Class from the
Bluegrass
The Kentucky Wildcats win the 2012 National Championship!
Class from the
Bluegrass
The Kentucky Wildcats win the 2012 National Championship!
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CONTENTS
C la B ss lu fr eg o ra m s s th ! e
4
8
Laying The Groundwork Becoming a Team!
48
The March to Madness
18
A Season of Destiny Takes Shape
58 Time To Dance!
68
New Orleans Bound!
2012 NCAA Championship Game
78 Final Four
84
5
FOREWORD
C la B ss lu fr eg o ra m s s th ! e
There aren’t many things in life that can live up to the hype any more. Fads fade, legends lose their luster and the bright lights of the media, fame and reality grind up and crush great expectations on a regular basis. Which is why this Kentucky basketball team is so special and so deserving of raising another banner to the rafters of Rupp Arena. If collecting great talent from around the country and turning them into champions was easy, believe me, every school would be doing it. The 2012 Kentucky Wildcats cut down the nets in New Orleans because they truly understood that if you really want something special in life, you have to go out and earn it. They did, and they were an inspiration to everyone that watched them along this journey. There are a lot of glowing things you can say about Coach Cal’s Cats, but what I think is the best compliment you can give them is this—they lived up to the hype! Congratulations to a great team who treated their fans to an unforgettable season. Enjoy this special look back.
Tom Zenner @tomzenner Editor in Chief Rylin Media 6
7
Laying The
Groundwork Becoming a Team!
8
The 2011-12 Season Begins
9
C la B ss lu fr eg o ra m s s th ! e
The question has dogged John Calipari and Kentucky for years: Can a team of highly touted freshman win a National Championship? The 2011 Wildcats,
led by rookie point guard Brandon Knight, advanced all the way to the Final Four before losing to eventual champion UConn. They were close, but in Lexington, fans expect championship banners. Their expectations only increased when another loaded freshman class rolled into Lexington, more than making up for the departure of Knight, who left for the NBA. The biggest name was Anthony Davis, a long-armed kid from the South Side of Chicago and the nation’s No. 1 high school recruit. Along with Davis, Calipari brought New Jersey’s Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Indianapolis point guard Marquis Teague and Oregon big man Kyle Wiltjer to the two-time defending SEC Tournament Champs. Most schools would happily accept such a haul over span of five years and call it a miracle. In Kentucky, it’s called reloading. Don’t be fooled into thinking Kentucky could only rely on recent high school grads. The upperclassmen were far from scrubs and benchwarmers. Terrence Jones returned to bolster the frontcourt while senior Darius Miller and sophomore Doron Lamb lent experience at guard. It was clear to everyone in the Bluegrass State and beyond that this team, ranked No. 2 in the preseason polls, would compete for a title. You couldn’t blame Kentucky fans for expecting their squad to claim the fabled basketball program’s eighth title and first since 1998.
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C la B ss lu fr eg o ra m s s th ! e
Nothing Calipari’s team of NBA prospects did to start the season-dampened expectations. Davis gave the country a preview of what would be a phenomenal season with a dominating debut in a laugher over Marist on Nov. 11. The first true test of the season came in New York City in a clash against perennial power Kansas. Would the fresh-faced group falter in the spotlight against a ranked team? Not a chance. The Wildcats displayed their usual, and almost unfair, scoring depth in an impressive victory over the Jayhawks. And of course, 12
as we would learn later, it was not the first time UK would take on KU during this magical season. But that was months away and the path to New Orleans would not be easy. Preseason hype and high rankings don’t guarantee wins on the court. Plenty of roadblocks - including a challenging non-conference slate that included games against North Carolina, Indiana and hated rival Louisville - still remained for Calipari’s young squad. Before diving into the meat of their schedule, the
Wildcats ran roughshod over a string of overmatched opponents. Penn State had no answer for Doron Lamb in the Hall of Fame Tip-off Tournament in Connecticut. The Nittany Lions wouldn’t be the last team to crumble under the constant barrage of athleticism and NBA talent. Old Dominion was the next victim as Kentucky won its first, but not its last, tournament. Two more tune-ups went just as planned as the Wildcats started their season 6-0 with each win by double figures. It soon became clear to anyone paying
attention that beating Kentucky would be especially difficult, considering each game seemed to highlight a different star. One day, Anthony Davis is blocking shots and dropping 20 points. Then Kidd-Gilchrist is taking over down low or Lamb is lighting it up from the outside. Don’t forget Jones or Darius Miller. These players would be the unquestioned stars on most teams. For Calipari, they represented the third or fourth options. How do you beat that? As all but two teams would find out, you don’t. 13
CCC llla BBB aasssss lluulu sfr eeegg OOofm grrra f TTt aasss hhhe sss! ee !!
Cats’ Facts
• This is the Wildcats 109th season of basketball. • Kentucky began the season as the all-time NCAA leader in wins with 2,052. • The Wildcats were picked to win their 45th SEC championship by select SEC and national media. • For the third straight season, ESPNU Recruiting, Rivals and Scout ranked the Wildcats’ recruiting class No. 1 in the country. • Despite residing in the same city, Kentucky and Transylvania hadn’t played each other since 1911. • Kentucky ascended to the No. 1 ranking for the second time in the John Calipari era. • In Kentucky’s season-opening win over Marist, head coach John Calipari started three freshmen (Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, MarquisTeague). It marked the first time in program history UK started three freshmen in the season opener. • UK started this season ranked second in both the Associated Press and USA Today/Coaches’ preseason top25 polls. 14
Cats’ Facts
• Starters Returning/Lost: 3/3 • Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 7/3 • Top Returning Scorer: Terrence Jones - 15.7 ppg • Top Returning Rebounder: Terrence Jones - 8.8 rpg 15
C la B ss lu fr eg o ra m s s th ! e
Kentucky Basketball A History of Dominance
(Entering the 2011-12 season) • • • • • • • • • • • • 16
7 NCAA titles (1948, 1948, 1951, 1958, 1978, 1996, 1998) 3 NCAA runner-up trophies 14 Final Four appearances A national-record 51 NCAA Tournament appearances 151 NCAA Tournament games 105 NCAA Tournament wins 44 SEC Championships 27 SEC Tournament titles 12 30-win seasons 55 20-win seasons 52 players chosen All-America 80 times 92 Wildcats drafted by the NBA
Cats’ Chat
“We have a long way to go. I think everyone knows it. We’ve got a couple guys that play with great intensity. They’re going to have to spend a lot of time on the court. That’s just how it is. Mad, sad, happy, unhappy, they’re going to have to be on the floor a lot because they have that intensity you need to win.” - Head Coach John Calipari (Following opening win over Transylvania) “It was great. We all came out all amped and excited, and I think that’s why we came out slow because we were overly excited. But in the second half we settled in and played our game.” - Anthony Davis (On their regular season opener against Marist) “We don’t believe we have to truly play together yet. It’s not talent that wins; it’s good teams that win. This is not a good team yet. We’re not bad, but we’re not a good team yet. We’ve got good players, but we broke off every play.” - Head Coach John Calipari (Following 75-65 victory over Kansas) “I think we made a good statement today, I was a little nervous. I’m nervous before every game, though. But I settled down in the second half and let the game come to me. I just made shots for my team.” - Doron Lamb (Following 75-65 victory over Kansas) “I don’t know. We are just a young team. We got the win and all that that matters. We are going to be good in the long run” - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (On teams slow start in 87-63 win over Portland) “We all respect one another on all levels. No one is playing for themselves. We are all playing for the team. It makes the game more fun and easier.” - Terrence Jones (On team’s unselfishness) “I think we are playing very well. Nobody is trying to play for themselves. Coach Cal stresses that we need to play as a team. We can’t beat the other team by ourselves so playing together makes the game a lot easier.” - Anthony Davis (On team playing together and getting wins)
Cats’ Facts
17
A Season of Destiny
Takes Shape 18
Cats Go Wild!
