The Moment You Realized UK Was Significant Again?

[KYtotheCore]

What did you witness, where were you when the excitement was lit again after several seasons of mediocrity. For me, the pivotal moment was Boogie scrapping with a UL player on the floor, serving notice that this team/program will get our respect back, one way or the other. I feel like the college basketball world was served notice that moment. JMO.

 

[Notorious23]

Boogie on the phone at MSU......

 

[GonzoCat90]

When my "John Wall commits to UK" post was deleted late at night, posted on the HoB as breaking news, and then allowed to be started on Rafters a few minutes later, I knew we were in some interesting territory as a program.

 

[UKGrad93]

I don't remember which particular game it was, but seeing John Wall in the open court with the ball.

 

[cballover]

I don't remember which particular game it was, but seeing John Wall in the open court with the ball.

UNC?

 

[wild mandu]

The MSG game against UConn in Cal's first year. I think there was a play where Bledsoe ooped it to Wall (or maybe other way around) on a fast break and I yelled out "we're back!"

And UConn really made me pay for that excitement in the following years, but still...

 

[StubbornPenny]

The UConn game in the Wall/Cousins year. There was a good 5 minute stretch where we were unbeatable. As it turns out, that team would streak like that a lot. But at that moment we knew what NBA bound players were capable of

 

[.S&C.]

One sentence.

"John Calipari has agreed to coach Kentucky's favorite team" - ESPN 2009.

When I actually saw we turned everything around?
When I saw john wall for the first time.

 

[WildMoon]

UNC game

Open court, dribble, slam.

I was thinking at that time...damn we still aren't ready for big time. I was still pessimistic fan because of past 10 years or so...

SLAM, and i woke up. Been a beautiful ride from there.

 

[CUT-NETS]

Yes like most it was Wall. First of all, he was the type of kid that we just never seemed to get.

I went to madness that year and Wall/Blesoe were doing incredible dunks in warm ups just messing around. I remember thinking "this is too good to be true".

He hit the shot against Miami when their coach said "what happened? Lets see, John Wall, Demarcus Cousins……..theyre the Big Blue man!" (paraphrasing). I thought "Wow, Wall didn't even seem like he was trying".

Then it really hit me when Wall broke away in the open court against Carolina and dunked, pulling himself and his legs up to the rim and then running back down the court. I knew that UNC couldn't f*** with us and I hadn't felt that way in a long time. Thats when I knew we were something.

…excuse the language but thats how I felt at the time…..UNC was no longer going to out "athlete" us.

 

[Dakota25]

After the 09-10 team defeated UNC and UConn back to back. It was my junior year of college and UK hasn't fielded a good team in five years which told me UK was finally back and the dark period was over. Gillespie is long gone thank goodness.

 

[wild mandu]

My memory is foggy. I thought the UConn game came before the UNC game. Googled it...was dead wrong.

Obviously I don't know when the hell I realized we were back.

 

[ORCAT]

The moment it was announced that Cal was going to replace Gillispie. I wanted Cal after Tubby left and was disappointed with Gillispie's selection as coach. Didn't really know much about him, to be honest and wasn't impressed by his past accomplishments as some others were. When we got Cal I just knew good things were about to happen, I just didn't realize how good they would be or how quickly the turnaround would be.

 

[flash123]

When coach cal was hired!

 

[ukwizard]

The moment the world knew.

 

[CUT-NETS]

The moment the world knew.

View embedded media

Bingo

 

[DTAJR14]

When I was in NYC for the UConn game Cal's first year. At least 3 people stopped me on the street or the subway and said some version of "Kentucky. Good luck - John Wall is awesome."

 

[Pope John Wall II]

John Wall's buzzer beater for the win in his first ever game as a Cat. He had become one of my favorite Cats ever by the end of the UNCheat game and knew that Cal was beyond special at a place like UK.

 

[UK90]

I definitely knew something different was going when right after being hired Cal lands the No. 1 overall ranked player in John Wall, the No. 1 rated big man in Demarcus Cousins, and yet another stud in Eric Bledsoe--all guys that never even considered us until Cal was hired..

After 12 straight years of Gillispie and Tubby recruiting, that was QUITE a shock to the system

 

[Orange Soda King]

John Wall against UNC**

 

[Kycatspaws]

When Cal arrived.

 

[CatEye2010]

I knew when The Door opened.

 

[Adolph B. Calipari]

The Cats are always relevant in my mind lol. But nationally everyone took notice when John Wall with his supposed sore knee sliced and diced UNC on national television. I remember one fast break dunk in particular where he was a gear or two faster than anyone on the court.

The commitments were nice but once those cats started playing....it was on again!

 

[RondoBaller21]

As soon as Cal came to Kentucky

 

[gabbardman]

When Calipari was hired!

