Jeff Borzello takes a look at what has gotten this year’s Wildcats to where they are today. He says that while the immense talent is a separator, it is UK’s cohesive and unselfish play that has been the difference.
Here’s an exerpt.
[COLOR=#333333][FONT=arial]It’s difficult enough to get so many five-star players on your roster; it’s more difficult get everyone on the same page and buy into a system for six months.[/FONT][/COLOR]
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“The whole point of this is getting a group of players to play together,” Calipari said. “People ask me if it’s hard to get those players to play together. I tell them, ‘What’s hard? Coaching bad players.’ Coaching good players, if they are good-hearted people, they will do that.”[/FONT][/COLOR]
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Oftentimes, a collection of talent like this doesn’t work out very well. With so many scorers, we normally see a couple of things: a lack of sharing the ball on the offensive side and a mediocre defense at the other end.[/FONT][/COLOR]
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This team, though, might have the best defense in the country. With their versatility and athleticism, it’s very tough to score points on the Wildcats. Moreover, there are six players averaging in double-figures.[/FONT][/COLOR]
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Kentucky’s personnel has been compared to NBA teams, and there’s a contingent of people that think the Wildcats could beat the Raptors, Bobcats, Wizards, etc. Somehow, things like that have not been a distraction for Kentucky’s relatively young roster.[/FONT][/COLOR]
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It’s not just a dream team of players. It’s a dream team of unselfishness and determination.[/FONT][/COLOR]
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“Kentucky is not the norm,” Louisville head coach Rick Pitino said.[/FONT][/COLOR]
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The idea to buy into what Calipari wanted from his team started back in October. From the first practice, the quartet of five-star freshmen and the three returning starters meshed perfectly. Each player was a star on his high school team. But each player had to take a back seat to the team this season, putting his NBA prospects aside and buying into the idea of winning a national championship.[/FONT][/COLOR]
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“I believed everything he said from day one,” freshman point guard Marquis Teague said. “It’s a big challenge and you have to be ready. If you’re not ready for it, you won’t be able to deal with it.”[/FONT][/COLOR]
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For most teams, putting so much talent on the court together wouldn’t work. For Kentucky, it has worked perfectly.[/FONT][/COLOR]
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The Wildcats’ talent gives them separation from the rest of the field. But it’s playing as a team that puts them head-and-shoulders above everyone else.[/FONT][/COLOR]
For the rest of the article, click [URL=”http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/story/18144475/unselfishness-teamwork-secret-to-stacked-kentuckys-success”]here[/URL].
