinals went on to win the national title. There was some, I repeat some relief when Coach Cal landed Randle, The Harrisons, Young, Dakari and Lee for what nearly everyone proclaimed as the greatest recruiting coup in NCAA history. The hype began with a quote that Calipari had made years before this class ever landed, before I retire, I would like to coach a team that went 40-0. He never said this team would or even could do it, but it did not matter, the snowball was rolling. Then, just about the time the Louisville football team was winning every football game with a Heisman candidate and the Kentucky football team was losing every game and arguably regressing, the 40-0 talk picked up steam and it was off to the races. The season started slow and it was chalked up to freshmen learning the college game, or new guys finding their ways together, no worries, they would get it together. Michigan state was widely considering a national title contender and the Cats had battled valiantly only to fall short on a comeback validating just how good the cats would be in the next 30-45 days. The Cats would come back to hammer Robert Morris in what everyone thought was and exorcising of the demons of last year. A bad loss to Baylor followed, a disinterested loss to North Carolina would follow. Kentucky would bounce back and beat a good Louisville team at home and the score was not indicative of the job the cats did in handling the cards. The fan base was in full Yo-Yo mode. Then came a tough loss at Arkansas on an overtime put back dunk as time expired and UK ended up on the wrong side of a Sportscenter top 10 play. An embarrassing loss at LSU in a game where the cats were thoroughly outplayed and outcoached, a loss to #1 Florida at home after leading the majority of the game would all follow. After a home loss to Arkansas for a season sweep by the hogs, the Cats found themselves a last second Julius Randle overtime put back at home vs. LSU from being beaten in three consecutive games at Rupp Arena, a place where John Calipari did not lose a single game in his first three years. The worst loss of the year to a hapless South Carolina team in Columbia coupled with a senior day blowout in Gainesville had all of Big Blue Nation on the verge of losing it, whispers of needing an SEC win or bubble talk were blowing in Lexington. Fans were openly debating if Sean Miller or Gregg Marshall would take the job and would Bruce Pearl be available later if Cal did not make a major change in next years approach and results. The talking heads were out in force too, Pat Forde lambasted Cal, Clay Travis eagerly jumped on the wounded fan base, and many others jumped at the chance to give a big fat I told you so to big blue nation. The thought was that 2012 was an aberration and MKG and Anthony Davis were some kind of witches that may not be real people making 2012 a very big exception, not the rule. Coach Cal had caught lightning in a bottle