 

[GOING FOR #9]

When sean woods hit the running bank shot against Duke in 1992. It looked like we were headed to the final four.

 

[BurpinTurpin]

this moment

 

[W2R]

When cutler was chasing Gillespie. I knew things had to get better after that


But seriously. When cousins and Bledsoe signed on. Then the breaking news of John wall during the middle of the night. It was more talent in a short period of time than we had in past ten years combined. Add in orton , ppat, and everyone else.

Big blue madness was insane. The John wall dance and all those guys had fans foaming at the mouth for some great basketball again

Then when the media wouldn't stop hating and we became the story night in and night out

 

[Blueblood22]

As already said, John Wall vs. UNC.

You could just feel it in the air. It was a "we're back, b*tches" moment.

 

[C1180]

I at no time have ever thought UK basketball to be insignificant so I find this thread to be insignificant.

 

[kybassfan]

The Cats have been significant for the better part of 60 years. Sometimes they are a bit more significant than others. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.

 

[.S&C.]

The Cats have been significant for the better part of 60 years. Sometimes they are a bit more significant than others. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.

This is something I try and preach on here a good bit of the time. We have always been relevant. It seems as if 70% (of this board especially) of fans seem to judge Calipari and UK from our results spanning from 2005 - 2009. We were in constant contention and one of the better programs from 99-04. It gets irritating seeing it too. I've seen no other blue bloods do this.

Kasnas doesnt do it (they have bigger droughts than anyone)
UNC* doesnt do it (hitting 7 year final four drought)
Duke doesn't do it (has had long ranges of mediocracy.)

Hell, even non blue bloods like Louisville don't do it.

It seems like UK and UCLA fans are the only ones I find on other boards that constantly rag on about how significant or insignificant we "used" to be. It's incredible.

Just wait, there will be a thread dedicated to who we were were for a 4 year period before Cal in a few seconds. It's always a "return to greatness" story with the media and our fans. Then you stop for a second and think about it, and you wonder what the hell everyone talking about? We've never left relevancy. And we usually sustain greatness for longer periods than anyone. It's overplayed badly.

 

[Mossip]

Nobody has mentioned my favorite play from the UNC game and I didn't see it in the other video:

the reverse lay-up, and 1, "I'm a bad mutha f****!"

starts at 1:50; I can't get it to embed from the time marker.

 

[UKGrad93]

The moment the world knew.

View embedded media

This was it.

 

[EclipsingYou]

Similar to most, for me it was the day that John Wall committed. I realized at that moment we had struck gold.

As a sidenote, a few months before Wall committed, I asked if we had any chance of signing Wall on Marc Maggards board. His reply? "LOL! That's the dumbest question I have seen asked. I PROMISE you that NO MATTER WHAT John Wall will never ever end up at UK"

After Wall committed, I showed him his previous comments and reading his reply was one of my favorite internet moments of all time. NO MATTER WHAT, eh?

 

[GonzoCat90]

Nobody has mentioned my favorite play from the UNC game and I didn't see it in the other video:

the reverse lay-up, and 1, "I'm a bad mutha f****!"

starts at 1:50; I can't get it to embed from the time marker.

View embedded media

Exactly this.

Can someone make me a sig gif of the "I'm a bad MFer" on a loop?

 

[gossie21]

For me it was essentially when John Calipari was announced. Although I would say specifically when Cal sat down in his introductory pres conference and said,

"I'm here because I can recruit the best of the best here. That's why I'm here."

It didn't take long for Cousins, Dodson, Bledsoe, Wall, etc to commit. Then Patterson came back. And you just knew it was going to be a fun ride.

 

[W2R]

Does anyone have the clip of where Bledsoe got into it with the Louisville player and Cal was telling the guy he didn't want none of EB. Something along those lines

 

[UK90]

As a sidenote, a few months before Wall committed, I asked if we had any chance of signing Wall on Marc Maggards board. His reply? "LOL! That's the dumbest question I have seen asked. I PROMISE you that NO MATTER WHAT John Wall will never ever end up at UK"

Well, if that was "a few months before" he committed, then I'd say Maggard gets a pass for that one, because that IS how it looked then. As I recall, guys like Wall and Cousins were not even considering UK until Cal got hired.

That's what made that whole thing so crazy, Cal didn't just sweep in and steal the nation's best recruits at the last moment, but he did it with recruits that had no interest in us at all before that moment. Up until his hire, we were looking at recruiting class of Dakotah Euton, Vinny Zollo, GJ Vilarino, Dom Ferguson, Konner Tucker and Jon Hood, and the idea of us getting someone like Wall seemed ridiculous.

 

[Roe07]

The moment John Calipari was hired.