What’s New Royce White. The Sweet Sixteen saw Kentucky exact revenge on the Indiana Hoosiers in the most dynamic offensive display in the entire tournament, putting up a record 101 points. The long and athletic Baylor Bears proved no match as Kentucky put together one of its best games of the season to reach its second straight Final Four. In a matchup only famous fiction writers can imagine, fans across the state were treated to “Commonwealth Armageddon” as Kentucky dispatched archrival Louisville to advance to its first national championship game since the Comeback Cats in 1998. Then, on April 2, 2012, Kentucky cut down the nets in the Superdome and laid its claim to college basketball dominance as the last team standing. More than wins and titles made this Kentucky season “special”, one that will be passed on to generations of Kentucky fans for years to come. Was it Michael Kidd-Gilchrist’s childlike exuberance for playing basketball? Was it Anthony Davis’s transcendence as one of college basketball’s most dominant players over the past twenty five years? Was it John Calipari finally shedding the moniker as the best coach that hadn’t won the big one? Was it Doron Lamb’s cool demeanor and swagger? Was it senior Darius Miller, leaving the program with a college degree and one of the most popular players in recent Kentucky memory? Or was it the confidence of Terrence Jones, or the steady play of Marquis Teague?
Kentucky is the winningest program in college basketball history, the 2012 champions deserve to be in the middle of the “greatest team in history” conversation. And they should be. On April 3, 2012, the Kentucky Wildcats returned to Lexington and celebrated with over 25,000 screaming members of Big Blue Nation in front of a sold out Rupp Arena. Euclid Avenue was packed with delirious students and proud alumni ready to buy their brand new “National Champions” t-shirt. The 2012 national champion banner was hung for all to see. On April 11, 2012, shot-blocking prodigy Nerlens Noel—the top high school player in the country—announced his intentions to attend the University of Kentucky, along with fellow high school All-Americans shooting guard Archie Goodwin from Arkansas, forward Alex Poythress from Tennessee, and seven-foot center Willie Cauley-Stein from Kansas. In a sign of things to come, Noel announced his commitment by taking off his hood, unveiling a “UK” logo shaved into the back of his old-school high top fade. Soon, Kentucky fans of a younger generation will have the same haircut. The Anthony Davis unibrow is so last year. It will be John Calipari’s fourth consecutive top rated recruiting class, unheard of in college basketball circles and unseen by recruiting experts and services alike. On April 17, 2012, the day Big Blue Nation had dreaded for almost a year finally arrived. John Calipari—flanked by Anthony Davis, Doron Lamb, and Terrence Jones on his right; Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marquis Teague to his left—announced all five would be leaving Kentucky to pursue their dreams in the NBA. In an unprecedented press conference that was broadcast live nationally on ESPN, the five decided to leave Kentucky just how they had played at Kentucky: together and as one. Some Kentucky fans cried. Others cheered. Some were disappointed. Others were proud. More than anything, Big Blue Nation was grateful for everything they accomplished and how they accomplished it. Kentucky is back. Indeed, a “special” season defined.
I believe it was all of the above. Kentucky played every game with passion and a “team first” attitude not seen often in the college basketball world. Each player sacrificed individual goals for the greater good. They cared for one another as both teammates and friends. John Calipari molded this squad into arguably the greatest Wildcats team of all time. As
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