
Kentucky measures success based on the banners hanging from Rupp Arena. And there is a reason none of them are for conference championships or N.C.A.A. tournament appearances. National titles, seven in all, are the only form of currency there. Those lofty expectations seemed incongruous by the end of the Tubby Smith era and during Billy Gillispie’s two-year stay as coach. Kentucky’s last Final Four appearance was in 1998. But from Mayfield to Morehead and at outposts in between…