It’s one of the most common questions we’re asked when we’re children and the answers can range everywhere from firefighter, to doctor, to teacher to professional basketball player.

Wait, professional basketball player?

Call me crazy, but after reading the comments from a lot of Big Blue Nation – no, not all of Big Blue Nation – I would have thought John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton were leaving UK early to enter a profession not safe for print.

I’ve heard everything from ‘John Calipari might as well be a trainer for the NBA,’ to ‘Why isn’t Calipari making his players stay to earn their degrees?,’ to ‘Everyone going pro is going to be broke in five years anyway.’

I don’t get it. Actually, it genuinely makes me upset.

I’m sorry Big Blue Nation if this freshman class didn’t deliver an eighth championship banner, but what else do they need to do for you?

They reinvigorated a program that had grown stale under the previous regime, they excited you all enough to help set a new Rupp Arena attendance record, they beat Louisville, they beat North Carolina, they won the program’s 2,000th game, they dawned covers that had never been dawned before by college players, they won countless awards, they won regular season and postseason championships, they started dance crazes, and they were one of the biggest stories in all of college basketball.

Why are you grilling them for following their dreams to become professional basketball players? Why are you grilling Calipari for encouraging them to follow their dreams?

Sure, getting a degree would be great, but let me ask you this: If you were majoring to become an accountant, and you were one of the smartest and brightest accounting majors in the entire country when you were just a freshman, and a firm contacted you and said they would pay you $30 million over the next five years to work them, would you turn them down?

Even that scenario isn’t fair though. These players can always get injured and have their dream and all the money that comes with it washed down the drain from an injury.

Please, stop acting like these young men are doing something horrible by foregoing a few years of college to begin a respected, well-paid profession as a professional athlete.

I don’t mean to paint Big Blue Nation with too broad a brush. It certainly is not everybody who is upset with these young men. In fact, it’s probably a minority, but why are some of you treating these young athletes with disdain for following their dreams?

Sure, as a fan it might stink to know your favorite team is missing out on a great opportunity to hang another banner in the hallowed rafters of Rupp Arena, but don’t put your fandom and personal desires above the futures of five young men who you cheered on for six months.

When these 19-, 20- and 21-year-olds were in elementary school and were asked what they wanted to be when they grew up, it’s likely they said a professional basketball player.

Is that such a horrible dream?

Let’s congratulate Wall, Cousins, Patterson, Bledsoe and Orton for accomplishing their dreams at such young ages. Let’s congratulate these five players for being able to support their families. Let’s wish these players the best of luck in the future while thanking them for their work in the past.

All they’re guilty of is working hard and following their dream when they were asked what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Across a number of media platforms, the Worldwide Leader has without a doubt raised the profile of football and basketball across the South.

That’s it, though.

The inherent problem with ESPN promising so much coverage is it can’t all go on the flagship station or even ESPN2. If an ESPN crew is going to cover an SEC early-season baseball game in the middle of basketball season, how deep into your cable company’s sports package will you have to dig to watch?

By the time you get down to watching games live on ESPN Classic, something doesn’t feel right. Even during football and basketball season, the deal didn’t perform. Games were aired on networks Insight employees weren’t sure how to access.

The SEC Network didn’t offer a marked improvement in production quality and the on-air talent was, to say the least, a major step down from all-world hoops tandem Tom Hammond and Larry Conley.

But in the other areas, what has the deal done? What about the Olympic sports?

According to the joint news release the league and ESPN sent last August, ESPN and ESPN2 would televise: at least three regular-season baseball or softball matches, three regular-season gymnastics matches and the conference championships in those three sports.

During the gymnastics conference championships, ESPN went with an MLS game. and ESPN2 had Sweet 16-round NCAA women’s basketball tournament games.

The heart of the deal is in football and basketball. But by the time ESPN gets past its priority programming — Alabama and Florida football, and UK basketball — you may be stuck watching your favorite team play on ESPNU, with second-rate production quality and commercials for muffin pans.

