Before the 1997-98 season started... what was your expectations that season? Did any of you have any thought they might win the championship.
1997-98 expectations
- Thread starter Kentucky fan 1989
- Start date
Well I was a kid so yeah, I delusionally thought we would win the title every season. It worked out that year but not so much the past 25 years after.
Preseason ranking was 7, which is easily the lowest of any of our national championship teams. When you look back at the top six they were absolutely stacked. Kentucky looked like SEC favorites but that’s about it.
Jon Scott UK has the rankings by week for that season’s schedule here.
Love you @bthaunert but that’s not true.
Yep…I had 96-97 in my brain. Even went to Jon’s site. I had the wrong year. You’re right.
Arizona beat us easily in Maui, I remember. We only lost four games- a dumb one against Louisville, Florida at home (I was at this game and Jason Williams went off- also got pulled over on the way home for speeding. Cop asked us if we were just coming back from the game and we said yeah and he let us off without a ticket cause we had enough disappointment he said 😂), and then Ole Miss.
We were rolling in the SEC tourney. I can’t fully remember my bracket that year as I either had us losing to Duke in the E8 or to UNC in the finals but I definitely picked UNC.
98 is my favorite team of all-time. So much fun. A true team.
We were rolling in the SEC tourney. I can’t fully remember my bracket that year as I either had us losing to Duke in the E8 or to UNC in the finals but I definitely picked UNC.
98 is my favorite team of all-time. So much fun. A true team.
The worst 24-4 team in the history of basketball.
I personally didnt think we had a chance at beginning of year.
And kept thinking it would all fall apart eventually.
That it was a reason Pitino left, and he wouldn't have done near as well as Tubby was doing.
I personally didnt think we had a chance at beginning of year.
And kept thinking it would all fall apart eventually.
That it was a reason Pitino left, and he wouldn't have done near as well as Tubby was doing.
IIRC, we were best of the second tier. UNC, KU, Duke and AZ were all lumped together as the favorites at the top.
Such a fun year. 35-4 and never lost after Feb 14.
I've been making this comparison for a minute. Good team. No one and dones necessary for their success.
Turner-Butler 6-2 190 jr-6-2 204 ssr
Sheppard-Robinson 6-4 189 sr-6-6 191 ssr
Edwards-Brea 6-5 205 sr-6-7 206 ssr
Padgett-Carr 6-9 240 jr-6-11 227 ssr
Mohammed-Williams 6-10 238 jr-7-0 265 ssr
Evans-Oweh 6-6 215 jr-6-4 208 jr
Magloire-Garrison 6-10 260 so-6-10 245 so
Mills-Kriisa 6-3 190 jr-6-3 190 ssr
Smith-Chandler 6-2 185 fr-6-5 187 fr
Bradley-Almoror 6-10 235 fr-6-7 232 sr
Anthony-Noah 6-7 225 fr-6-5 209 fr
Hogan-Perry 6-3 193 fr-6-1 178 fr
Massiello-Horn/Darbyshire 5-8 155 fr-6-3 183 jr/6-2 188 jr
Sheppard-Robinson 6-4 189 sr-6-6 191 ssr
Edwards-Brea 6-5 205 sr-6-7 206 ssr
Padgett-Carr 6-9 240 jr-6-11 227 ssr
Mohammed-Williams 6-10 238 jr-7-0 265 ssr
Evans-Oweh 6-6 215 jr-6-4 208 jr
Magloire-Garrison 6-10 260 so-6-10 245 so
Mills-Kriisa 6-3 190 jr-6-3 190 ssr
Smith-Chandler 6-2 185 fr-6-5 187 fr
Bradley-Almoror 6-10 235 fr-6-7 232 sr
Anthony-Noah 6-7 225 fr-6-5 209 fr
Hogan-Perry 6-3 193 fr-6-1 178 fr
Massiello-Horn/Darbyshire 5-8 155 fr-6-3 183 jr/6-2 188 jr
Arizona returned everyone from their 1997 championship team and then got blown out by 25 in the elite 8 by 3 seed Utah. The youngsters here don't know how absolutely shocking that was.
Ha yep! I turned ten years old at the start of the season. Going to the championship games in the two previous seasons was all I needed to expect another championship run.
UNC was loaded yet lost to Utah. So crazy.
Two top five picks in Jamison and Vince Carter. Shammod Williams as the PG. Ed Cota, NDiaye (remember his famous hoax?), and Okulaja.
Not a comment on what you said, but this new dark mode is awful. There's no way to tell that your first line of text is a link at all. But lines are just standard white text.
I'm a few years older but had a similar mindset about 1999. You just expected going far after that three year run and that loss to Michigan State in the Elite 8 in 1999 hurt so bad. It was the end of a dominant run.
I went to the final four that year and it was really interesting to see UNC hit the wall. To be fair, Utah had some great players. Andre Miller really took it to Cota and Doleac ate Mahktar N’Diaye’s lunch with his inside-outside game. Hanna Möttölå had a great game against Jamison as well and Alex Jensen was all over Vince Carter.
