March 29, 201016 yr One year ago yesterday, Kentucky fired Billy Gillispie - a coach who I stuck by through thick and thin. I really felt that he should have been given another year to succeed, prior to speculated knowledge about player interactions. John Calipari was number one on my list for replacements. Cal had the look, the talk, and the ability that Kentucky needed. When Calipari was hired, everyone felt (at least on the inside) that Wall and Cousins were almost "gimmes" and that the outlook was positive for year one. Cousins, Bledsoe, and Wall all followed suit and there we were. Expectations were lofty, even after the poor NIT performance, and the Cats delivered. Kentucky won their first outright SEC Title and SEC Tournament titles in years and used grit and heart to do so. They used everything in them to end the streaks to Louisville and North Carolina. They won more games than anyone this season and it was evident that they gave everything they had to Kentucky in their first season under Calipari. This was suppose to be a foundation building year. A year to make Kentucky relevant. Instead, Cal and company made us legit contenders for the title in year one. Much like Saban and Alabama in year two, they both had great seasons, but had them end in disappointment. Saban was the coach for Alabama, just like Cal is the coach for Kentucky. Saban returned for year three and won the title. And even with the high turnover expected, I can only imagine that Kentucky will be fighting for a title next year and the year after and the year after. This Kentucky team brought out fans of all kinds. The true-Blue fans, to the bandwagon fans that just like a winner. But it gave all fans alike and the people of Kentucky something to be proud of. This is without a doubt the Commonwealth's team. This team of young men were respectful, courteous, and gave their blood and sweat to win. It's going to be sad to see this group leave. We watched DeMarcus grow and mature throughout the season and become a much better player and person, who was accepted by the Big Blue. This is a team we could connect with. They surpassed the preseason expectations and gave us something to smile about in a year that was a transition. I applaud and appreciate everything each and every one of those players sacrificed to make this year magical. And if this is just the first year, the foundation building year, I cannot wait until October 2010.
March 29, 201016 yr One year ago yesterday, Kentucky fired Billy Gillispie - a coach who I stuck by through thick and thin. I really felt that he should have been given another year to succeed, prior to speculated knowledge about player interactions. John Calipari was number one on my list for replacements. Cal had the look, the talk, and the ability that Kentucky needed. When Calipari was hired, everyone felt (at least on the inside) that Wall and Cousins were almost "gimmes" and that the outlook was positive for year one. Cousins, Bledsoe, and Wall all followed suit and there we were. Expectations were lofty, even after the poor NIT performance, and the Cats delivered. Kentucky won their first outright SEC Title and SEC Tournament titles in years and used grit and heart to do so. They used everything in them to end the streaks to Louisville and North Carolina. They won more games than anyone this season and it was evident that they gave everything they had to Kentucky in their first season under Calipari. This was suppose to be a foundation building year. A year to make Kentucky relevant. Instead, Cal and company made us legit contenders for the title in year one. Much like Saban and Alabama in year two, they both had great seasons, but had them end in disappointment. Saban was the coach for Alabama, just like Cal is the coach for Kentucky. Saban returned for year three and won the title. And even with the high turnover expected, I can only imagine that Kentucky will be fighting for a title next year and the year after and the year after. This Kentucky team brought out fans of all kinds. The true-Blue fans, to the bandwagon fans that just like a winner. But it gave all fans alike and the people of Kentucky something to be proud of. This is without a doubt the Commonwealth's team. This team of young men were respectful, courteous, and gave their blood and sweat to win. It's going to be sad to see this group leave. We watched DeMarcus grow and mature throughout the season and become a much better player and person, who was accepted by the Big Blue. This is a team we could connect with. They surpassed the preseason expectations and gave us something to smile about in a year that was a transition. I applaud and appreciate everything each and every one of those players sacrificed to make this year magical. And if this is just the first year, the foundation building year, I cannot wait until October 2010. Great Post. :thumb:
March 29, 201016 yr Well said. Great Post. :thumb: Maybe your best post ever SSF. :clap::clap::thumb: What they said. :thumb: :clap:
March 29, 201016 yr Author Something has to be going on... I haven't received this much praise in the four years I've been here. Hahaha.
March 29, 201016 yr Something has to be going on... I haven't received this much praise in the four years I've been here. Hahaha. I was waiting for you to post the link. :lol:
March 29, 201016 yr You're just trying to get someone to mention your name on the best of UK fans thread lol.
March 29, 201016 yr You're just trying to get someone to mention your name on the best of UK fans thread lol. :laugh:
March 29, 201016 yr Something has to be going on... I haven't received this much praise in the four years I've been here. Hahaha. Only took you 4800 posts to make a good one. Good work. :thumb:
March 29, 201016 yr My sentiments exactly. I live in ACC land. For the last several years other teams' fans have actually gone to showing pity towards me. This is the first year in a long while that they felt they could "spar" with me again without feeling like it was all one sided in their direction. It's great for UK to not only be relevant again but significant. Even other teams' fans told me how much they enjoyed watching UK play ball on TV. If there's one final story that makes this a special year it's been in my 13 year old daughter. KY has stunk the last four years or so & the result was she never cared a thing about UK. Everything was Virginia Tech. This season she became a Big Blue fan. Did the Wall dance and has about four UK T-Shirts she bought herself and proudly wears. That my friends, despite the bitter ending, made this season special for this Cat fan. :thumb:
March 29, 201016 yr Thought this video goes along well with the thread... Great video. Watching us playing UNC, Stanford and Indiana is weird because it seems like it has been years ago that those games occurred.
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.