The Kentucky Wildcats have been very entertaining to say the least during the college basketball season. Coach Calipari has a stable full of McDonald’s All-Americans that have accepted the role of being a team player rather than being the “alpha dog” on the team. Year after year Coach Cal gets the best high school players in the country to accept a role where they know they will have less minutes, less points, but with that comes winning.
On this year’s Wildcats team the leading scorer is Aaron Harrison with 11.3 ppg, and he is one of seven players that at least average over 6.0 ppg. The Wildcats can score with the best of them, and their greatest asset is having the ability to beat you with a different player on any given night. Like most teams in the country, if their best player has an off game it increases the chances of the team losing, but the same can’t be said for the Wildcats.
On any given night you can be beat by Tyler Ullis, Devin Booker, Karl Towns, either Harrison twin, Willey Cauley-Stein, Trey Lyles, Dakari Johnson, or hell– even all of them. The Wildcats have beaten teams into submission all season, and they look to continue that trend as tournament time begins. Past teams such as Saint Joseph’s (2004) UNLV (1991) didn’t come out victorious with a NCAA title after going undefeated in the regular season, and UK looks to be the first team since the Indiana Hoosiers (1976) to do it. If anybody can break the thirty-nine year drought– then it is Coach Cal’s Wildcats.
Many basketball experts frown upon Coach Cal’s method of success, but it’s hard to argue with the results. The “One-and-done” method is not what old-school college basketball coaches’ support, but in Coach Cal’s case it shows how versatile of a coach he is with having a group of different talented kids year after year. Since coming to UK, Calipari has won one championship in 2012 and was the runner up in the 2014 game. This season its championship or bust, and I feel like the Wildcats can do it. It won’t be an easy task as they have a huge bulls-eye on them, but I know for a fact that Calipari will have them ready.
I believe they can run the table, because they can beat you in several ways. Their defense and rebounding is top notch, and that is two things that translate no matter where you play. The rims may be tight in some arenas that could make jump shots rim out, but the defense and rebounding is something that can always be counted on. Depth and versatility is always an advantage. Whether its Tyler Ullis facilitating them to a victory or Devin Booker getting hot three-point land it’s tough to pick your poison against a team like the Wildcats.
All the pressure will be on the Wildcats to fail, but I think they have what it takes to run the table. I guess we’ll have to sit back and watch Coach Cal work his magic.
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