At the under 8 timeout in the second half, all the UNC players were bent over with their hands on their shorts, absolutely sucking air. Meanwhile Utah was huddled up, every player standing tall with their arms around each other.
The interesting thing is that Utah hit the wall against Kentucky. I don’t think they scored in the last 5 minutes of the game. Cameron Mills had two huge three pointers after the under 12 timeout and then Turner feasted to close the game out.
AP top 10 team. I had high hopes but was uncertain with Tubby coming in. Was a senior in HS and spoiled rotten by the seasons under Pitino leading up to that year. So yeah, I thought we were better than everyone.
UNC had a similar experience in the 97 Final Four against Arizona. They were the favorite and despite Arizona shooting 33%, they beat UNC because UNC shot 31% and Bibby hit six threes.
Even though we were down 10 at the half, I never thought we were losing that Utah game. The two prior games were way tougher and better than Utah, in my opinion.
Same age for me n 1998 lol.
We were spoiled in the 90s. Too young to remember the awful laettner shot but old enough to remember the epic 96 to 99 run perfectly.
Agree with other poster the 99 loss to Michigan state was rough. Uconn and Duke were best 2 teams by far that season but still.
love the way you guys handled that. take notes everyone.
BTW,, RP had just left and I was never a Tubby fan, I thought the season was lost.
I remember saying those exact words to my dad the night they lost their last game. Worst 24-4 team in the history of basketball. Man did I gladly eat those words.
Although there were no stars, six guys on that team went to the NBA. Our leading scorer was 13 points. Such a solid team.
Nazr and Magloire as your bigs with a PF in Padgett that could shoot threes? I'd take that on my roster every single time.
Nazr and Magloire as your bigs with a PF in Padgett that could shoot threes? I'd take that on my roster every single time.
Here is a crazy thing about that team...undefeated on the road. 1 of 2 teams (the other being 1996) to go undefeated on the road over the last 60 years.
I can't remember specifically, but I think I thought it might be a little bit of a rebuilding year in terms of where we were as a program at that time. Maybe an elite 8 type program. Our returning core that year and stats from the year before:
Padgett - 9.6ppg
Edwards - 8.6ppg
Nazr - 7.9ppg
Turner - 6.6ppg
Sheppard - 5.5ppg (1996)
None of those guys had any SEC honors.
I can't remember specifically, but I think I thought it might be a little bit of a rebuilding year in terms of where we were as a program at that time. Maybe an elite 8 type program. Our returning core that year and stats from the year before:
Padgett - 9.6ppg
Edwards - 8.6ppg
Nazr - 7.9ppg
Turner - 6.6ppg
Sheppard - 5.5ppg (1996)
None of those guys had any SEC honors.
We lost to Arizona and Louisville early and it looked like we'd struggle.
Caught fire and the rest is history!
They would have been even better with Pitino, as he was set to add Byron Mouton, who would have started at shooting guard as a sophomore for the '99 team and probably erased part of our weakness for that team - shooting (he was a 37% three point shooter at Tulane as a sophomore on 5 three point attempts per game). I could also see a scenario where Pitino redshirts Mills and brings him back as a shooter for the 1999 roster. Why? Because you'd have Sheppard, Edwards, and Mouton on the 1998 roster to play shooting guard.
So you still win it all with Pitino in 1998, and then UK has Mills/Mouton on the 1999 team to alleviate the team's only weakness.
I remember like it was yesterday. They got really salty too, and started fouling with 3 minutes to go down 30.
I always thought we had a shot. We were on quite a run.
I only expected to win in 1996, 2012, and 2015. Not old enough to remember 1978.
I only expected to win in 1996, 2012, and 2015. Not old enough to remember 1978.
Yeah I thought it was possible. I looked at that team as a final four contender title as a long shot. When you have that amount of championship talent and tubby was a fantastic coach at the time
I figured Sweet 16 with an Elite 8 in reasonable reach.
We had a lot of experience with every necessary part though not necessarily a high as desired talent level.
Tubby had gotten worse teams to Sweet 16's so with the Kentucky Effect I thought we had a puncher's chance to take it all.
By years end I certainly had us in the brackets but since I don't bet against Kentucky so that doesn't say a lot really but by the I thought our shot was at least realistic.
We had a lot of experience with every necessary part though not necessarily a high as desired talent level.
Tubby had gotten worse teams to Sweet 16's so with the Kentucky Effect I thought we had a puncher's chance to take it all.
By years end I certainly had us in the brackets but since I don't bet against Kentucky so that doesn't say a lot really but by the I thought our shot was at least realistic.
Same. Except, I do remember 78. But, I was too young to really appreciate it. I’d add 84. I thought we were the best team in the country the minute that Bowie was cleared to play. I still think we were the best team in 84. Just happened to go epically cold at the worst time imaginable.
