We've now completed probably the best 6-year run to start a tenure in college basketball history. It's been almost perfect. 4 Final Fours in 6 years and a 5th team who lost in the Elite 8. The players have been personable and polite. The games have been epic. The history of UK basketball has been enhanced more in these 6 years than in the 15 years before it. But it doesn't mean there haven't been some missteps. I wonder what the one moment (shot/game/comment/recruiting loss/etc) you would like to take back would be. There are some obvious candidates for me:
-Christian Watford shot to beat the 2012 team
-Nerlens Noel injury
-Sam Dekker 3-pointer in this year's Final Four
But for me, and this might be a minority opinion, the moment
I would take back is Deandre Liggins' missed 3-pointer at the end of the UCONN game in the 2011 Final Four. Here's why:
-He hits that shot and UK almost certainly wins that game. UCONN would have had 4 seconds to go the length of the court to win. Very unlikely.
-UK would have smashed Butler in the championship game. Say what you want but the 2011 title is the one that slipped away the most in my opinion.
-The legacy of Liggins and Josh Harrellson and Brandon Knight would have been enhanced so much more than it has been.
If that shot goes down, Calipari has 2 titles now (back to back) and these tough losses in 2014 and 2015 are maybe lessened just a little bit. But I more wanted it for the guys on that team. A team who went through as much turmoil as the 2014 team did but persevered and rode the back of Brandon Knight all the way to a Final Four.
With a win and the title that would have gone with it, there is an argument to be made that the 2011 team would have been Calipari's favorite team to the fans. Yes, even over the 2012 squad. Titles completely change how people remember teams. That 2011 team will never be remembered as a "great" team because they didn't win the title. They will be remembered as a scrappy bunch who overachieved in the NCAA Tournament. And there is nothing wrong with that. They hung a banner at Rupp Arena for crying out loud. But if that one shot by Liggins had fallen, how that would have changed everything for those guys.
That's my pick, what is yours? If you could change one moment in this 6 year run, what would it be?
https://youtu.be/DIVQ2dbIJAo?t=1h3m23s
We've now completed probably the best 6-year run to start a tenure in college basketball history. It's been almost perfect. 4 Final Fours in 6 years and a 5th team who lost in the Elite 8. The players have been personable and polite. The games have been epic. The history of UK basketball has been enhanced more in these 6 years than in the 15 years before it. But it doesn't mean there haven't been some missteps. I wonder what the one moment (shot/game/comment/recruiting loss/etc) you would like to take back would be. There are some obvious candidates for me:
-Christian Watford shot to beat the 2012 team
-Nerlens Noel injury
-Sam Dekker 3-pointer in this year's Final Four
But for me, and this might be a minority opinion, the moment I would take back is Deandre Liggins' missed 3-pointer at the end of the UCONN game in the 2011 Final Four. Here's why:
-He hits that shot and UK almost certainly wins that game. UCONN would have had 4 seconds to go the length of the court to win. Very unlikely.
-UK would have smashed Butler in the championship game. Say what you want but the 2011 title is the one that slipped away the most in my opinion.
-The legacy of Liggins and Josh Harrellson and Brandon Knight would have been enhanced so much more than it has been.
If that shot goes down, Calipari has 2 titles now (back to back) and these tough losses in 2014 and 2015 are maybe lessened just a little bit. But I more wanted it for the guys on that team. A team who went through as much turmoil as the 2014 team did but persevered and rode the back of Brandon Knight all the way to a Final Four. With a win and the title that would have gone with it, there is an argument to be made that the 2011 team would have been Calipari's favorite team to the fans. Yes, even over the 2012 squad. Titles completely change how people remember teams. That 2011 team will never be remembered as a "great" team because they didn't win the title. They will be remembered as a scrappy bunch who overachieved in the NCAA Tournament. And there is nothing wrong with that. They hung a banner at Rupp Arena for crying out loud. But if that one shot by Liggins had fallen, how that would have changed everything for those guys.
That's my pick, what is yours? If you could change one moment in this 6 year run, what would it be?
https://youtu.be/DIVQ2dbIJAo?t=1h3m23s
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