Jon Lipsitz's 2012 recruiting class is ranked in the top five nationally by allwhitekit.com. (Steve Harp, UK Athletics)
He's presided over three progressively more successful seasons in that time, culminating in last year's berth in the NCAA Tournament.
On the pitch, Lipsitz and Cats proved they could play with the nation's elite in 2011. Announcing a highly touted 15-member 2012 signing class, they showed they're a force to be reckoned with off the field as well.
"To be honored as one of the top five classes in the country is pretty special to say the least," Lipsitz said. "You sort of read the top five teams on the list and you see 'Kentucky? How'd they get in there?'
Parallel to his on-field work with the Wildcats, he has toiled just as tirelessly to cobble together UK's 2012 signing class. Beginning the moment he set foot on campus, Lipsitz had his eye on Feb. 1, 2012. Along with a staff of Michelle Rayner, Aaron Rodgers and Courtney Wiesler, Lipsitz made National Signing Day one to remember for UK.
The 15 new players came from eight different states, and most committed well before the team had hosted an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since 1999 this past November."
"You have to realize that the players decided to come here when we were coming off of my first season," Lipsitz said. "We won five games (in 2009). So, it is really quite a leap of faith that people said it was a special place, the relationship that we can have with the current players and the coaches is important enough that we are going to do something special."
With 12 of the 14 players who scored a goal for last year's team that spent most of the season ranked in the RPI top 25 returning, the Cats might not have long to wait before doing something special. Included in that group of returners are rising junior forward Caitlin Landis, who was second on the team behind Kelsey Hunyadi with six goals, and Arin Gilliland, who lived up to her billing as one of the nation's top recruits with a strong freshman season.
The group of newcomers adds a much-needed measure of depth to a UK team that fielded just 21 players a season ago. The Wildcats embraced their short-handed roster, adopting "21 Strong" as their motto for the season, but having significantly more players on next season's roster will add a competitive dynamic to practice.
"Last year, '21 Strong' was special," Lipsitz said. "Every player had to be ready. I think this year it will be a little bit different because every player will have to be ready, otherwise it will be exposed on the practice field."
Just as importantly, a bigger roster will allow Lipsitz a training tool he sorely missed in 2011.
"Think about a basketball team not being able to play five on five for an entire season in practice," Lipsitz said. "It's difficult. We didn't play 11 vs. 11. We didn't have enough players. There will be a great excitement to be able to do that every day, and I think that we will develop a lot more competitively because of that."
As a coach, Lipsitz is all about development, whether he's talking about his team or the program as a whole. It all begins, though, with the student-athletes.
"That comes first," Lipsitz said. "Who they are academically, and getting a fantastic degree, and doing well in school, and obviously development as a student-athlete involves soccer. They came here to play soccer. They care about everything else, but some of that package is soccer."
If Lipsitz is able to help his players as both athletes and people as he sets out to do, he expects success in other areas to follow, including recruiting.
He expects classes like this one to continue to arrive on UK's campus. Others around women's soccer at the college level may have been taken aback by the talent headed to the Bluegrass, but Lipsitz and his staff weren't. They believe in what Kentucky has to offer and think others will follow suit by the time their work is through.
"Our hope is in the long run that no one is surprised anymore," Lipsitz said.
Marquis Teague had his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Florida. (Chet White, UK Athletics)
The numbers, especially during the Wildcats' ongoing blitz through Southeastern Conference play over the past two-plus weeks, suggest otherwise.
Beginning with a road win over Georgia, UK has won five games in a row by an average margin of 23.2 points, cementing the Wildcats as a team on the shortlist among NCAA Tournament favorites.
Kentucky, with its balance and versatility, has won those games in a variety of different ways. Four different players have led UK in scoring over those five dominant performances and the Cats have gotten the job done with hot 3-point shooting, overwhelming rebounding or killing opponents slowly at the free-throw line, depending on the game.
The one constant over the five games, other than smothering defense, has been the pace of play.
The Wildcats began the season in the top half of the nation in possessions per game, averaging 69.4 through the first 20 games of 2011-12 (that number would place them in the 50s nationally as of Feb. 8). Since then, UK has averaged just 58.6 possessions per game, playing its best basketball of the season in the process. For a little perspective, Wisconsin is the nation's slowest paced team on the year, playing an average of 59.0 per game.
Why is this happening?
Well, I think it begins with the fact that UK, led by Marquis Teague, has a much better idea of what it wants to do in the half-court. Early in the season, the youthful Cats would often revert to high school/AAU tendencies and "break off plays," as John Calipari often says, resulting in quick shots and turnovers. Now, the Wildcats are much more confident in their sets and patient enough to wait for a good look at the basket, whether it comes with 25 seconds on the shot clock or five.
Another key factor is the simple fact that UK has had big leads late in games. By taking the air out of the ball over the final eight to 10 minutes, Calipari estimates the Cats take away "six or seven" precious possessions from their opponents, thereby shortening the game. A shorter game makes it that much more difficult to overcome a double-digit deficit.
