Looking back, Kentucky coach John Calipari said he was “stupid” three years ago to talk about leading his team to an undefeated season.
After a 67-59 victory over Kansas to claim the national championship in New Orleans, Calipari unabashedly told reporters, “Before I leave coaching, I would like to coach an undefeated team.”
That “Coach Cal quote” is a popular topic these days, with his Wildcats heavy favorites to win the NCAA Tournament and complete what would be a 40-0 season. Calipari said he must have been young and naive to make that statement.
But he’s not about to back off it.
“I would say, if you tell me I can’t do it, I could do it,” Calipari said Wednesday during NCAA Tournament interviews in Louisville, Ky., where Kentucky opens tournament play.
Calipari always recruits blue-chippers. And his team is almost always a threat to win it all. But this year is different, as Kentucky is six victories from making history. No Division I men’s basketball team has gone undefeated since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers went 32-0.
PHOTOS:
In Las Vegas, Kentucky is even money to win it all. Bettors can take the rest of the field for the same odds.
How good are the Cats? Their 21.2-point margin of victory during the regular season led all Division I teams, as did their defense, which limited opponents to 35.1 percent shooting.
Want to go inside against Kentucky? Good luck. Seven players are 6-foot-8 or taller, a rotation which includes a trio of fly swatters with 7-foot Willie Cauley-Stein, 6-11 Karl-Anthony Towns and 6-10 Trey Lyles all rim protectors. The defensive efficiency ratings of Towns and Cauley-Stein rank 1-2 in college basketball.
Care to attack from the perimeter? The length of Kentucky’s backcourt is equally daunting. Twin sophomores Andrew and Aaron Harrison are 6-6. And when they need a breather, Calipari brings in another 6-6 guard, freshman Devin Booker.
The rotation is 10 players deep and features nine McDonald’s All-Americans.
Kentucky’s talent level borders on ridiculous. Just ask legendary coach Larry Brown, who has his SMU Mustangs in the NCAA field.
“If you take their first and second teams and split them up, they’d probably have the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation,” Brown told USA Today.
It’s an embarrassment of riches that Calipari is eager to promote because of his team’s ability to share the ball, as well as the attention.
He would be quick to point out that the team’s leading scorer, Andrew Harrison, averages a modest 11.3 points per game. Cauley-Stein is an All-America candidate who averages 9.3 points.
Nobody on the roster averages more than Aaron Harrison’s 25.8 minutes. Eight players average at least 20 minutes.
“You have a talented group of kids that have sacrificed for each other,” Calipari said. “They have been selfless. This is what college athletics is about.”
The master of signing “one-and-done” stars who leave for the NBA, Calipari has become a lightning rod for criticism, ridicule and envy. But anyone who has watched Kentucky finds them an easy team to like. The Wildcats share minutes, and the basketball, play tenacious defense, and their effort level is off the charts.
Calipari said he does recruit selectively. He won’t take a blue-chipper with a big head who he isn’t convinced will buy into the team concept.
Colorado coach Tad Boyle played for Kansas in the early 1980s when Calipari served as an assistant under Brown. Boyle said Calipari does not get the credit he deserves for being able to rebuild a new team from year to year and get them playing together from Week 1.
“People don’t realize how hard that is to do,” Boyle said. “Cal has the ability to get through to kids, to have them listen and buy in.
“And we’re not talking about just any recruit. These are the best of the best. They might have scored 25 points a game in high school, and now they’re being asked to play maybe 25 minutes a game.”
What’s really scary for the rest of the field is that Calipari has his most veteran team. No, there aren’t any seniors, but Cauley-Stein is a junior, and four other key players off last year’s national runner-up team returned for their sophomore seasons.
Somehow, Calipari has kept his ‘ Cats focused.
“It doesn’t really matter about the record anymore,” 7-foot Kentucky sophomore Dakari Johnson said Wednesday during NCAA Tournament interviews. “Every team is 0-0.”
Only one team, however, stands 34-0. And counting.
Tom Kensler: tkensler@denverpost.com or
Potentially purr-fect ‘Cats
Kentucky has stormed through the regular season, with few teams able to stay close. The Wildcats are attempting to become the first team to go 40-0. A look:
DOMINANCE
The Wildcats are winning games by an average of 21.2 points, the largest margin of victory in Division I basketball.
DEFENSE
No college team plays defense like Kentucky, which has held teams to a .351 shooting percentage, the best figure nationally.
BALANCE
Guard Aaron Harrison leads the Wildcats in scoring with 11.3 points per game, the lowest for a Kentucky team leader since the 1946-47 season.
HEIGHT
The Wildcats have NBA-type height, with their starters — Aaron Harrison, Andrew Harrison, Karl Anthony Towns, Willie Cauley-Stein and Trey Lyles — averaging 6-foot-9, making them the tallest team in college basketball.
Source: Denver Post research
