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Coach Cal turning up heat in practice ahead of final exhibition

John Calipari - photo by Chet White | UKAthletics.com

– photo by Chet White |

John Calipari has a very simple objective for his players each season.

The individual awards, the team success, being selected in the NBA Draft, those things are all nice, but they are nothing more than a byproduct of his central aim.

“My goal, as I coach, is to have people watch a player play from his hometown or his family and have them say this: I cannot believe that's the same guy,” Calipari said.

Coach Cal's players arrive on campus with remarkable gifts. They have high-school All-America credentials, mock-draft hype and games that have made them fodder for countless YouTube videos. They've been showered with attention for eye-popping statistics and highlight reel plays, but by the time March rolls around, Calipari wants them to be known for a very different set of reasons.

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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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