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C la B ss lu fr eg o ra m s s th ! e
Newly anointed as the No. 1 team in the land, Kentucky played its part in the SEC/Big East challenge by hosting St. John’s at Rupp Arena.
The Wildcats more than lived up to the billing, toying with the Red Storm by recording a school-record 18 blocks, eight coming from the elastic arms of Anthony Davis. A statement was made. While flash baskets and dunks make the highlight reels, this Wildcats squad was all about ferocious defense. They would need some of that D when another national title contender visited Lexington in one of the most anticipated matchups of the entire college basketball campaign. Coach Roy Williams and his Tar Heels did not back down in front of a hostile crowd and a pumped up bunch of Wildcats. With dozens of NBA scouts in the stands to get in-person looks at Davis, Kidd-Gilchrist, North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes and other future pros, Kentucky and North Carolina played a classic that came down to the final seconds. Both heavyweights engaged in a back-and-forth battle that ended when Davis blocked the Heels’ John Henson to preserve a thrilling 73-72 win. Flying high at 8-0 and ranked No. 1, Kentucky faced a dangerous road con20
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C la B ss lu fr eg o ra m s s th ! e
test at resurgent Indiana a week later. Assembly Hall is one of the toughest places to play in the country, and Hoosier fans were going to be wild with the Wildcats in town. Beating Kentucky would put Indiana back on the map, and that’s exactly what the Hoosiers did. Indiana’s Christian Watford nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, handing Kentucky its first loss of the season. So any dreams of an undefeated season went out the window, but good teams use losses as learning experiences. Calipari’s crew must have learned plenty from that Saturday in Bloomington since they did not taste another defeat for three more months. Thankfully, the schedule eased up with four easy wins leading up to the game every basketball fan in the state of Kentucky circles on his or her calendar: Louisville and Kentucky. The loathed Cardinals held a gaudy No. 4 ranking, but they had the misfortune of being the road team because while beating Kentucky anywhere is a surely a feat, beating Kentucky in Rupp Arena is nearly impossible. Actually, it’s been literally impossible during the Calipari era. Kentucky built a steady lead in a heated New Years Eve battle, but Louisville kept clawing back. This time, Kidd-Gilchrist was the hero with a regular-season high of 24 points to go with 19 re-
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bounds as the Wildcats held on for a vital 69-62 victory that stretched their amazing home winning streak to 44 games. A win over their in-state rivals is always a welcome one for Kentucky, especially with former Wildcats coach Rick Pitino on the other sideline. Back in a groove, Kentucky embarked on the conference portion of its schedule. The beasts of the SEC sent quick, unmistakable notice that they were the clear fa-
vorites to claim their 45th league crown. South Carolina was the first but far from the last SEC foe to receive this message loud and clear as Terrence Jones rebounded from some lackluster performances for a 20-point game on 8-of-9 shooting to help Kentucky post a 79-64 win. This was only the beginning for every team in the SEC not located in the Bluegrass State. The season would be long for many of them, and filled
with plenty of losses and shaking heads. Not every game was an easy romp, however. Kentucky needed a second-half rally to beat Tennessee 65-62 in Knoxville on January 14. Unhappy with their effort, the Wildcats played with a purpose against Arkansas three days later, especially Anthony Davis. The fantastic freshman notched a then career high of 27 points and broke the single-season school record for blocks, by recording seven on the poor 23
C la B ss lu fr eg o ra m s s th ! e
Razorbacks. Following a hard-fought win over Alabama, Kentucky regained the top spot in the AP rankings and would never let go. That No. 1 position made the Wildcats an even bigger target for fellow SEC teams looking for a season-defining upset, forcing Kentucky to become adept at piling up gritty wins. In its first matchup as No. 1, Kentucky struggled for a 57-44 win over Georgia in Athens. The next stop on the late January road trip was in Baton Rouge against LSU, which went much smoother. Jones came up huge with 27 points in an impressive 7450 shellacking of the Tigers. Two more SEC wins followed before a huge tilt with No. 8 Florida. The Gators were one of the Wildcats’ most formidable challengers to the conference title. Coach Billy Donavan’s team discovered they had a long way to go before knocking off Kentucky from its SEC perch on this night, however. The Wildcats steamrolled to a 20-point victory that left even some in Lexington struggling to explain how good this group really was. Sure, many expected great things, but a team with three freshman starters was not supposed to gel so easily on offense and defense. Teams this young shouldn’t be this mentally tough, but at Kentucky excellence is a habit.