And we’re in for 14 more years of this. By the end of this thing, we may be spurning college baseball programming just so we can watch third-round coverage of all 16 SEC teams playing in the 180-team NCAA Tournament, broadcast in 3D.

Whatever it is we’re watching at that point, it still won’t be gymnastics.

James Pennington is a journalism senior. E-mail jpennington@kykernel.com.

The differences between the two Blue/White scrimmages were so many, it’s unreasonable to even compare the two.

UK’s version of the spring game finished with a score of 60-25, a blowout win for the offense utilizing a convoluted scoring system “designed” to help give both sides an even chance of winning.

UK head coach Joker Phillips said he initially planned on splitting the two sides into full squads — offense, defense and special teams — but because of injuries, enough players weren’t playing. So the teams split: one was offense, the other defense. Off they went with a scoring system unfit for any sort of school-sanctioned, open-and-advertised-to-the-public event.

The offense was awarded every time it recorded a first down, whereas the defense was only rewarded if it forced a punt or a turnover. No points for sacks or tackles for losses.

After the game, Phillips defended the system. He said it was fair, and the defense needed to see the score and take responsibility in getting off the field.

Those on the field didn’t agree.

Said defensive tackle Ricky Lumpkin: “A point every first down? What do you expect? That’s skewed. That made it look like we did nothing. We did something.”

But the scoring system was just one issue Saturday.

Overall interest in the Blue/White Game was low this year. It doesn’t look like it will get higher anytime soon, either.

Reasons to be excited for football season were there Saturday. The backup tailbacks, Donald Russell and Jonathan George, were superb. Each of the three quarterbacks contending for the starting job looked strong enough to at least keep his name in contention.

Assuming you weren’t one of the few who attended the game Saturday — the official attendance said 9,000 but it looked closer to 900 — this year’s game didn’t give any incentive to make the effort next year.

UK’s game may never provide an atmosphere like Penn State’s, which had 55,000 in attendance at University Park this weekend. And nobody could’ve held off the severe weather that rolled in just minutes after the players left the field.

But Phillips could have set up the game to be more competitive.

Now he’s set up the season with much less anticipation than he could have.

After all these years, I guess Joe Paterno knows what he’s doing.

James Pennington is a journalism senior. E-mail jpennington@kykernel.com.

It’s all people are talking about this week (between talks about recruiting, obviously).
NBA Draft, NFL Draft, heck, maybe even the MLS Draft (just kidding, that one already happened).

But around these parts, specifically on UK’s campus, the buzz has waned significantly. The obvious reason is the closest NFL team is at least an hour and a half away and no teams reside in this state.

The second, and probably less obvious reason, is what was once billed as the best NFL Draft former UK players would have in a long time has been a big bust.

There’s at least two guys who were considered first round football talent at some point in their careers. The first, Micah Johnson, had his stock peak about the time he graduated from high school. The second, Trevard Lindley, watched himself slip from his position as the best corner in the Southeastern Conference and a late first round selection to the possibility of a Friday second round selection.

From two to zero means little to no interest in ESPN’s primetime first round Thursday night, and slight interest in Friday. Maybe the diehards will watch the final rounds on Saturday, but I wouldn’t count on it.

But UK’s first round shutout since Tim Couch was drafted by the Browns in 1999 is a bit perplexing. It’s not like UK players aren’t succeeding in the league. Wesley Woodyard and Keenan Burton are two recent Cats slowly making a name for themselves in the NFL.

About half a dozen more players are on that same level and another half dozen are bouncing around on practice squads and as career backups.

With UK players, an NFL team is usually getting a high quality, solid character type of player with a nose-to-the-ground work ethic and usually a little bit of a chip on their shoulders.

And it’s not like UK has a bad crop of talent trying to make it into the NFL. In addition to Lindley and Johnson, there’s also John Conner, Corey Peters and Alfonso Smith, among others.

The stats may not be as impressive as others and this group didn’t win any conference or national championships, but that doesn’t mean this group doesn’t have talent.

It does.

But then, as we all know, the NFL Draft isn’t just about talent. It’s about who you played for, how tall a player is, the name recognition and more. If the NFL Draft was perfect, they’d probably replace it with something imperfect, just because.