and now his demons had come home to roost and unfortunately, a portion of the fan base was starting to wonder if it was true then the SEC tournament started and the word Tweak was trending on twitter. Kentucky opened with LSU and the fan base was worried, this was a team that UK did not match up with and Johnny OBryant had treated the Cats like his own personal video game with a cheat code, th e angst was evident. Low and behold, the tweak was about the speak, the cats came out strong and finished strong winning going away by 12 points and scoring 85 points. Kentucky had not scored 85 points since the loss at Arkansas in January and that was an OT game. The tweak had ignited some joy and optimism in Lexington, next up were the Bulldogs from Athens, while it was a valiant effort, the game seemingly was never in doubt and UK had won by double digits on its way to a third matchup with Florida in the SEC title game In that game, Kentucky was down by double digits and there were worries that the tweak was in fact only being able to play LSU and Georgia but then it clicked. The boys in blue came back fast and furious and had the Gators in a situation where it was UKs ball with a last second shot and down one point. Unfortunately a slip on the floor derailed what I am 99.9% sure was going to be a glorious rim run and James Young going down in folklore. What followed was a renewed faith in these guys, a renewed faith in Coach Caliparis ability to rally the guys and turn them into a genuine threat. That night was a kick in the stomach for everyone as we were announced as an 8-seed with a 2nd round matchup against ironically a team chasing 40-0 in Wichita State, then a sweet 16 matchup with rival Louisville at a time when UL was considered by many as the tournament favorite and hottest team in America. Get through that gauntlet and what is waiting for the Cats? Either Michigan or Duke for a trip to the final 4. The tournament started with a well-played win against a very solid Kansas State team and a matchup with Wichita State. The hype around the game was palpable and the parallels between a team with a chance at 400 vs. the team that had failed at it. A team of freshmen vs. a team of veterans, although they have two sophomores and one junior starter, but shhh the big blue axis of evil one and dones vs. a team who does it the right way. Greg Anthony even went as far as saying that this game will determine how teams structure their rosters in the future, hyperbole much? The game started fast and furious, with a breakneck pace, it was exciting, and the cats looked poised to play with a legitimate #1 seed. A big time James Young three-pointer kept the game close at the half and everyone could sense the battle coming. The second half continued the excitement and down the stretch, Cleanthony Early gave his best Dwayne Wade at Marquette impression for the rest of the nation and nearly took the Cats down singlehandedly with 31 points. In the end, another James Young 3 was able to give the cats a two-point lead with under two minutes left. The cats held off Cleanthony Early-Wade in the end and shocked the world by ending Wichita States bid for perfection, up next was a date with Louisville in Indianapolis. In 2012 the overall #1 seed and tournament favorite Kentucky Wildcats faced Louisville in the final four, the cardinals had a chance to derail the magical run to #8 and just crush UK fans. The problem was, UL was not winning that game and everyone knew it so while the hype was significant, it was one of more fear and angst than excitement for UK fans. Fast forward to 2014 and UL was the hottest team in America and 2 nd only to Florida as the favorite to win it all, but this time we were the team on the uptick and we were the team that had already beaten Louisville and we were the team that was going to wreck their season. Aaron Harrison cemented his spot in UK folklore and his stone cold assassin status when he dropped a dagger in all of Louisville residents hearts, well, half of the city anyway.

At this point, many UK fans were satisfied, they had gotten us to the elite 8 and destroyed UL in the process, the healing could begin, and anything else was gravy. Having said that, as the game grew closer the desire grew more aggressive. The game itself was played the way basketball should be played: Good Shooting Not many fouls Very little flopping Good flow to the game No pushing, pulling, holding, pushing off with your left Hancock, etc.

The game came down to a heart wrenching possession where Michigan got four offensive rebounds and three attempts from behind the arc to take the lead only to see the ball get tipped in off Julius Randles attempt to corral the ball. It was deflating but the game was tied the Cats had the last shot. The following played out as such, Andrew Harrison drove left and handed off the ball to his brother Aaron, the handoff was not clean and it appeared evident the cats may not get a great look at this. Aaron had hit his last three triples and took a quick step back AND faded away just enough to get the ball over the outstretched arm of Chris Lavert splash and after an errant half court shot, the cats were on there way to the final four and in the words of voice of the wildcats Tom Leach, Big Blue is going to Big D! With that shot, the cats are back in the final 4 for the 3 rd time in 5 years and have a viable shot at a 2nd title in 3 years. Among the accomplishments and broken streaks of this group of cats; 35-0 Wichita State is beaten Rick Pitino had been 11-0 in sweet sixteens, false Louisville had won 68 consecutive games when leading at the half, dunzo Kentucky is the first team in history to beat the previous years champion and runner-up the next year. They also beat a third team from last years final four effectively eliminating 75% of last years final four, of course another feat that had never been done The three most exciting games I the tournament have been those three wins by UK This also makes John Calipari 17-2 in the NCAA tournament at UK

The narrative was overwhelmingly becoming that Cal needed to adjust his ways as 2012 was the aberration and without an adjustment in recruiting, he could soon be on his way out. In the matter of 4 weeks that has undoubtedly been flipped on its head an d even constant detractor Pat Forde said Three Final Fours in four seasons says that your way works it works better than any other way currently being implemented in college basketball, true story Pat. So now, UK Basketball is back on the top of the college basketball landscape and dare I say they are the darlings of this years tournament. They are two games away from cementing John Calipari as a hall of fame coach (if not already) and big blue nation is right back where it wants to be; the most hated and envied college basketball program in America. Its been a long time BBN, enjoy the ride.