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C la B ss lu fr eg o ra m s s th ! e
The Wildcats needed every ounce of this camaraderie in their next fight. A date in Nashville to face Vanderbilt approached, and winning in electric Memorial Gym is never simple. The Commodores came into the season expected to challenge Kentucky for SEC supremacy, but the Wildcats proved they were above the rest. Davis and his fellow Cats led by 13 at halftime, but Vanderbilt made them nervous in the second stanza. Sparked by a balanced scoring effort, Kentucky held on 69-63 to extend their winning streak to 17. 26
Yes, these Wildcats were talented and young, but they were far from soft, and played with poise beyond their years. A 10-0 SEC record and an ability to win defensive slugfests as well as high-scoring track meets confirmed as much. As March Madness crept ever closer, Kentucky bolted through the rest of their regular season schedule. They beat Mississippi for their 50th straight home win on February 18. Then the Wildcats overcame a halftime deficit in Starkville, with a big assist from super-sub Darius Miller, in taking down Mississippi State. The Wildcats could smell a conference title. All that
stood between them and an SEC crown was a familiar foe: Vanderbilt. This time, the Commodores would have to play in Rupp Arena. Road teams just don’t win there, especially with John Calipari standing on the home sideline. Coach Cal had never lost at home in three seasons as Kentucky’s coach and he wasn’t about to start now. It helps to have studs like Davis, and the freshman made a decisive case as the nation’s best college player with an eye-popping 28 points on 10 of 11 shooting from the field in an 83-74 statement win over Vandy. Kentucky’s overall win streak had reached 20, and the hype
surrounding Davis had reached a furor. Comparisons to NBA luminaries like David Robinson, Kevin Garnett and even Hakeem Olajuwon were becoming commonplace, and not just in Lexington. The SEC Champions did not let up. John Calipari would not allow it. Kentucky walloped Georgia in a penultimate regular season matchup. With just about everything locked up, the final game – a rematch with Florida in Gainesville – was about planting an exclamation mark on one of the best seasons in Kentucky’s storied history. Basically cinching a No. 1 seed in the 27
C la B ss lu fr eg o ra m s s th ! e
NCAA tournament, the ‘Cats cruised past the Gators 7459 to cap a perfect 16-0 SEC run. They were the third team since Alabama in 1956 to go undefeated in the conference. And you probably guessed it: the other two teams wore the blue and white of Kentucky. They also set a school record for regular-season wins with 30. Wildcats fans will not need tall tales and fancy stories when telling their grandchildren how great this team was, since a simple look at the stats and record books will surely be more than enough evidence. These Wildcats were special, highlighted by one of the best freshman sensations since Texas’ Kevin Durant. With Anthony Davis leading the charge, the Wildcats were a safe bet to continue their success in tournament play, where legacies are defined and lasting impressions are made. Regular season glory is fine, but Kentucky fans want championships. And while the 2011-2012 regular season was a fun one, it wouldn’t mean much without a banner to hang up in the Rupp Arena rafters.
28
Cats’ Stats Anthony Davis 14.3 points 10.1 rebounds 4.6 blocks
Terrence Jones 12.6 points 7.2 rebounds 1.7 blocks
Doron Lamb 13.6 points 2.8 rebounds 1.4 assists
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 12 points 7.6 rebounds 1.9 assists
Darius Miller 10 points 2.7 rebounds 2.1 assists
Marquis Teague 10 points 2.6 rebounds 4.8 assists
Kyle Wiltjer 5.1 points 1.8 rebounds
29
C la B ss lu fr eg o ra m s s th ! e
Cats’ Facts • Kentucky is the all-time NCAA leader in wins with 2,082. • Kentucky has played 208 of the current 338 Division One programs. • With UK’s season-opening victory over Marist, head coach John Calipari recorded his 34th straight win in Rupp Arena as UK’s head coach. It broke former UK head coach Rick Pitino’s longest streak of 33 games in the venue. 30
Cats’ Facts • Kentucky’s freshman class of Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Marquis Teague and Kyle Wiltjer was heralded as the top-ranked recruiting class in the country. • Kentucky fan Bob Wiggins, 85, continued his amazing streak of following the Wildcats Basketball team in the 2011-12 season, marking his 59th season watching Kentucky in person.
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Cats’ Chat “You know I’m not a big tournament guy, don’t like tournaments before the NCAA Tournament, I don’t like three games in a row. But, guess what, we’ll be there with bells on and ready to go.” - Coach John Calipari (On starting the SEC Tournament) 32
Cats’ Facts
• It was the third time in UK and SEC history that a team posted a perfect 16-0 mark in league play. • With his eighth blocks against South Carolina, Anthony Davis broke LSU All-American Shaquille O’Neal’s freshmen record for blocks in league play. 33
CC l B Balassss lulu f egeg Orof rara mTt ssss! hhee !
Cats’ Facts
• UK is 74-1 under John Calipari when holding an opponent to 67 points or fewer. •
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Kentucky set the school record for wins in the regular season with 30.
Cats’ Facts Postseason Awards
• AP Player of the Year - Anthony Davis
• SEC Freshman of the Year - Anthony Davis
• Coach of the Year - John Calipari
• SEC Sixth Man of the Year - Darius Miller
• SEC Player of the Year - Anthony Davis
• SEC Defensive Player of the Year - Anthony Davis 35
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Cats’ Facts
First Team All-SEC
Second Team All-SEC
• Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
• Terrence Jones, Doron Lamb
SEC All-Freshman Team • Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 36
Cats’ Chat
“Look, I’ve got good players. We’re young and we’re inexperienced, but I’ve got really good players. I like my team. But more importantly, they love each other. You notice, Eloy (Vargas) helped us today, Kyle (Wiltjer) helped us today, and the other six played the majority of the minutes. That’s a happy locker room in there today.” - Coach John Calipari (After 73-72 win over North Carolina in SEC/Big East Challenge)
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C la B ss lu fr eg o ra m s s th ! e
Cats’ Chat
“This is what I live for right here. Why? Because I’ve always been that way, I’m built for this.” - Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (After 69-62 win over Louisville) “The crowd was crazy because of the rivalry, It was fun.” - Anthony Davis (Following 69-62 victory over Louisville) 38
Cats’ Chat
“It is really important. I am the point guard so I have to get everyone involved and make everyone happy. I need to get everyone the ball where they can score. I want to take what the defense gives me. If I have a bucket, I will take it, and if I have to pass I will do that.” - Marquis Teague (On being the teams distributor)
39
C la B ss lu fr eg o ra m s s th ! e
Cats’ Chat
“It’s something that you want to have on your team. It helps you knowing that somebody has your weak side help and it allows you to play more aggressively on defense. It just gives you more comfort knowing that he is back there. It gives you confidence that if you get beat that he will be there to block the shot or at least alter it.” - Terrence Jones (On having Anthony Davis protecting the basket)
40
Cats’ Chat
“My teammates have been talking about that already. They said we are not even halfway through the season and you (are going to) break the block record. It’s a great accomplishment, especially for a freshman, so I am really proud of myself.” - Anthony Davis (On breaking the single season block record after 86-63 win over Arkansas) “It didn’t matter who we played, somebody was losing by 30.” - Head Coach John Calipari (After 86-52 win over South Carolina)
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C la B ss lu fr eg o ra m s s th ! e
Cats’ Chat “Lately we’ve just been hanging out together. We’ve been doing everything together. We just feel it. Everybody is trying to get everybody into the game. No one is doing their own stuff. We’re just kind of clicking and it’s really showing on the court.” - Anthony Davis (On the team coming together as the season progressed) 42
Cats’ Chat
“They played outstanding, they looked like the No. 1 team in the country.” - South Carolina Coach Darrin Horn (Following 86-52 loss to Kentucky) “Every game we play is like walking into this... We get the other team’s best shot and after the game, there are 25 cameras... Any of the places we have been end up being like this. We handled this game like we have other and will handle future games the same way. On our board, I tell the team to love the road, love this, relish this.” - Head Coach John Calipari (Following 69-63 win over Vanderbilt)
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Cats’ Chat “It feels great. I am going to miss Kentucky, Rupp Arena and the fans. It felt special coming out of the locker room and hearing all the fans chanting my name.” - Eloy Vargas (On Senior night game against Georgia) “It was real fun, a lot of fun. I’m glad I got to experience that with my family, I’m glad they got to be here. My grandma was at the game and it’s the first game she’s been to since I’ve been here. It was pretty special for me.” - Darius Miller (On Senior night game against Georgia) 44
Cats’ Facts
• The Wildcats finished 18-0 at home this season and are in the midst of a 52-game home-winning streak. • The Wildcats closed out the regular season with a perfect 16-0 run in Southeastern Conference play.
