Yes, it’s a stupid title for an article, but I could care less.
I have no idea where to start. This is supposed to be a postgame wrapup, but it’s gonna end up being a bunch of gushing admiration.
Folks, we just saw one of the most special, if not one of the greatest, teams in the storied history of Kentucky basketball.
The Cats managed to bring the hardware back to Lexington, and I’m sad. I’m sad because we will most likely never again see Anthony Davis, with that 1000-watt smile, in a Kentucky uniform. Nor will we likely see Terrence Jones, with that “I’m gonna kill you” glare. Or Doron Lamb and his 3-goggles smirk.
Or Darius Miller. He of the much maligned first 2 1/2 seasons, when he was the anti-clutch, the Lebron James of college hoops. That is, until he made it to Atlanta for the 2011 SEC tournament. After winning MOP of that one, he has been on a tear, and to overlook his contributions to this team would be an egregious error.
What about Coach Cal? When he finally received the NCAA championship trophy he has long sought, one of the first things he said was “it’s not about me, it’s about these players.” How do you not get behind that? All you national media types who are busy pooh-poohing Cal’s accomplishments can get bent. The man may be greasy, but he makes no bones about it. And I wager there is nary a coach in the land who is less concerned about himself compared to his team. He has said from Day One that Kentucky is a players-first university, and tonight was proof of that.
Will he cut loose in a hotel somewhere tonight? Maybe. But the fact is, he is as concerned about the welfare of his players as he is his own, and there is no denying that. Vacated Final Fours and one-and-dones be damned. The man puts his players before himself, and that’s alright with me.
So, about that game…
Let me say this: I heard a 7-year old before the game say that “Kansas stinks like a toilet.” After that, I knew it was gravy.
The Cats started out innocuously enough, giving up a quick two on defense, followed by Terrence Jones getting blocked right before airballing a deep jumper. After that, however, the script was flipped.
MKG took a nasty spill, landing on his right arm and writhing around like his shoulder was dislocated. But, naturally, he got up and calmly sank his first free throw, because he has a large set of brass ones. MKG finished with 11 points on 4-7 shooting, to go with 6 rebounds.
That was pretty much the only bump the Cats hit tonight, as they made the first TV timeout leading 13-9, with 12 points coming from the two teams’ guards.
After the timeout, it briefly turned into the Terrence Jones and Jeff Withey show, as the two combined for 7 points in the next stretch, getting us to the under-12 timeout with the Cats leading 23-17. By this point, Anthony Davis already had 4 boards, 2 assists, and 2 blocks, but no points.
By the under-8 timeout, Davis had set the NCAA Division I single-season blocks record with his 3rd block of the game, as Kentucky led by 12 while holding Kansas to 35% shooting. Davis also had 7 rebounds by now, and and still no points. MKG and Teague each had 9.
The rest of the half was pretty much all Kentucky, as the Cats ended the first 20 minutes leading by 14, 41-27, after having led by as much as 18. Doron Lamb had 12 at the break, on his way to a game-high 22. MKG and Teague had 11 and 9 respectively. Kentucky held the Jayhawks to 33% shooting in the first, while hitting at a 53% clip themselves. They also had a 22-14 rebounding advantage. Davis finished the first half with 9 boards, 4 assists, 3 blocks, and no points. Travis Robinson had 8 and 6 on 3-11 shooting.
The second half was more of the same for a long time, with UK maintaining a double-digit lead until the 4:16 mark, when Kansas finally got it to 9 on a 3-point play by Tyshawn Taylor, 59-50. The Jayhawks would get no closer than six the rest of the way, as a timely 3 by Marquis Teague and a couple free throws gave the Cats enough of a lead to work with.
The final score was 67-59, with Kentucky holding on for title #8, and sending waves of joy throughout the bluegrass.
Davis finished with 16(!) rebounds, 5 assist, 3 steals, 6 blocks, and 6 points on his way to the Final Four MOP award. I don’t think it’s possible to have a bigger impact on the game without scoring than our boy did tonight. For the game, Kentucky only put 3 players in double figures, with MKG and Teague getting 11 and 14 to go with Lamb’s 22.
The Cats held Kansas to 35% shooting for the game, while shooting 41% themselves. Kentucky shot 6-14 from outside (43%) while KU hit 5-11 for 45%. Kentucky finished with 5 more rebounds, and set a NCAA championship game record with 11 team blocks.
Complete stats can be found [URL=”http://scores.espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=320930096″]here[/URL].
I’m still not sure what to say. This was a special team, folks. It was also a helluva coaching job by John Calipari. It takes ability to get this many talented guys to play so unselfishly, and Coach Cal did a masterful job of pushing all the right buttons all year long.
Guys like Davis are once in a lifetime, and we need to cherish the time we had to see this joy of a young man play. As was Darius Miller, the homegrown talent, who came from the dark days of the Gillispie era to be a main cog in an NCAA champion, and a team that won more games than any team in Kentucky history has won.
There isn’t much else I can say, other than how proud I am to have a rooting stake in this team. They were never underdogs, but they played with more heart than any favorite I can remember in a long time. And they had a great time doing it.
BBN, join me in lifting up a toast to a group of outstanding young men, led by a remarkable, unselfish coach, who took care of business all year long and brought title #8 to the greatest fanbase in the world. We are truly blessed.
Go Big Blue.
