By WADE UPCHURCH
Monticello — There is a song that goes something like this, "Life is not always
beautiful, but it is a beautiful ride."
The end of Kentucky's basketball season was not a pleasant one for
Kentucky fans but for the past six months there have been some good times.
In Syracuse, after you get through Cornell fans asking if Kentucky is a city
or state and referring to Kentucky as a third world, you hope to win some
ball games.
Kentucky played two basketball games in Syracuse. One was a battle of
physical skills with Cornell and our size and quickness prevailed. The other
was a battle of "wills" or a test in mentality for the situation and West
Virginia prevailed in that one.
For the year Kentucky and West Virginia both shot about 33 percent from
the three. But on Saturday Kentucky missed 20 before it made one and West
Virginia made 8 before it missed.
Many years ago I read in a book on the psychology of
coaching that the ultimate time to motivate your team for performance was
when they were perceived as a slight underdog. West Virginia was in that
position on Saturday and they turned in a top flight performance. Kentucky
was out scored by 18 points from the three, too much to overcome especially
when you shoot nine more threes that the other team.
In the end Kentucky had the best players in the nation but not the best
team. It comes with the territory of the "one and done" type recruitment.
If Kentucky were to return all the players eligible to return they would
be the most prohibitive favorite in the history of college basketball.
Another old saying I heard one time is, ŒIf if's and but's were candy
and nuts, we would all have a merry Christmas.' If it was a seven games
series like the NBA perhaps Kentucky could have survived it's lack of
experience. But that is another if and now another but.
I will say I was more disappointed for a coach and his team than I was
disappointed in their play. I had a great year covering Kentucky basketball.
Physically they were one of the great college teams of all time. The
only perimeter player they had with any experience to speak of was Miller
and that was hard to overcome. The excitement will return when in about a
month the pieces of the 2010-2011 "Wildcat Puzzle" start to fall in place.
For now the dream is over, but another one will come...that is what
makes Kentucky Wildcat basketball so special.