45
2011 - 2012 Kentucky Wildcats 11/02/11
vs. Transylvania
W
97-53
11/07/11
vs. Morehouse
W
125-40
11/11/11
vs. Marist
W
108-58
11/15/11
vs. Kansas
W
75-65
11/19/11
vs. Penn State
W
85-47
11/20/11
vs. Old Dominion
W
62-52
11/23/11
vs. Radford
W
88-40
11/26/11
vs. Portland
W
87-63
12/01/11
vs. St. John’s
W
81-59
12/03/11
vs. North Carolina
W
73-72
12/10/11
at Indiana
L 73-72
12/17/11
vs. Chattanooga
W
87-62
12/20/11
vs. Samford
W
82-50
12/22/11
vs. Loyola (Md)
W
87-63
12/28/11 vs. Lamar W
86-64
12/31/11 vs. Louisville W
69-62
46
Regular Season Results 01/03/12
vs. Arkansas-Little Rock
W
73-51
01/07/12
vs.
W
79-64
01/11/12 at Auburn W
68-53
South Carolina
01/14/12
at Tennessee
W
65-62
01/17/12
vs. Arkansas
W
86-63
01/21/12
vs. Alabama
W
77-71
01/24/12
at Georgia
W
57-44
01/28/12 at LSU W
74-50
01/31/12 vs. Tennessee W
69-44
02/04/12
at South Carolina
W
86-52
02/07/12
vs. Florida
W
78-58
02/11/12
at Vanderbilt
W
69-63
02/18/12
vs. Ole Miss
W
77-62
02/21/12
at Mississippi State
W
73-64
02/25/12
vs. Vanderbilt
W
83-74
03/01/12 vs. Georgia W
79-49
W
74-59
03/04/12
at Florida
47
The March to
Madness Begins
48
2012 SEC Tournament
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Kentucky over LSU
Before Kentucky could make its run through March Madness, it started the SEC tournament as the No. 1 seed with the benefit of a first-round bye. The opponent was LSU, and the Tigers would not succumb without a fight. LSU hung around in the first half, taking advantage of a lethargic Kentucky squad in a game that started at noon. The Tigers snatched a lead in the second half before the Wildcats woke up with Terrence Jones pressing the alarm button. He went on a 9-0 run by himself to give Kentucky the lead for good and the Wildcats survived. Coach Calipari was far from pleased with the performance, but his players were still in position for a SEC tournament crown and an automatic bid, even though they were obviously assured of a tournament spot no matter what happened in New Orleans. But Coach Cal wanted his team to play better. And they would need to.
“That’s not a good basketball team that beat us. That’s a great basketball team.” - LSU Coach Trent Johnson
Cats’ Facts • Kentucky leads the all-time series 82-24. • LSU forced 18 Kentucky turnovers, most by UK this season against an SEC opponent. • LSU placed four players in double figures. • LSU held UK to its lowest-scoring first half of the season. • Kentucky is 31-1 and has won 23 games in a row. • The 23-game win streak ties for the seventh longest in school history. • UK is 75-1 under Coach John Calipari when holding the opponent to 67 or fewer points. 50
Cats’ Chat “It was a two-bucket game with probably five minutes to go. They had a chance and that’s all you’re asking for as a coach.” - Kentucky Coach John Calipari “They were being more physical than us in the first half, and we just tried to step that up in the second half by getting to the foul line, by just going through bumps.” - Forward Terrence Jones “We knew they were going to come out like a desperation game for them, and if we don’t come out and play, then we can lose.” - Kentucky Center Anthony Davis “I don’t know what I was thinking until Anthony Davis said, ‘Coach, go to me.’ And then I went to him and it was basket, basket, basket.” Coach John Calipari “It was our first tournament game, I was really nervous coming into the game, but I found myself.” - Freshman Forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist
03.09.2012 Kentucky
60
LSU
51
Cats’ Stats Scoring Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Terrence Jones Anthony Davis Doron Lamb
19 15 12 12
Rebounding Anthony Davis Terence Jones
14 11
Assists Marquis Teague
5 51
C la B ss lu fr eg o ra m s s th ! e
Kentucky over Florida No. 22 Florida waited in the semifinals, and beating the Gators would not be any easier. Florida shot 11 of 22 from behind the arc to keep pace with the more talented Wildcats. Behind more balanced scoring from Davis, Teague and Lamb and clutch free throw shooting, Kentucky willed its way to the finals, with a victory over Florida. Facing late-game adversity and still finding a way to prevail served as fruitful preparation for what Kentucky would face in the NCAA tournament. The Wildcats knew no one would just hand them titles because of their talent and pedigree; they would have to scratch and claw for every win in a one-and-done postseason format. One bad half or one mistake could mean the end of their season.
“We aren’t trying to blow every team out. We just want to win.”
- Kentucky Guard Doron Lamb
Cats’ Facts • Kentucky leads the series with Florida 93-33. • Kentucky won the two previous meetings this season, 78-58 in Lexington and 74-59 in Gainesville. • All five starters scored in double figures for the Wildcats. • Kentucky led 40-39 at the end of the half. UK is 26-0 when leading at halftime this season. • UK was 5-6 from the free throw line in the final three minutes. • Kentucky swept all three games against Florida for the first time since the 2004 season. 52
Cats’ Chat “It’s hard to beat a team three times. They know our game plan. We know theirs. They matched up well with us.” - Kentucky Guard Marquis Teague “We were down four points with like eight minutes to go, and we all huddled up and told ourselves that we got to get stops to win this game.” - Kentucky Guard Doron Lamb “I’ve got this team that has that will to win. They want to win. They have great pride.” Kentucky Coach John Calipari “They played great for just about 40 minutes.” - Kentucky Guard Marquis Teague “We took a really good shot from them and LSU. We stepped up to the challenge.” - Kentucky Forward Terrence Jones
03.10.2012 Kentucky
74
Florida
71
Cats’ Stats Scoring Michael Kidd-Gilchrist Terrence Jones Anthony Davis Doron Lamb
19 15 12 12
Rebounding Anthony Davis Terence Jones
14 11
Assists Marquis Teague
5 53
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Kentucky over Vanderbilt
For the third time, Kentucky and Vanderbilt faced off, this one for the SEC Tournament Championship. Unlike the first two outings, Kentucky would not leave this game smiling. Vandy’s Jeffery Taylor and John Jenkins led a 16-2 rally in the final five minutes and the Commodores snatched the title with an upset, ending Kentucky’s 24-game winning streak. The Wildcats struggled mightily from the field, unable to score a field goal in the final 8:04 of the game, while shooting just 35.9 percent. So instead of donning SEC tournament champion t-shirts, they watched as the joyous Commodores celebrated their first SEC tourney championship in over 60 years. While failing to win the SEC tournament was a bitter disappointment and a stark reminder of the perils that accompany postseason play, everyone knew the loss would not define this edition
of the Wildcats. The loss showed Kentucky was beatable, that any team no matter how talented can lose on any given day, especially in upset-happy college basketball. It also illustrated to Kentucky what could happen if it failed to bring its best in the most important tournament still to come. All its records and accomplishments would fizzle without a championship to top it all off. In a season of destiny, it was only appropriate that the Final Four would take place in the same city that witnessed Kentucky’s first loss in three months. Kentucky would lose that day in New Orleans, but it would also go on to earn a chance at redemption in the Big Easy. If the Wildcats could win those two games at the Superdome, the loss to Vanderbilt would just serve as a footnote – a minor blemish – to an unforgettable season.
