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John Wall only played at Kentucky for one season but his connection will last a lifetime

John Wall and Eric Bledsoe renewed acquaintances on Sunday, the latest matchup featuring former charges of Wildcats Coach John Calipari.

When John Wall arrived as a freshman at the University of in 2010, it was an open secret that his stay in Lexington would last just one season. He was the top-ranked player out of high school, the headliner for the nation's top-ranked recruiting class, and the consensus No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft.

was in his first year as Kentucky's coach and did not deny the one-and-done reality; he encouraged it. He had coached Derrick Rose and Tyreke Evans at Memphis and made one request to his latest prized point guard: take the other guys to the NBA with you. Those other guys included fellow freshmen DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, and . Everyone was on board from the start except for one: Bledsoe.

“He used to come in and tell me, ‘Eric doesn't believe he can do this, Coach,' ” Calipari recalled in a telephone interview. “‘He doesn't believe he's an NBA player.' I said, ‘What? We got a job then. We're going to convince him that he is because he is. We're going to get in his mind with the right stuff.' ”

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On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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