In the meantime, UK players will wait for days to hear their names called and to find out where their NFL careers will begin. UK fans will be more intrigued with the latest basketball commitment or this Saturday’s Blue-White game. The draft will probably be an afterthought, the same way UK players have been to NFL teams.

Maybe “Operation Win” will change this notion or maybe it won’t and UK players will still remain late round picks that excel under the radar.

Either way, as it stands now, the NFL Draft doesn’t matter in these parts.

Kenny Colston is a journalism senior. E-mail kcolston@kykernel.com.

Big Cuz — the same Big Cuz that drew almost as much love from NBA scouts as he did from end-of-the-bench hacks, sent in to try and hack their way through what many thought was a paper-thin temper — may have controlled the lane more so than anyone in college basketball for 38 games, but that’s all for now.

Eventually, he’ll move up to the two-lane roads and larger highways.

So maybe when John Calipari called Cousins a “big 12-year-old” on several occasions throughout the big man’s only collegiate season, there was a little something more to that than just sitting down and playing video games with Calipari’s son.

Regardless of his status with UK, the NBA or the DMV, they don’t make ‘em like DeMarcus very often. And soon, big men around The League will find out.

Right now, he’s not really working on much in terms of basketball. He said right now he’s focusing on finishing up the semester in good academic standing and getting his body ready for the NBA. He’s losing weight and putting on muscle.

Once the semester’s out, he’ll start working on his basketball skills, fine-tuning and getting them ready for the NBA scouts and general managers who will have to decide whether he’s worthy of a top-three, top-five or top-10 pick.

And more so than judging his skills, those same scouts and GMs will have to decide if his attitude is worthy of such a considerable investment. Cousins had a reputation follow him around while at UK that he lost his cool with the snap of a finger.

Anyone that digs into game film would be wrong to assume an issue with Cousins’ flares (which were few and fairly tame, especially compared to the perception surrounding him).

At UK. he was a kid being bullied around — by bullies, no less, who had to flout the rules just to keep him from breaking records at their expense.

Now it’s time for kids his own size to pick on him.

“It just helped me grow up as a basketball player and a man, and I believe it’s time for me to go,” Cousins said.

Soon, he’ll be going up against men like Dwight Howard, who can actually hang with a body and a talent like Cousins without not-so-subtly resorting to dirty tricks. It’ll be a new challenge for Cousins because even after a year of Division I hoops, he’s still never played regularly against men who can reasonably match up with him.

Those asking if Cousins can mentally handle the challenge could even compare him directly to Howard. Howard jumped straight from high school to the NBA (before the league established a rule in 2005 banning such transitions) and some thought his goofy attitude and constant grin would cost him.

Even as recently as 2009, a Sports Illustrated cover story questioned Howard’s “smile,” questions which Cousins has faced, if in a bit of a different light. (Big Cuz can get angry in a game, but not too much to don his geeky glasses and laugh it off immediately thereafter.)

In 2009-10, Howard led the NBA in rebounds per game, blocks per game and field goal percentage. Whether Cousins will equally produce doesn’t matter; but just because he’s a big kid, that won’t count against him. Even if he’s a “big kid,” he’s still big.

And for the sake of the NBA, which employs too many players that seem to find more headlines in court than on the court: Hopefully Cousins, like Howard, never grows up too much.

When asked on what he’d spend that first NBA paycheck, he answered without too much pause, like any kid who knows what’s best.

“Whatever my mom wants,” he said.

A few big paychecks down the road, he’ll get that driver’s license, too.

James Pennington is a journalism senior. E-mail jpennington@kykernel.com.

By now, we all know what that catchphrase is, “Operation Win,” and how that winning is going to occur.

But I have a simple question for all involved: based on spring practice reports that senior-to-be Mike Hartline has separated himself from the quarterback pack as of now, can “Operation Win” be successful with No. 5 under center?

Hartline and the fans have had a rocky relationship thus far. As a sophomore, Hartline threw his teammates under the bus after losing his starting job. And he was booed from time to time for his play on the field.