Cats’ Facts
• Kentucky won both previous meetings this season, 69-63 in Nashville and 83-74 in Lexington. • Kentucky leads the all-time series 136-45. • Moving into the starting lineup, Darius Miller led UK with 16 points, adding three rebounds, four assists and two steals. • Kentucky didn’t make a field goal over the final eight minutes. • VU held UK to 35.9 percent from the field, the Wildcats’ lowest percentage this season against an SEC opponent. • Vandy advanced into the NCAA Tournament as a #5 seed where they went on to face Ivy League Champion Harvard. • Vanderbilt is so focused on academics, they don’t even have an Athletic Director.
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Cats’ Chat
“I thought Vanderbilt played very well down the stretch. We had our chances, we had our shots, we didn’t make them.” - Kentucky Coach John Calipari “It was kind of hard for me to sit on the bench and watch my team struggle like we did.” - Kentucky Center Anthony Davis (on his early foul trouble) “Vandy’s a good team. It would have been real tough to beat them three times in one season.” - Kentucky Forward Darius Miller “We just missed shots and, folks, these kids are not machines. They’re not computers. It’s not automatic.” - Kentucky Coach John Calipari “I definitely hate the feeling of losing, especially in a championship when we were this close to winning it all. It just hurts.” - Kentucky Center Anthony Davis
03.11.2012
Kentucky
64
Vanderbilt
71
Cats’ Stats Scoring Darius Miller Anthony Davis Terrence Jones
16 12 12
Rebounds Terrence Jones Anthony Davis
11 10
Assists Marquis Teague
6
55
56
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Time To
Dance!
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2012 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Rounds 1 and 2
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Round 1 - Kentucky over Western Kentucky
On a Kentucky team loaded with young talent, Terrence Jones, a sophomore, is a virtual senior citizen. As part of the 2010-2011 Kentucky team that made it to the Final Four, he’s familiar with the jitters that come with playing in your first NCAA Tournament -- not to mention the pressure of playing for maybe the most storied program in all of college basketball; a program where a national-title-or-bust mentality has been restored since John Calipari’s arrival on campus. It can be a lot for a young freshman. Jones knows this. So, what was his advice to his younger teammates prior to the game against the Hilltoppers? Relax, and run. Well, the Wildcats did plenty of both. Jones, who surprised most people by with his de-
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cision to return to Lexington rather than pursue the fruits of the NBA, led the way with 22 points and 10 boards as the most athletic team in the country scored the first ten points of the game. Freshman sensation Anthony Davis was typically dominant, blocking seven shots to go with his 16 points and nine rebounds. And Doron Lamb, another sophomore who passed up the NBA to come back to Kentucky, chipped in with 16 points as well. The game was never as close as the final score might indicate, but then, for the Wildcats, this game was really about, well, this game. It was about setting the tone for a NCAA Tournament run that would hopefully end with Kentucky hanging its eighth national championship banner in Rupp Arena. Suffice it to say, it was off to a good start.
03.15.2012 Kentucky
81
Western Kentucky
66
Cats’ Stats Scoring Terrence Jones Doron Lamb Anthony Davis
22 16 16
Rebounds Terrence Jones Anthony Davis
10 9
Assists Marquis Teague
4
61
CC l B Balassss lulu f egeg Orof rara mTt ssss! hhee !
Cats’ Facts • The Wildcats (33-2) led by as many as 32 points in the second half. • Western Kentucky was the lone team sub-.500 team in the tournament. • With Kentucky’s win, Number 1 seeds improved to 109-0 all-time against Number 16 seeds. • The Hilltoppers came in as a 26-point underdog. • The No. 1 seed in NCAA tournament is the 11th in school history for the Wildcats. • With seven blocks, Cats Center Anthony Davis moved to fifth on UK’s all-time blocks list with 164. 62
Cats’ Chat
“As a team, we wanted to come out real aggressive and just try to push the ball and get a lot more fast breaks than we were getting in the last few games.” - Kentucky Forward Terrence Jones “They just wouldn’t quit. They kept playing. They played to the final buzzer, and that’s who these young men are.” WKU Coach Ray Harper (speaking of the Kentucky players) “You can’t really guard Terrence (Jones). If he’s playing his A-game throughout the whole game, we’ll go far in this tournament.” - Kentucky Guard Doron Lamb “For them, if they want to advance and win a National Championship, they are going to have to shoot the ball better from the perimeter.’’ - Hilltoppers Coach Ray Harper (analysis of Kentucky’s chances of winning the tournament) “We just wanted to show everybody in the country that we’re in shape and we can keep running with them.” - Kentucky Guard Doron Lamb
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Round 2 - Kentucky over Iowa State
For a brief minute, this looked like an upset in the making. Iowa State was keeping it close and Kentucky was struggling to find its rhythm. And then boom, just like that, the Wildcats unleashed a fury that had every team in the country starting at its TV screen asking itself: “How in the world is anyone going to beat this team?” It was, obviously, a fair question. Kentucky turned on the jets to the tune of a 20-2 run, flying up and down the court with a level of athleticism and excitement that we haven’t seen in college basketball in quite a while. What once was a tie game turned into an 11-point halftime lead, and from there, the Cyclones were simply over-matched. Kentucky was firing from all over. Anthony Davis had 15 points.
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Unheralded Darius Miller had 19. Doron Lamb had 16. But the star of the game was point guard Marquis Teague. All year, Teague -- who was the top-rated point guard recruit -- had struggled to find his place amid Kentucky’s supremely talented roster. He was turnover prone. He was hesitant and inconsistent. People wondered if the Cats could win with him running the show. But with 24 points against Iowa State, Teague showed the spark that had been missing for so much of the year. He was confident. Aggressive. And heading into a Sweet 16 matchup with Indiana, the Wildcats were going to need more of the same from their suddenly unstoppable point man.
