UK's rent-a-player program

A reprint of my April 1 column published in the Woodford Sun.

Wow.

That didn’t last long.

It seems like just yesterday, University of Kentucky fans were wondering how the Wildcat basketball team was going to rebuild.

Today, University of Kentucky fans are wondering how the Wildcat basketball team is going to rebuild.

True, it feels much different this year. The Cats are coming off a successful season. SEC regular season and tourney champs, 35 wins, a deep run into the NCAA Tournament. And the program has a coach known for recruiting prowess. John Calipari certainly proved that during his inaugural season in the Bluegrass.

But UK faces a mass exodus of talent. John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson will almost certainly bolt for the NBA. And most pro scouts rank Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton as first round NBA picks as well.

So, Coach Cal will have to reload. And I don’t doubt that he can do it. But is this really what Kentucky fans want? A rent-a-player program? A training ground for the NBA? A string of one-and-doners walking through a blue and white revolving door?

I have to admit, even as a relatively tepid UK fan, I was getting caught up in the Cats’ NCAA tourney run. More than that, I was starting to fall for this team. In the last couple of months, the squad developed a personality. I liked it. Not just the basketball skill. I saw that in the beginning. But as the season progressed, I began to understand the characters that made the team click. Dancing Wall. Joking Cousins. Cerebral Patterson.

And then they walked out my life in a rain of West Virginia treys.

I went to bed after that loss to the Mountaineers feeling a little empty. Maybe even a little emotionally numb. It wasn’t just the loss. It was the realization that, as amazing as the season turned out, it was so fleeting, so temporary – so ephemeral.

And for all of my support of Calipari, I’m beginning to think his approach to building a team may not really turn out to be all that great. Oh, it will probably win more games than it will lose. It may even yield an NCAA championship or two. But it lacks heart. It lacks soul. It lacks substance.

A friend of mine, a lawyer out in Las Vegas, wrote the following.

"The University of Kentucky hereby agrees that the term of rental for Mr. Wall shall be one (1) year, and upon expiration of such period, the University shall return Mr. Wall in good condition, reasonable wear and tear excepted, provided that the University shall be entitled to retain all revenue generated out of or arising in connection with use of Mr. Wall during such period."

When I first read Scott’s little Facebook post, I chuckled. But as I thought about it, I realized that my buddy succinctly captured the reality of the 2009-2010 Kentucky basketball season.

This Big Blue team was never really ours.

It was a collection of players who stopped here in the Bluegrass on their way to something else. Can we really expect these kids to develop a passion for the program? Can we really believe they will truly weave themselves into the fabric of the community? Granted, they seemed to embrace Kentucky hoops, but only for a moment. And now it’s over.

Maybe I’m just old fashioned, pining away for a time long gone. Perhaps this is just the reality of big time college athletics in the 21st Century. The best players chase the money to the NBA as soon as they can. And I don’t begrudge them this. So maybe Cal’s approach is the best way to win. Get the best players, utilize their services for a season or two and send them on their way.

But I’m not sure I buy it. Not anymore. After this tourney it seems a little like a get-rich-quick scheme. It promised a lot. It looked good for quite awhile. But it didn’t quite deliver, did it?

Quick Shots

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins’s record against UK skipper John Calipari stood at 7-1 going into the NCAA Elite 8 match-up between the two schools. After watching the game, I can see why. Huggins out-coached Cal. UK never adjusted defensively to the suddenly hot shooting Mountaineers. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say Cal over adjusted. West Virginia hit 8-of-15 three pointers in the first half. Even so, the Cats only trailed by seven at the intermission. But UK panicked. Odds are, the typically mediocre outside shooting Mountaineers were not going to put together a repeat performance in the second half. The Cats would have likely been better served to keeping packing in the middle instead of coming out to guard the arc and opening up the paint.

Not only that, Cal’s Cats seemed flummoxed by the West Virginia 1-3-1 zone. It was no mystery that it was coming.

But hindsight is 20-20. And the truth is, UK was not going to win that game missing 13 free throws and 28 three-point attempts.

Finally, an exciting NASCAR finish that did not involve the No. 48. After losing a late lead with an ill advised pit stop. Denny Hamlin took advantage of a yellow flag, and then charged past Jeff Gordon in the final lap to win the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville. Jimmie Johnson was never a factor and finished ninth.

Here’s a little humor for you Wildcat fans. How do you know it’s spring in Kentucky? Cardinals sitting on the couch, watching Cats play basketball.

Quote of the Week

“More than anything, it's money. In this world, there's only one color that matters, and that's green.” – University of Kentucky freshman basketball player Daniel Orton (He later said in a Twitter post that he was just kidding.)

Puck to the Head

This week, pucks fly at the heads of all those University of Louisville fans talking trash after UK lost in the Elite 8. I’m all for a little friendly verbal smack down. But you should really have some high ground from which to throw your taunts. Last I checked Louisville left the party long ago, without so much as an NCAA party favor.