In his junior year, the blame game ended, but fans still piled on Hartline, booing him multiple times. And during the one game in which he actually excelled, he suffered what amounted to a season-ending injury.

In his absence, sophomore-to-be Morgan Newton stepped up and led the Cats to away wins at Auburn and Georgia, a mighty feat for a freshman quarterback in the Southeastern Conference, much less one at UK.

The Cats have won with Newton at the helm. Yes, the offense was pared back in order for success to occur, as Phillips has acknowledged, but the fact of the matter remains — a win is a win is a win.

This year’s offense will be more robust and have more depth when it comes to playmakers. Randall Cobb is a year older and Derrick Locke is back as well, so it won’t matter how “pared back” the offense is.

Hartline has no such wins under his belt. In fact, against perennial SEC powers, Hartline usually performs at his worst. To his credit though, he was likely leading the Cats to a win at South Carolina before his injury occurred.

It seems in every practice, Hartline looks better, more qualified to be under center. But his play in games doesn’t match up to his skill in practice.

Meanwhile, Newton may not practice at his best, but he still led a struggling offense up and down the field enough to win big games.

Which matters more?

Believe it or not, there is a natural skill that separates Newton and Hartline, or at least it does in the comparsions we’ve been able to make so far.

No, it’s not an ability to read a defense (though that helps) or how quickly one digests a playbook (that helps, too).

The difference between Hartline and Newton is that one is a playmaker and one is not. When a defense has all options covered, Hartline will throw a ball out of bounds. Newton will tuck it for a 5-yard gain.

That’s called making a play.

We saw the raw playmaking ability of Newton last year. In three years, we’ve yet to see it from Hartline.

Yes, Hartline has strong qualities. He knows the offense, he’s familiar with the receivers, he doesn’t take drive-killing sacks.

But he also hasn’t displayed deep-ball arm strength, the ability to tuck the ball effectively and pick up yards when all receivers are covered or anything else that a strong quarterback needs to do.

It’s not that Morgan Newton is perfect, but he gives the defense pause at quarterback. He provides another wrinkle Hartline doesn’t.

Maybe No. 5 will show everyone that his last year as a Cat will be his best. But the reports out of spring ball aren’t that Hartline is better. He’s merely shown that in the spring, a four-year knowledge of the offense is paying more dividends.

But that doesn’t mean that Hartline can be the lead in “Operation Win.”

Not yet, anyway.

Kenny Colston is a journalism senior. E-mail kcolston@kykernel.com.

So when Rod Strickland was pulled over early Sunday morning in his fourth drunk driving-related incident, the consequences shouldn’t be easy, and maybe they won’t be fair.

But if UK wants to get it right, it shouldn’t wait for his April 15 arraignment to decide on Strickland’s future. Be swift, be just. Set the proper example for the student-athletes, and don’t play politics like the powers that be in Indianapolis, messing with the basketball tournament.

Strickland should be thanked for his season of service to UK, and he should be let go.

When John Calipari brought Strickland to his staff from Memphis, the former NBA guard was seen as, among other things, a recruiting tool: He knows what it takes to play in the league, because he lasted there for 17 seasons. What high school player, especially a point guard, wouldn’t like that kind of tutelage?

Strickland’s hire could also have been seen as a calculated risk from Calipari. At Memphis, Strickland served as director of basketball operations — a suit on the bench that didn’t coach; rather, he assisted with off-court relations (which makes the title “director of basketball operations” seem like a misnomer).

His spot on the bench at UK was initially set to go to a man named Josh Pastner, until he accepted the head coaching spot Calipari left at Memphis that nobody expected to fall all the way to Pastner. So when it did, Calipari opted to give Strickland a chance to bump up from a non-coaching administrative job to assistant coach instead of finding somebody he hadn’t worked with.

Through just one season, it’s difficult to say if the risk paid off. Because of the timing of Strickland’s hire last May, it’s likely he didn’t impact any signings from Calipari’s first class.

But the administration shouldn’t wait any more to see if the risk will pay off eventually. Now, there’s no way it can.