03.17.2012 Kentucky
87
Iowa State
71
Cats’ Stats Scoring Marquis Teague Darius Miller Doron Lamb
24 19 16
Rebounds Anthony Davis Terrence Jones
12 11
Assists Marquis Teague
7 65
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Cats’ Facts • The Wildcats are 3-0 all-time against Iowa State and 2-0 against the Cyclones in the NCAA Tournament. • Head coach John Calipari is now 34-13 in the NCAA Tournament. • Kentucky guard Doron Lamb has hit a 3-pointer in 18-straight games. • With the game tied 42-42, the Wildcats went on a 20-2 run to take a 62-44 lead. • Kentucky made 55.9 percent of its shots and outscored Iowa State by 33 points outside the paint. • Cyclones’ coach Fred Hoiberg is known as “the mayor” due to his popularity in Iowa State’s home city of Ames. 66
Cats’ Chat “They hit tough shots, they hit shots with the shot clock running down.” - Iowa State Coach Fred Hoiberg “I didn’t really care about scoring points. I just wanted to get my teammates involved and do whatever I needed to do to help my team win.” - Kentucky Guard Marquis Teague (Cats leading scorer with 24 pts) “We’ve got nothing to hang our head about. We got beat by the No. 1 overall seed that played an incredible game.” - Cyclones coach Fred Hoiberg “That’s about as good as we can play.” - Cats’ Coach John Calipari “I brought him here because when I watched him play, I absolutely loved his game. He is a tough -- I call him a pitbull.” - Kentucky Coach John Calipari (on guard Marquis Teague) “I want them to just look at this and be happy, but not satisfied.” - Cats’ Coach John Calipari
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Bound! New Orleans
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The Cats Advance to the Final Four!
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Sweet 16 - Kentucky over Indiana When Kentucky went to Bloomington during the regular season, the Hoosiers pulled off a shocker in one of the most thrilling college basketball games in recent memory – Christian Watford’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer was sure to go down in Indiana lore. The game restored the rivalry between two of the games giant programs, and the fact that they were facing off again in the Sweet 16 had TV ratings skyrocketing. And in most every way, the game actually lived up the hype. Indiana was good. Scrappy. Worthy. But Kentucky was out of this world. Led by freshman Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s 24 points, Kentucky boasted five players in double figures, and none of them were Anthony Davis. Imag-
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ine a college team so good that the likely No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft isn’t even among the top five scorers in a game where your score 102 points. Incredible. The selflessness this team has shown all year, and was continuing to reinforce, belied their youth in such a way that the word unbeatable continued to pop up. Because it’s not like Indiana didn’t play well. They did. They scored 90 points, and the aforementioned Davis was on the bench for the final 14 minutes of the first half. Against any other team, Indiana is likely moving on. But Kentucky goes 35-for-37 from the free throw line. Come on. For a bunch of freshman and sophomores under this kind of spotlight? That’s not even fair. An Elite Eight matchup with Baylor awaited.
03.23.2012 Kentucky
102
Indiana
90
Cat’s Stats Scoring Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 24 Doron Lamb 21 Darius Miller 19
Rebounding Anthony Davis 12 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 10
Blocks Anthony Davis
3
Assists Marquis Teague
7 71
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Cats’ Facts • The Wildcats are now 32-24 all-time against Indiana and 3-1 against the Hoosiers in the NCAA Tournament. • With their 108th tournament victory Kentucky tied the record of most NCAA Tournament wins. • The Wildcats have advanced to the Elite Eight three-straight years. • Head coach John Calipari is now 35-13 in the NCAA Tournament. • Kentucky extended its streak of games with a 3-pointer to 824 games, the third-longest streak in the country. • With four blocked shots, the Wildcats set the all-time NCAA team blocks list with 317. • The Wildcats led 50-47 at the half. Kentucky is 29-0 when leading at halftime. • The last time Kentucky scored 100 points in a game was in the season-opening win against Marist. 72
Cats’ Chat “It was a war, and Indiana played great, and we just happened to play a little bit better. But it was a war.” - Head Coach John Calipari “I feel like we did a pretty good job. So did Indiana. The game was a very intense game. It was up and down for the most part. I felt like both teams did a great job of executing what they were trying to do. They did a great job on defense and offensively against us. They executed and got what they wanted. It was a fun game to be a part of the way both teams played.” - Darius Miller “I feel we like playing fast‑paced games just because we like being on the attack, and we like when Marquis pushes it. We’re playing our best basketball just because we have so many options, and he’s such a good ball handler and he controls the tempo and he just gets us in everything we need to get to.” - Terrence Jones “I got in early foul trouble. By the second half, my teammate told me, ‘you’re fine. Just come out and play your game.’ We need you to steal, block shots, rebound, and score the ball. So that’s what I did in the second half, don’t let the first half get to me and just come out with the same intensity the players came out with in the first half.” - Anthony Davis “We’re playing basketball games. We’re not worried about a tournament. We’ve got a game coming up Sunday, we’re playing basketball. We took them to the movies last night because I didn’t want them to watch all the games. So they went and watched “21 Jump Street.” Which I had to sit through, by the way. “ - Head Coach John Calipari
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Elite Eight - Kentucky over Baylor
If any team in the country could even come close to matching Kentucky’s athleticism, it was perhaps Baylor. Led by Quincy Acy and Pierre Jackson, the Bears liked to get out and run and throw lobs and had ridden that style all the way to a Big 12 championship. But on this day, nothing was going to stop Kentucky from a return trip to the Final Four. Kidd-Gilchrist led the way with 19 points, Davis scored 18, and in the blink of an eye Kentucky was running Baylor out of the gym. Up 20 at the half, a scary moment happened in the second half when Davis landed awkwardly on his right knee. He came out of the game, and after
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returning, was seen limping again. But he toughed it out and Kentucky was never seriously threatened in a game that, much like the Iowa State matchup, was never as close as the final score might indicate. The Bears never pulled closer than 10 points, as every time they even tried to start a run Kentucky answered with a run of its own. After the victory, Davis was quoted as saying, “It’s kind of hard to play against us.” You think? The victory set up the storyline of all storylines: Kentucky vs. Louisville, Calipari vs. Pitino, for a trip to the national title game.
