TROPHY MAY HAVE SHORT TREK IN 2014
Kentucky the early favorite to be next men’s champion
Another NCAA tournament title game has come and gone, and yet again the championship trophy is headed to the commonwealth of Kentucky. The scary part? It could be back in the state again next spring.
Kentucky’s incoming recruiting class is easily the best in the nation and arguably the greatest class ever assembled. The Wildcats likely will be preseason No. 1 in every college basketball poll. So a year after Louisville followed Kentucky by winning the title, Kentucky will be the favorite to win it again.
Much like the Bowl Championship Series national championship trophy, which has resided in the state of Alabama for four years running, the NCAA men’s basketball trophy might become a fixture in the Bluegrass State.
“It’s basketball heaven in Kentucky,” said Richard Pitino, Louisville coach Rick Pitino’s son and a former Cardinals assistant. “Those are probably two of the most rabid fan bases in the country. They want to go to Final Fours and win championships. They really don’t settle for less.”
Already, Calipari has signed Julius Randle, the top-ranked power forward in the nation, Andrew Harrison (the No. 1 point guard recruit), Aaron Harrison (No. 1 shooting guard), James Young (the No. 2 shooting guard), Dakari Johnson (the No. 1 center) and Marcus Lee (the No. 5 power forward). Each of the six signees is a five-star recruit.
And the Wildcats still could grab Andrew Wiggins, the top overall prospect in the class of 2013. H has narrowed his choices to Kentucky, Florida State, Kansas and North Carolina. He’ll have to decide if he wants to play alongside more stars than the Miami Heat have — some of last year’s heralded freshman will return next season as well — or carve his own path.
Calipari pieces together national championship contenders by plugging elite players into a system that emphasizes unselfish play while promising exposure and a springboard to the NBA.
In 2012, a record six Kentucky players (including three freshmen) were drafted months after winning a national championship. The title, Calipari’s first, seemed to validate the one-and-done system and its ability to produce a championship-caliber team. Big-name players could team up for seven months, form a team
“It’s basketball heaven in Kentucky. Those are probably two of the most rabid fan bases in the country.” Richard Pitino, Minnesota coach, Rick Pitino’s son and former Louisville assistant
and then advance to the next level together; the 2011-12 Kentucky team showed that. Anthony Davis became a household name and eventually the No. 1 pick in the draft.
The 2012-13 Louisville team was nearly the exact opposite. Peyton Siva and Chane Behanan were top-50 recruits, but the rest weren’t. Luke Hancock, the Final Four’s most outstanding player, transferred from George Mason, a midmajor, and came off the bench all season. Unpredictable Russ Smith garnered interest from schools such as Rutgers and Baylor before signing with Louisville, but even after leading Louisville in scoring (18.7 points a game) and to a title, he is projected to be a secondround pick in the draft if he declares, according to DraftExpress.com.
But with the exception of 6-11 center Gorgui Dieng, there wasn’t much NBA talent on this roster. Dieng is the only Louisville player projected to be a first-round pick.
Neither Smith nor Siva was a finalist for any of the national player of the year awards. Any household names? Just Kevin Ware, the backup guard who suffered a horrific leg injury on national television during Louisville’s Elite Eight victory against Duke, and that was because of the injury, the spotlight and the way he served as the Cardinals’ inspiration.
Pitino said this Louisville squad was “one of the most together, toughest, hard-nosed teams” he’s ever coached. It was a veteran group, lacking NBA-ready stars — unlike Kentucky of last year and next year.
“This is really what a team is,” Siva said. “This is really what college basketball is about, a group of guys who are like family. With Kevin Ware going down like that, everybody rallying around him, it showed how much we love each other.”