Most times, assistant coaches work more personally with players than head coaches do. In turn, they have just as much or more influence over the athletes than Calipari does in a personal sense. If Cal decides to leave Strickland on staff, how can he explain to parents on the recruiting trail that a repeat DUI offender is on staff?

And how can Calipari justify to himself that it’s worth the trouble?

For all Strickland may or may not do behind the scenes and on the practice floor at UK, his job isn’t irreplaceable. If it was, he’d be a head coach somewhere by now.

And for Strickland personally, it may be best he is cut loose.

When Billy Gillispie was fired last year, he hit rock bottom. In August, he surfaced in nearby Lawrenceburg in the middle of the night, caught driving under the influence. Only then did he realize he had a problem with alcohol, and only then did he seek treatment.

Maybe for Strickland, he can realize alcohol is a problem in his life. Four times now he has been arrested for driving drunk. For the sake of himself and his family, he should seek treatment. Like Gillispie, maybe it would take something as dramatic as losing a job to find that help.

Calipari should stay by his side, and offer him assistance throughout the process. But it should be as a friend, not as a boss.

Maybe that’s not fair. But fair isn’t always right, and right isn’t always fair.

James Pennington is a journalism senior. E-mail jpennington@kykernel .com.

If everyone on the current UK men’s basketball roster stays academically eligible through May 8, the Cats will have a full allotment of scholarships for UK head coach John Calipari’s second season at the helm.

Rumors have swirled about eligibility and UK’s potential Academic Progress Rating ever since a UK player took the last shot of the season. Most of it has been false or a little off-key. Some of it has only been half-right, with the wrong formulas but correct outcome.

But all in all, as long as a player ends the season in good academic standing, the Cats are in good shape with scholarships.

Created in 2005, the APR is suppose to force athletic departments to graduate at least 60 percent of their athletes in every varsity sport in the department. That is reached by getting a score of more than 925 (out of 1,000). Athletes can earn a maximum of two points per semester, four total in an academic year. One point is awarded each semester for academic eligibility; another point is awarded for staying in school.

But recent rule changes have made the system even easier for coaches to make sure they hit the mark with the APR.
Originally, transfers and early departures hurt a school. Thanks to the changes, UK athletics spokesman DeWayne Peevy said that isn’t the case anymore.

An athlete who finishes a semester in good academic standing will not hurt a school if they transfer or turn pro, Peevy said. Such a move would have made a school lose a point in the past, but now, the retention point dissolves completely.

For example, sharpshooter Jodie Meeks left UK after his junior year to play in the NBA. Because Meeks left in good standing, he earned a perfect 1/1 in his final semester, instead of earning a 1/2 score. Likewise, big man Matthew Pilgrim transferred to Oklahoma State in the wake of Billy Gillispie’s firing, but because Pilgrim left in good academic standing, he too left with a perfect score of 1/1 in the final semester.

Confused yet?

Let me simplify once again — it doesn’t matter if John Wall turns pro or Darnell Dodson transfers. As long as an athlete remains in good academic standing, he will not hurt his school’s APR score.

The only exception is when an athlete leaves a school in bad academic standing. When that happens, it doesn’t matter if the athlete drops out completely, transfers or turns pro — he’s going to cost the school.

So it doesn’t matter, academically, if UK is the first school with four one-and-done players or if only four players return for next season. If they stay in school until the very end and earn a 2.0 grade point average, UK is safe.

Originally, the APR and the NBA’s one-and-done rule seemed to be on a crash course. One promoted academic excellence, the other, athletic excellence. The new rule changes the tracks from collision course to parallel paths. In fact, a school is awarded a bonus point anytime a former athlete comes back to finish a degree.

The trick is to keep the one-and-dones in school to the very end of the year. So far, it looks like Calipari has mastered that aspect. And it very well could be that what UK is about to see is an anomaly, not the start of a new trend.

Rivals.com’s national recruiting analyst Jerry Meyer doesn’t think the Cats’ possible problem of four one-and-dones is necessarily a trend. The idea of four or more guys leaving a team at one time isn’t new, (Meyer cited the national championship team of Florida, which lost its Fab Four as juniors, as one example) but the idea of four freshmen will be.

