NCAA men’s championship game in New Orleans

-Lopresti: Like him or not, Calipari is a champion,

NEW ORLEANS – Now he’s a champion. Like him, or not. Buy his philosophy, or not. Due must be given to John Calipari, and the Kentucky juggernaut he created.

“This isn’t about me,” Calipari said as they celebrated Monday night. “This is about the Big Blue Nation.”

The mission was as easy to see as Anthony Davis standing in a flower garden: One Shining Moment, or bust. For Calipari, this was an all-in bet. To fall short with this team, this year . . . the aftermath would not have been pretty.

Hard questions for him, therapy for a good part of the Commonwealth.

But in the end, the Wildcats were too talented to be stopped by their youth, and too resolute to be stopped by anything else. The 67-59 win against Kansas was the exclamation point on a story everyone saw coming.

“Once you have the same goal and everybody gets along,” senior guard Darius Miller said, “nothing else really matters.”

Nothing else did. Not the zero-tolerance policy of a state that is Wildcats mad, cradle to grave. Not the pressure of the chase. Not Kansas, in a free-for-all, with bodies flying faster than fists at a Kentucky dialysis clinic.

The Jayhawks would not go away. When they trailed by 16 points with 10 minutes left, it seemed all over but for the couch burnings in Lexington. But Kansas, an expert in comebacks, rallied within five. Kentucky survived as much as it won at the end.

A controversial coach holding a championship trophy is like an optical illusion. Do you see the young girl or the old man?

Do you see Calipari’s fondness for signing future NBA stars to brief internships?

Or a master motivator who somehow takes all those high school egos and, on the run, molds them into a unified force?

Do you see an imperialistic superpower, bludgeoning foes with expensive weaponry?

Or a strong-minded, strong-willed team that never blinked at being the hunted? This we know about the Wildcats: They were dominant. They trailed for only 9 minutes, 8 seconds of their 240 NCAA tournament minutes, never after halftime.

They were fortunate. Bad things happened to their main threats. North Carolina lost its point guard. Syracuse lost its center. Michigan State, Missouri and Duke lost their way.

They were three freshmen and two sophomore starters, none from Kentucky. Davis’ final line ranks among the most remarkable of the event — 16 rebounds, six blocks, five assists, three steals. And six points. He was named most outstanding player, shooting 1-for-10.

“We won the ring,” he said. “That’s all that matters.”

Calipari somehow sold the bright lights and his own demands. The Wildcats didn’t look like they were auditioning for the NBA on Monday. They looked like they were trying to win a national championship.

If all those Kentucky stars care about is glory, why do they play so hard on defense?

“Why don’t you answer?” Calipari said to Terrence Jones during a news conference.

Jones: “If you don’t play defense, you’re not allowed to play.” Calipari: “It’s pretty simple.” But Kentucky’s image isn’t. To some, an admirable national champion. To others, a symbol of bad ideas.

But a wonderful team, without question. And for Calipari, validation.

“His first ring, I think it means a lot to him,” Davis said.

Calipari deserves an upgrade on his legacy, with one caveat:

This Final Four better not be vacated.