03.25.2012 Kentucky
82
Baylor
70
Cats’ Stats Scoring Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 19 Anthony Davis 18
Rebounding Anthony Davis Terrence Jones
11 9
Blocks Anthony Davis Terrence Jones
6 3
Assists Terrence Jones Marquis Teague
6 3 75
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Cats’ Facts • Kentucky improved its record to 36-2. • The Wildcats are now 7-0 all-time against Baylor and 2-0 against the Bears in the NCAA Tournament. • UK is now 109-46 in NCAA Tournament games. • Head coach John Calipari is now 36-13 in the NCAA Tournament and has been to four Final Fours. • Kentucky extended its streak of games with a 3-pointer to 825 games, the third-longest streak in the country. • With nine blocked shots, the Wildcats pushed their NCAA record number of blocks to 326. • Kentucky led 42-22 at the half. The Wildcats are 30-0 when leading at halftime. 76
Cats’ Chat
“Really proud of these guys. They gutted it out and did what they had to do and make plays they had to make so they couldn’t get close enough to catch us.” - Head Coach John Calipari “It’s a great feeling to be part of something special and go to the Final Four. It’s everyone’s college dream. Just for us to make it, it was great.” - Anthony Davis “We go out and play harder than the other team. We want to make sure they know they can’t beat us. We go out at the beginning of the game and be aggressive on defense and offense, and that’s what we did today.” - Doron Lamb “Well, it feels great. Just working so hard all year with this group and us just coming together to become a family and just celebrating getting this far is just real good. We just know we’ve got a lot more to do.” - Terrence Jones “We just left New Orleans. Now we’re going back to New Orleans to play a basketball game. Forget about this tournament. Let’s just go be as good as we can be as a team. If that’s not good enough, then the season ends there. But let’s just worry about us, and that’s what we’re going to do. We won’t change.” - Head Coach John Calipari
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Final
Four
March 31-April 2, 2012
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Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana 79
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Final Four - Kentucky over Louisville
When the brackets came out, the Final Four matchup everyone was anticipating was Kentucky vs. Duke, on the 20th anniversary of the Christian Laettner heartbreaker that still makes people in Lexington sick to their stomach. But Duke went out in the first round to Lehigh, and so here we were, the path having been paved for what promised to be an epic duel between these heated instate rivals. If you thought Louisville didn’t have the talent to match up with the Wildcats, early on you were right. Kentucky was threatening to blow out the Cardinals. Kentucky was getting any shot they wanted. Teague was getting to the rim. Davis was getting position and finishing. Everyone was sharing the ball. And on the defensive end, they were swarming. They were pressuring the ball. Jumping passing lanes. Funneling everything toward the human block party that is Anthony Davis. But somehow, Louisville kept hanging around. With the way the game was playing out, you looked up at the scoreboard and wondered how Kentucky wasn’t up 30. In the end, Louisville was hitting the offensive glass relentlessly. By the time it was all said and done the Cardinals had a 19-6 ad-
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vantage in offensive rebounds, and on the strength of that resiliency, Louisville proceeded to go on a 15-3 run before Peyton Siva hit a deep 3-pointer to tie it at 49 with less than ten minutes to play. If the Wildcat’s youth was going to become a liability, this would’ve been the time. The pressure was mounting with the clock ticking down, and for the first time in the tournament, the Wildcats actually appeared to be in trouble. You could argue that it was here, in this final five minutes that the Wildcats went from a talented group of athletes to a national championship basketball team. With it all on the line, Kentucky remained aggressive against Louisville’s press, breaking it to the tune of three consecutive dunks. And finally, Louisville succumbed. The victory set the stage for another John Calipari-Bill Self national title matchup. When he was with Memphis, Calipari lost to Self ’s Kansas Jayhawks in shocking fashion, surrendering a late nine-point lead. Something told you this time around was going to be different. The Wildcats had too much talent. Too much destiny. This was their year. It was time to put the finishing touches on a magical season and prove it.
03.31.2012 Kentucky
Louisville
61
69
Cats’ Stats Scoring Anthony Davis Darius Miller Doron Lamb
18 13 10
Rebounds Anthony Davis Terrence Jones
17 7
Assists Marquis Teague
5
81
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Cats’ Facts • Jay-Z attended Kentucky’s Final Four game against Louisville, sitting in the front row adjacent to the Wildcats’ student section. He held a jersey of F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, a New Jersey native. • Head-to-head, Calipari and Pitino each have won 8 of 16 games against each other. • A Kentucky fan placed an ad on Craigslist, asking for seats at the game in exchange for his wife. • Patriot’s owner Robert Kraft was in New Orleans for the NCAA Final Four. • Actress Ashley Judd cheered the Wildcats on with the Calipari family. • Shaquille O’Neal was in attendance, as well as fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger. • The official attendance was 73,361 and the NCAA called it the second-most attended session in NCAA tournament history. • The Wildcats are 18-7 in Final Four games and 8-3 in national semifinal games. • Kentucky is 36-13 all-time in New Orleans and 6-2 in NCAA Tournament games played in New Orleans. • John Calipari and the Wildcats have won all three meetings against Louisville since he took the helm. • Rick Pitino was 6-2 against Louisville as the coach of Kentucky, but he is only 4-7 versus Kentucky as the coach of Louisville. 82
Cats’ Chat “I have a team that’s had teams come at them all year, and they responded again today.” - John Calipari “This is my stage! This is my stage!” - Anthony Davis (as the final seconds ticked off the clock) “To tell you the truth, I haven’t always liked some of the Kentucky teams. I’m not going to lie to you. But I really like this team a lot because of their attitude and the way they play. I’ll certainly be rooting for them hard to bring the trophy back to Kentucky. - Rick Pitino “I think that’s neat. When I was at UMass, I can remember hugging him and telling him, `I’m happy for you and I really want you to win the national title.’ He did the same to me tonight, so I think it’s kind of neat.” - John Calipari (On Pitino wishing him good luck) “Anthony Davis is just the No.1 player in the draft. When you’re playing against Bill Russell on the pro level, you realize why the Celtics won 11 world championships.” - Rick Pitino “It’s our fans; our fans are great to us. Our fans travel a long way. We want to go out here and give them a show and give them what they want, which is a national championship.” - Anthony Davis “We didn’t play our best tonight, we played good, but that wasn’t our best.” - Kentucky Coach John Calipari
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2012 NCAA
Championship Game
84
April 2, 2012
Mercedes-Benz Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana 85
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NCAA Championship - Kentucky over Kansas The good thing about this amazing collection of Kentucky players who combined their incomparable talents with world class coaching and the fuel and passion provided by a fan base as dominating as any in sports, is that they had more than one future NBA star on the roster. They would need them on this magical night in New Orleans. Things were rolling along big and easy in the first half of the Cats epic showdown with fellow heavyweight Kansas, as Kentucky effortlessly controlled every aspect of the game and built up a lead of 18 points. The second half was a different story, as John Calipari had his team go with a more deliberate scheme to milk the clock, which meant things got a little dicey. But the 67-59 victory was well earned and truly deserved by a team that had no peers in this season. Anthony Davis showed you could dominate a game without scoring in double figures, as he experienced the worst shooting game of his career, but the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player was an absolute force defensively and on the boards. The 19-year old freshman sensation scored just six points, but ask the Jayhawks if they
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felt his presence. The rest of his line score tells the story, as he had a staggering and game-altering six blocked shots, 16 rebounds, five assists and three steals. Picking up the slack offensively was sophomore Doron Lamb, another future NBA player, who flushed dagger after dagger into the hearts of the Jayhawks, and finished with 22 points. After taking four teams from three schools to Final Fours, Calipari finally was able to etch his name in history, and forever in the hearts of Cat’s fans by winning his first National Championship. Of course, he deflected the credit and shifted it to his worthy players every chance he could, which is appropriate since they secured the win for Cal by knocking down free throws in the final minutes. The amount of poise showed by such a young team is unbelievable. The Wildcats made something incredibly difficult almost look easy. On paper they were without question the best team in the land during the 2011-12 season, and the eighth NCAA Championship team in Kentucky history earned their place in history by going on the court and proving their dominance there where it counts.
