Bitter Ending Leaves Cats Feeling Unfulfilled

Updated: 8:08 PM ET Sun, Mar. 28, 2010

Bitter ending leaves Cats feeling unfulfilled
Cousins: 'I wish we'd had more time'

By Jerry Tipton / jtipton@herald-leader.com

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Eric Bledsoe, arguably Kentucky's most eager competitor, had never cried after a basketball game. But he wept unashamedly after UK lost to West Virginia on Saturday night.

Reporters entering the post-game locker room saw several of his teammates sitting with towels draped over their head as if to shield themselves from the reality of a 73-66 loss in the NCAA Tournament East Regional finals. This was more than just elimination from a tournament or the end of another season.

With its core of presumed one-and-done freshmen, Kentucky embodied the one-shining-moment anthem of the NCAA Tournament. And for all the glitter this season, they knew their all-too-brief time together would be no more.

"I mean, it hurts," freshman DeMarcus Cousins said of the defeat. "And the part that hurts the most is we'll never get a chance to play together again. That's the part that's killing me the most right now. I won't be able to play with my teammates, my brothers, again."

Patrick Patterson, a graybeard on this team as a junior, found it easier to look beyond the immediate sting of defeat and reflect on a season of remarkable accomplishment. Standing bare-chested in front of reporters, he added a comforting perspective to the end of Kentucky's 2009-10 season.

"I think eventually we'll look back on this and say, 'Hey, we were a stepping stone to getting Kentucky back to national (prominence),'" he said. "Back to the kind of team Kentucky basketball is."

When John Calipari arrived as Kentucky's new coach this time a year ago, he downplayed the notion of an immediate revival. He did not walk on water, he said. He only promised to work diligently and in a few seasons Kentucky would be Kentucky again.

Then Calipari tried mightily to contradict himself. He persuaded the stars of his recruiting class at Memphis to follow him to Kentucky. (After the 4-for-32 three-point shooting against West Virginia, the mind can't resist pondering ... what if Xavier Henry had also came to UK?)

No one knew then that the freshmen, especially point guard John Wall and Cousins, would evoke comparisons to Michigan's iconic Fab Five.

Wall, whose debut was delayed by a game because of his involvement with an agent as a summer player, made an immediate impression. He hit the game-winning shot in the final seconds to beat Miami (Ohio). It was a preview of things to come by one of Kentucky's best clutch players in a long time.

The Cats won their first 19 games, giving Calipari the best start by any first-year Kentucky coach. Perhaps most gratifying, UK personified a quality Coach Cal prized enough to use as a book title: Refuse to lose.

That quality came in handy as the freshmen showed their age. Stretches of brilliance too easily bled into periods of distraction.

A final record of 35-3 served as a clever disguise for a team not nearly so dominant. Half the games were were decided by 12 or fewer points. UK's 16-3 record in those games reflected the players' resourcefulness, desire and sheer talent.

Aside from the winning (which at Kentucky is like saying aside from the oxygen), the season returned a sense of spectacle. It started with Big Blue Madness and Calipari's state-of-the-program address. Then there was UK beating North Carolina to the milestone 2,000th victory. The Southeastern Conference regular-season and tournament championships restored Kentucky's status as the flagship program. So did a No. 1 national ranking.

Ashley Judd got company in the celebrity-fan category. LeBron James, Magic Johnson, Drake, Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger attended games in Rupp Arena.

Calipari's fan-friendly embrace of Kentucky basketball made his reclusive predecessor, Billy Gillispie, fade from memory.

Along the way, Kentucky won 35 games. In UK's long, storied basketball history, only the Fabulous Five season of 1947-48 saw more victories: 36-3.

"We did a lot of successful things," said Cousins, a double-double machine with 20. "But we didn't get our main goal, which was winning the national championship."

Carolina Kat wrote:(After the 4-for-32 three-point shooting against West Virginia, the mind can't resist pondering ... what if Xavier Henry had also came to UK?)

The hell with that...what if Jodie had stayed?

Fossten wrote:

Carolina Kat wrote:(After the 4-for-32 three-point shooting against West Virginia, the mind can't resist pondering ... what if Xavier Henry had also came to UK?)

The hell with that...what if Jodie had stayed?

I've seen both of them have off nights as well. No what-ifs. We did great this year. Move on. Dwelling on the past sucks. Look forward to next year.

We can't what if about the past. We had a great season regardless of the ending. I say what if a couple these guys decide that this is not how they want to go out, and decide to come back??? We can hope, can't we?