Kentucky's most impressive stat isn't 37-0.
It's two, as in the number of players averaging in double figures. Or maybe 10, as in the number of players averaging double-digit minutes.
With a roster that makes NBA general managers drool, people seem to think all John Calipari has to do is roll the ball onto the floor and the wins will follow. But try telling a 17-year-old phenom who's had only a passing acquaintance with the bench that nothing is promised – not a starting role, not points, not minutes – and see if you can get him to buy in.
Now give the same spiel to nine more guys.
“People think it's easy when you have all those players,” West Virginia coach Bob Huggins said. “It's hard because you have a whole bunch of guys that think they can take over a game, and you have to get them to play together.”
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter's Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.
On This Day In UK Basketball History
- On March 19, 1966, Pat Riley joined the 1,000-point club. He did it in 54 games.
- On March 19, 1966, in one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, top-ranked UK, featuring “Rupp’s Runts,” loses in the NCAA Championship game, 72-65, to Texas Western.
- On March 19, 1989, in the wake of an NCAA investigation, Eddie Sutton resigns as UK basketball coach.