04.02.2012 Kentucky
67
Kansas
59
Cats’ Stats Scoring Doron Lamb 22 Marquis Teague 14 Michael Kidd-Gilchrist 11
Rebounds Anthony Davis
16
Blocks Anthony Davis
6
Assists Anthony Davis
5 87
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Cats’ Facts • This was the Wildcats 8th National Championship and 11th National Championship game appearance.
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•
This is just the 2nd time in the last 20 years that all 3 games in the Final Four were decided by 8 points or fewer. It also happened in 1999.
•
This is just the 2nd time since the tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985 that the average margin of victory in all tournament games has been less than 10 points per game.
•
Kentucky is the 4th team in the last 30 years to enter the tournament as the AP No. 1 ranked team and win the National Championship. The last to do it was Duke in 2001.
•
Kentucky now has 6 wins vs. No. 2 seeds. That is the most such wins of any team, one more than Villanova, Georgetown, North Carolina and Kansas.
Cats’ Chat
“I don’t know of any team that has sacrificed for each other like this team and they deserve this moment, they really do.’’ - Head Coach John Calipari “I can’t really explain it or put it into words. All the hard work that we put in this year, the sacrifices that people have made on this team means a lot, especially with these guys. We’ve grown as brothers. We’ve had a lot of fun with this. I can’t really put into words how it feels.” - Darius Miller
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Anthony Davis
Cats’ Chat “It was just a joy to win a National Championship, especially as a freshman with this team that we have. We have a great team. We all go out there, play hard, defend. Kansas is a great ballclub, defend, play hard. It was just a great moment.” - Anthony Davis “Well, it’s not me, it’s these guys behind me, they led us this whole tournament. This whole game I was struggling offensively, and I told my team, every time down, you all score the ball; I’m just gonna defend and rebound.’’ - Anthony Davis
Cats’ Facts
• Anthony Davis finished with 6 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 6 blocks, 3 steals. He’s the first player in NCAA Tournament history to reach those marks in a single game. • Davis set an NCAA freshman record with 186 blocked shots. • Anthony has a twin sister named Antoinette. • The Kentucky Wildcat mascot pasted on a unibrow in support of Anthony Davis for the championship game. • Anthony Davis is the 4th freshman to win the Final Four Most Outstanding Player Award. The last to do it was Carmelo Anthony in 2003. • Davis scored just 24 points in the Final Four, the fewest by the Most Outstanding Player since Patrick Ewing scored 18 en route to Georgetown’s national title in 1984.
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Cats’ Chat “I had a great shoot around. He (Coach) told me I’d have 25 today, but I had 22. It feels great. My sophomore year, a championship in my first time to the Final Four. It can’t get any better than that.” - Doron Lamb “It just comes from us just getting along and liking each other so much. Just being friends and brothers off the court just makes it easier on the court. We just built chemistry all over the summer that made us play real well together. We got along. No one cared who got the accolades. The main goal was to getting to this point and winning. That’s what we focused on.” - Terrence Jones
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Cats’ Facts
• The win gives the Wildcats their 38th win of the season, the most ever in Men’s Division I Basketball. (Memphis went 38-2 in 2008 but later had all its wins vacated). • The NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game attendance was 70,914; making the two-day Final Four total 134,274 – the third-highest Final Four figure. •
Kentucky tied the NCAA championship game record for blocks. (Davis’ six blocks tied the individual record.)
• Hours before the game started, the Kansas book store might have jinxed the team’s chances by selling ‘National Champions’ t-shirts on their website. • 92
Last year the minimum Final Four “get-in-the-door” price was $85. This year it was $217.
Cats’ Chat
“This is not about me. This is about these 13 players, this is about the Big Blue Nation.’’ - Head Coach John Calipari “He was terrific. But the one basket he made was one of the biggest baskets of the game. He made that faceup 18-footer on the baseline. He’s terrific. He’s terrific. Seeing him in person late in the season as opposed to early in the season, you can tell how much he’s improved. I think all the guys would agree.” - Kansas Head Coach Bill Self (On Anthony Davis)
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Cats’ Facts •
Darius Miller set a school record by appearing in his 152nd career game.
• The Championship Game victory marked Coach John Calipari’s 102nd win in just three years at Kentucky. •
This season Kentucky is 14-0 when Anthony Davis has 6 blocks or more and 11-0 when Doron Lamb has 3-three pointers or more.
• Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback wagered beef that the Jayhawks would earn their second championship in four years. Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear had a Kentucky country ham riding on his team’s chances. The winning governor donated the food to a food bank. • Kansas lost in the national title game for the sixth time, tied with Duke for the most ever. 94
Cats’ Chat
“The fans, the Big Blue Nation, all the people of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, we did this for them, too. We know what it means to them. We know 5,000 of them camp out for our first practice. We go around and meet them all. Everywhere we go on the road is packed with blue. Tonight’s building had to be 70% our fans. So we want to do it for them. “ - John Calipari
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Cats’ Chat
“My freshman year, I was in the NIT. All y’all know that. For it to change so fast, it’s amazing. I’m blessed to be a part of something like this, especially with these guys.” - Darius Miller “What a lesson for these young people, that if you share, you give up some of yourself for everyone around you, if you care more about the teammates than yourself, it’s amazing what you can accomplish. It doesn’t matter your age. That’s the lesson in this.” - John Calipari 96
What happens when a school dripping in tradition also has superior coaching and the most staggering amount of raw talent ever assembled on a college basketball team? You get lifelong memories. A feeling that what you’re seeing might not ever happen again. And championships. Specifically, you get the 2011-12 Kentucky Wildcats. The Cats dominated their sport, and capped off a magical season with a night in New Orleans their legion of loyal fans will never forget. Thanks to the utter and complete selfless domination of star player Anthony Davis, and a supporting cast that will join him in the NBA someday, Kentucky not only ran roughshod over the their competition but they showed what teamwork is all about. Kentucky basketball fans know what championship teams look like. And this current collection of National Champions will be the new measuring stick of greatness. Enjoy reliving every moment of a special season in every sense of the word.
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