Finally, and most simply, it's about the opponents the Cats are facing. Of the last five teams UK has faced, none is ranked higher than 180th nationally in adjusted tempo and two are in the 300s.
Not only that, but the scouting report is out on the Cats. Right or wrong, one of the first items on that list is likely to cut out transition opportunities. Thunderous dunks and back-breaking "and-ones" on fast breaks tend to stick in the mind of opposing coaches when watching tape and the sheer athleticism of this team makes the Cats look like the kind of team that would much prefer to fly up and down the floor.
UK hasn't turned its back on the open-floor game (they scored 16 fast-break points against Florida), but teams that think they can best the Cats by forcing them into the half-court do so at their own peril.
Donovan a UK believer
Billy Donovan knows what he's talking about when it comes to evaluating top teams.
Not only has he coached two national championship teams and another that advanced to the title game, but he's also now coached against the teams rated first, second and third nationally already this season.
Before visiting Rupp Arena on Tuesday night, Florida lost by four at No. 3 Ohio State and by seven at No. 2 Syracuse, so his evaluation of Kentucky against those other two carries some weight.
Donovan called Ohio State a "three-headed monster" with Jared Sullinger, William Buford and Aaron Craft, while pointing out that Syracuse matches Kentucky in length and surpasses the Cats in depth.
"I don't know necessarily who would be better because I think Syracuse will play them all zone and their zone is a little bit unique," Donovan said. "If you're looking at talent, I think Kentucky's got it. They have, clearly, six guys that are going to be first-round draft picks on their team."
The Wildcats talent makes them dangerous, but it's their makeup that could potentially make them special, particularly that of Kidd-Gilchrist, who went for 13 points and 13 rebounds in 39 minutes against the Gators.
"The one thing that I like about their team is I love their disposition on the floor," Donovan said. "I got a lot of respect and admiration for Gilchrist, just his disposition out there."
There's still another month until tournament time, but the mentality that Kidd-Gilchrist and UK bring to the floor reminds Donovan of the kinds of teams he's seen win at a high level in March and April
"In 2000 for us and '06 and '07 having a chance," Donovan said, "there's a certain disposition you have to have, and I'm not talking about an arrogance or a cockiness, but there's a focus level in terms of what really goes into winning at that level. There's a mentality there that's just different."
The NCAA Tournament bears the moniker of "March Madness" for a reason, so Donovan can't predict the future, but the idea of Calipari cutting down the nets at the Final Four is by no means far-fetched this season.
"When you get into the tournament, it's a one shot deal and anything can happen in one game," Donovan said. "But clearly, I think that if they went all the way, it wouldn't be surprising."
Doron Lamb scored 18 points on 4-of-5 3-point shooting in UK's 78-58 win over Florida. (Chet White, UK Athletics)
Florida, the nation's leading 3-point shooting team, was out to an early lead behind its floor-stretching big man. The Gators seemed like they might be on the way to the kind of hot-shooting night from deep that Calipari said could put an end to Kentucky's winning streak.
Fittingly, the officials ruled retroactively that Murphy's foot was on the line, striking the game's first shot from deep from the record.
From there, the Wildcats out-Gatored Florida, gunning down the visitors and taking a commanding Southeastern Conference lead in the process.
"We got a lot of 3-point shooters on our team," sophomore guard Doron Lamb said. "We just don't shoot as many as they shoot. Today the game plan was just eliminate 3-point shots and we did that today. Every time they shot a 3-ball, we put a hand in their face and made them drive to our bigs and get blocked. We played great defense today."
Once Murphy's shot was ruled a 2-pointer, the Wildcats completely turned the tables on the Gators, holding them to just 6-for-27 (22.2 percent) shooting from long-range, their worst such performance of the season.
"Our goal was to try to hold them to eight 3s, that's what we were shooting for," Calipari said. "We figured if we held them to eight 3s they would be middle 60s and we thought we could score a little bit more than that and that was our whole goal."
No. 1 Kentucky (24-1, 10-0 SEC) drilled 9-of-15 shots per game in a 78-58 win over No. 8/7 Florida in front of 24,389 fans in Rupp Arena, looking more like the team that was averaging 10.5 3-pointers per game. Calipari's strategy proved to be prophetic, as Florida hit two fewer shots from deep than the goal UK set, and ended up scoring in the high 50s.
Meanwhile, Lamb and his teammates were there to can long jumper after long jumper to ensure Kentucky's 16th straight win would come in blowout fashion. Lamb hit 4-of-5 3s en route to a team-leading 18 points, matching his point total from his previous outing against South Carolina.
His two big games came on the heels of an uneven start to conference play and three games in a row that saw him fail to reach double figures.
"It's going to come, you've just got to be patient," Lamb said. "Everybody has bad games. The focus is just winning games. The more you win, the better it is."
Point guard Marquis Teague found Lamb for assists on three of his four 3s, helping him to reach a cool 52-of-104 (50 percent) shooting from deep on the season. Teague had a career high with 10 assists, but he took part in UK's hot shooting as well, canning 2-of-3 3-point attempts.
