And Now The Fall-Out...
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Here is a story about Kentucky AFTER last night…
They are already a thing of the past, even to themselves. Had they won, they would also have been a thing of the past, in just a few months from now when the NEW set of Kentucky OADs enter the program.
“And he said those late-game three-pointers that will live on in NCAA tournament lore “don’t mean anything now.””
Well… they may mean nothing to him, but those victories crushed the hearts of many deserving teams that STILL have not forgotten their March performances and will cherish just playing in the tournament.
This is the fall out brought on by Calipari basketball. This team, who seemed to live in the moment when they destroyed a field of teams full of 4 and 5-yr players now is left with more hollowness than the teams they beat. This is the legacy they have left for Kentucky and college basketball everywhere…
“Don’t mean anything now.”
Well… to be honest… it never did mean anything, even if they had won. Because a few more points and winning the trophy took only a few months effort to earn. Try putting your guts into it for 4 or 5 years, while earning a degree, then step up to the microphone and tell the world it “don’t mean anything now.”
I’m disgusted with it all.
This is a total disrespect for the game, and for anything in life worth fighting for. The things to remember are remembered because they aren’t easy to obtain. A few months of all star basketball will never create a memory worth holding on to.
Funny… I remember almost everything about Danny Manning and his YEARS at Kansas. I remember his smile, his usual calm demeanor, his dynamic moves to the hole (for a big man). I remember most players on that team. I remember Coach Brown like he was still coaching at Kansas now.
“Still means something now.”
So does our runner-up run in 2012 with TT and TRob… I still remember TRob’s smile…
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AMEN.
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@drgnslayr Let me say 2 things:
First: We dont define ourselves (KU) by how KY chooses to define themselves (“dont matter now”…). Our past players will always matter to us, dare I say the ones that stayed with us longer than 1 season. KY fans, a month ago were lamenting about the OADs, “using” KY x 9mos…or missing rooting for players for 3-4 years. They also said they wished their players actually ‘cared’ about their school. When Cal said pre-season that his guys “could go 40-0”, he almost doomed them with that hype. I dont care what he says, what he does, he can reconsider his own hype now if he wants.
Second: It was just 1 game. Anything can happen. Ask AZ, MichState, Syracuse, FL, Duke, UNC…even WichitaSt: dont bring your A-game, you go home. In a close game, got to get stops. WSU and others didnt. Wisconsin didnt. And credit A.Harrison for hitting the shot with 5.7sec left…if he missed it, Wisc was leading, and I doubt KY would have got another look.
Third: (bonus
) You cant really say Kentucky “did” anything to those other teams full of 4 and 5yr players, how is that logical? When this same Kentucky went from preseason No.1 to outta-the-top25–> what exactly did they do to other teams? When they managed to get embarrassed by Frank Martin’s S.Carolina squad? I watched a fair amt of KY games this season–> very lackluster, and spotty play…dazzling moments married to frosh blunders. I saw them actualy put a solid game together against my 2nd fave WSU squad, unbelievably. I say “unbelievably”, because I myself had seen several KY games throughout the year. And you CANNOT hold KY kids’ length and athleticism against them, why would you when KU gets the same type of athletes? Baylor gets the same type of athletes, too. If Fred Hoiberg wants to complain and be envious of Joel Embiid like he was in a post game press conf…then maybe he needs to go recruit like Scot Drew or Bill Self or Calipari. Syracuse gets long-athletics. So does Tennessee, for that matter…(& I could go on and on.)As a royalty basketball fan, I can say nothing but give credit to those KY frosh for their nice run, applaud UConn on their win…and begin preparing our own 2014-15 Jayhawks in deadly earnest. We will be a lot better: experience is a great teacher in SelfBall’s system. I dont think we need to make a big deal about KY. Let Cal have his system, and the razor-edge life he lives trying to extract what may or may not be there in the chemistry-dept when he throws a new starting 5 out there every single year. His is a crapshoot I dont want. We almost had a similar situation this year with our load of frosh, but Self managed the season better than Cal, while Cal’s kids just so happened to “find” their roles against WSU and subsequent games. We are not on the Kentucky merri-go-round.
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It was disrespectful to say it didn’t mean anything. It should mean something to anyone getting the honor to play in that tournament. How would it feel to put your guts into it for years to get to the tournament, then get beat by a bunch of all stars that later tell you it didn’t mean anything? It’s total disrespect. They are marginalizing the entire game.
I watched MOST of Kentucky’s games this year… and to be honest, I like every single player on that team! The Harrison brothers are awesome.
But it doesn’t mean anything to them because it all came too easy. And if it doesn’t mean anything to them, then they could at least have the dignity to keep quiet about it.
Harrison should be proud to have had that opportunity… and if he doesn’t want to remember any of his game-winning shots, then why should anyone else?
There must be 10 or 20 million guys out there in America that would give their left testicle to have the experience that they had.
Kentucky DID do something to those other teams… they knocked them out of the tournament. They cut some of their dreams short. It SHOULD mean something to them. It SHOULD mean something to everyone playing in that tournament.
A few years of results like this and it will take a toll on America and the sport.
If these kids are going to come in here and not have a memorable moment (win or lose) then they should just go to Europe and play a year to qualify for the NBA… they should stop defecating all over our game with their trivial attitudes.
These kids literally coast into college basketball… quick and out. If they are going to do that without putting in the time and effort, the least they could do is not s#it all over the game with their attitudes.
We do have some of the same kids… and if they make comments like that I’ll go to Lawrence myself and kick some arse! We haven’t heard Wiggins or Embiid marginalize the tournament. If they do, they will be quickly forgotten by KU fans.
It’s all part of what Kentucky is building… and it is unhealthy for everyone, in or outside of Lexington.
The expectations their fans had were way over the top… even over the top of what we have.
So now their season didn’t count for them… it is swept under the rug like it didn’t happen.
They advanced far beyond where we did, and I still will remember this season for a long long time. Sure, I was disappointed with our last game. We always are unless we bring home the trophy. But I enjoyed a lot of great Jayhawk basketball this year and I thank every single player for making it happen!
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“When Cal said pre-season that his guys “could go 40-0”, he almost doomed them with that hype.”
I totally agree.
And when he said they were reaching for perfection… that blew my mind, and apparently about everyone elses’ minds, too, because it turned people negative.
I still can’t believe Harrison said that. Both those boys are good guys that come from a quality family. They know better. I’m guessing it was the result of them going through a toxic year in the pressure cooker.
All those Kentucky players DESERVE to remember this tournament positively. To hold their heads up high and REMEMBER and SAVOR this moment for the rest of their lives! It doesn’t sound like they feel that way now. Maybe it will come to them over time. I hope so for their own benefit… because winning games in March is something that should be savored through perpetuity! That’s what the teams they beat felt and would have felt by advancing. That is what they take away from those teams if they can’t rejoice with the success they had.
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I have watched a fair amount of UK games and the Harrison twins always struck me as being selfish. Only towards the end of the season when they started to be less selfish, the team improved.
