Calipari restored the Old Blue Magic in record time

Calipari restored the Old Blue Magic in record time
http://blog.al.com/segrest/2010/01/calipari_restored_the_old_blue.html
By Doug Segrest -- The Birmingham News
January 20, 2010, 8:05AM


Yes, Kentucky is beatable.

Savor the words. They may not mean a thing come March.

Right now, the Wildcats are 18-0 overall, 3-0 in the SEC and idle until a weekend visit from Arkansas. Thanks to Kansas State's upset of Texas Monday, Kentucky is the last of the unbeatens. Everyone expected Kentucky to return to the top when John Calipari left Memphis.

Just not this fast.

Most remarkable: He's accomplished a one-season turnaround with a starting lineup that includes three freshmen, John Wall and Alabamians Eric Bledsoe and DeMarcus Cousins.

These aren't ordinary rookies.

"Freshman -- that's a term in today's world of college basketball that means they're only 18 years old," said Joe Dean Jr., the SEC television analyst and Birmingham- Southern College athletics director. "Guys like John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Bledsoe have traveled the country, played national AAU tournaments, gone to all the NIKE camps.

"Their level of maturity is so different than a freshman 20 years ago."

Make no mistake, someone in the SEC will get Kentucky at some point. The Cats are very good, but they are a work in progress.

The stumble could come Jan. 30 at Rupp Arena, courtesy of Vanderbilt. Or Feb. 27 at Tennessee.

It won't matter. Because when the NCAA Tournament starts, a team that matured during a typically Kentucky-tough non-conference schedule should be gelling.

"The question is, are they legit?" Dean added. "The answer: Absolutely. They've proven it by being the only undefeated team in the country."

And now they are the hunted.

At UMass and Memphis, Calipari played up to 18 conference games a year where the target was always on the back and where road sellouts were the norm.

How loose is he now?

He took time off Sunday to raise funds for earthquake survivors in Haiti.

The telethon he helped organize, "Hoops for Haiti," raised $525,000 through calls and online donations. With help from Kentucky business leaders and his own checkbook, Calipari matched the original donations to bring the total figure to more than $1 million.

This team is so deep that Perry Stevenson, a two-year starter, is coming off the bench for a few minutes a game.

The freshmen are so good that Patrick Patterson, arguably the SEC's best player the past two seasons, is often seen as an afterthought because he's accepted the assignment of role player.

In March, Kentucky should be ready to make a serious run.

That's good for The Big Blue Nation.

It's even better for the rest of the SEC.

"Every coach in the league understands that when John Calipari walked in there, Kentucky became the most dominant program in the SEC again," Dean said.

"That means you have to work harder. You have to upgrade facilities. And you have to promote to keep up with Kentucky."

Unfortunately for the rest of the SEC, no one will be able to keep up with Kentucky this year.

Join Doug Segrest for his weekly SEC chat Thursday at 1 p.m. on his blog: blog.al.com/segrest.