His distributing and his shooting were crucial to the Kentucky victory, but his defense on Florida's Erving Walker was important too.
"He had one play where he broke down, kind of stopped on a play, they had a 3 in the corner right in front of our bench," Calipari said. "Short of that, he was terrific. You can't dribble around him."
Walker, Florida's third-leader scorer and leading passer, had a night to forget with Teague hounding him. The senior guard was held scoreless for just the second time in his Florida career and the first since his freshman season. He missed all seven of his field goal attempts and all four of his 3s, committing a pair of turnovers and dishing just one assist.
"I just wanted to contain him," Teague said. "I know he's a quick guard and he can shoot the outside shot very well so I just wanted to pressure up on him and just try to contain him and keep him in front of me and keep him out the lane to make plays for other because they got a lot of shooters."
The only of Billy Donovan's shooters to hit more than one 3 was Kenny Boynton, but three of his four treys came in the final 10 minutes as the celebration of UK's third home win over a top-10 team was already on in Rupp. The Wildcats faced a ranked opponent on Tuesday night for the first time since a New Year's Eve victory over Louisville, as UK's conference schedule is back-loaded with the SEC's top teams.
The Cats heard the talk that their unbeaten record was largely attributable to that softer early schedule, so they were out to prove the road to the conference title runs through Lexington.
"I think we made a big statement," Teague said. "We just wanted to come and show we feel like we can beat anybody that we play and we can beat them by a good amount."
After winning their last five games by an average of 23.2 points, the coronation of the Cats as not only as the SEC's top dog but an NCAA Tournament favorite is likely quick to follow, but Calipari wants to pump the brakes on all that.
UK certainly played a role on Florida's cold shooting, but so too did the Gators. Some of their 21 missed 3s were good looks at the basket, looks Calipari fully expects the Gators to hit when UK travels to Gainesville, Fla., for the regular season finale on March 4.
"It will be a different game in Florida, I promise you," Calipari said. "I know what it will be down there. But it was a good win. I'm glad we won. I'm glad we stretched it out a little bit. But the reality of it is, you know, they're a terrific team and they're going to be fine."
Anthony Davis
Doron Lamb
Maquis Teague
Every Tuesday, UK Athletics recognizes outstanding performances for our student-athletes. These are the honorees for the week ending Sunday, Feb. 5:
Gymnastics: Holly Cunningham
Had a fantastic meet against No. 14 LSU, performing well on both the vault and balance beam. Started the meet by sticking her vault and posting a career-high score of 9.85, which tied the highest individual vault score on the season for UK. Cunningham was the last to go on balance beam with Kentucky currently holding a team score of 194.95. The native of Colorado Springs, Colo., delivered a clutch routine that was scored 9.8, which helped UK eclipse the 195 mark for the second consecutive meet.
Men's basketball: Anthony Davis
Anthony Davis helped lead the Wildcats to a 2-0 mark on the week picking up a win at home and one on the road ... Posted 15 blocks on the week, including eight blocks against South Carolina pushed his season total to 116, breaking Shaquille O'Neal's SEC freshman record for blocks in a season, doing so in only 24 games ... Now ranks ninth on the league's single-season blocks list ... Leads the nation in blocks and has more blocks than eight other schools in the league ... Has blocked at least two shots in every game this season ... Missed only two shots on the week ... Led all scorers in both games ... Also led both games in rebounding as well as blocked shots.
Men's tennis: Alejandro Gomez
Clinched Kentucky's match against No. 12 Pepperdine with a straight-sets 6-1, 6-1 win over David Sofaer. The native of Cali, Colombia, has earned the decisive fourth point in three consecutive matches for UK, including two against top-25 ranked foes. Gomez is 7-0 in dual matches this season and has a season record of 27-4.
Men's tennis: Alex Musialek
The senior co-captain showed his heart and toughness in UK's win over No. 12 Pepperdine by defeating No. 21 Sebastian Fanselow in a three-set thriller 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. With the match tied 2-2, Musialek broke the Pepperdine star to win the third set and give UK a 3-2 lead it would not relinquish. Musialek is now 3-0 in dual matches and 17-5 this season.
After a brief hiatus, it's time once again for our regular trivia contest before men's basketball games: Robic's Riddle.Tonight's question comes from reader Corey Price (@coreyp08 on Twiter). The first fan to submit a correct answer via email to catscratches@uky.edu will receive a Kentucky basketball box calendar.
Today's question is about John Calipari's success in his first 100 games as Kentucky head coach.
Following Saturday's win over South Carolina, John Calipari owns a record of 87-13 in his first 100 games at UK. How many of his first 100 games did legendary coach Adolph Rupp win in his first 100 games at UK?
Again, please submit your answers to catscratches@uky.edu. We will announce the correct answers at halftime of today's game, assuming we have a winner by that time.
Don't forget to tune in and watch the Cats take on Florida at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