“(This) could be the year that starts the trend,” Meyer said. “Depends on if a coach can get those players, not too many coaches are turning down those players. The only ones not recruiting them are the ones that know they can’t get them anyway.”

But the days of scholarship doom and gloom in the wake of recruiting those players are over. Recruit all the one-year players you want (and Calipari will). The trick isn’t necessarily keeping them for another year, it’s keeping them in school until summer break.

Do that, and a coach can have his cake and eat it too — coaching talent for miles, bringing home titles and acing the APR all in the same year.

Kenny Colston is a journalism senior. E-mail kcolston@kykernel.com.

A friend of a friend who works in admissions said he heard from a reliable guy that Darnell Dodson is transferring.

And no, before you ask: It’s not the same guy who said Billy Donovan’s children were enrolled in Lexington’s Catholic schools hours after Billy Gillispie was let go last year.

You can trust this new source. Believe me.

What about the latest on John Wall? I heard he might stay. Well, actually, I know it’s true — my Easter brunch waiter said one of the kitchen workers read it on Facebook.

Book your seat at the Player of the Year banquet now!

He’s not worried about the millions upon millions of dollars thrown at his face and the promise to instantly become one of the NBA’s top point guards. He’s more concerned about being the best of the 96 starting point guards competing for next year’s NCAA championship.

Of course, the coach that’s telling him to stay won’t even be here. At least, that’s what I heard. That’s right: I have it on good authority that John Calipari is going to jump ship to the NBA.

Well, maybe I don’t have it on good authority. But a brother of a production assistant on Cal’s latest commercial shoot in Lexington said he’s gone, because Coach told him first-hand.

Maybe that’s not all true. But who could make this stuff up?

Surely no one could make up a story about Daniel Orton’s future at UK. That’s why over the weekend, according to all of the rumors that popped up: He dropped his classes at UK, re-enrolled, moved to California, came back to Lexington and then ended up back in California to finish his classes by correspondence so the Cats don’t lose a scholarship next year.

All of this surfaced amid the looming Final Four, and it seemed like everyone in Lexington who wasn’t busy rooting for Shelvin Mack and Butler instantly bought into it.

So maybe you shouldn’t believe everything you hear until Orton steps forward and makes an actual statement. Very little of what will be said about roster turnover in the aftermath of The Letdown in Syracuse will prove true.

But did you hear about Brandon Knight? What if he commits this week? Piece together everything we’ve all heard (it’s all true, by the way) and next year’s starting lineup might be Wall, Knight, Eric Bledsoe,

Darius Miller and one variable. And maybe Phil Jackson or Tom Izzo will coach the team.
Go ahead and start figuring out which couch to set on fire when the nets come down in Houston this time next year.

Then again, this all might change. Take it or leave it.

That’s just what I heard.

James Pennington is a journalism senior. E-mail jpennington@kykernel.com.

People are walking around campus in dark clothes, hoods up and eyes down. The only thing cutting through the solemnnity is the wind whipping around Patterson Office Tower.

There’s no joy or celebration, even though spring is here and Keeneland opens on Friday. It’s like a notable figure suddenly died and, like in the ancient Roman and Greek days, we are having a week of mourning to hail the tragic loss.

So who passed? Achilles? Odysseus? Another great warrior or king?

That’s the only explantation I can think of in regards to the all black attire, sad faces and general heaviness that has plagued UK’s campus for the last several days.

Wait? The men’s basketball team lost on Saturday, you say?

They made it to the Elite Eight, didn’t they? First time in five years for that, right?

Well then why is everyone so sad?

I’m kind of surprised Lexington didn’t throw a parade.

It’s time to change back into the spring colors, soak in the sun and enjoy what’s happened in the last year. After five years of downfall, the Cats are back. Blue is back.

Let’s take a quick look at some milestones UK achieved this year alone:

-The first to 2,000 wins.

-Winning its 44th regular season conference title and its 26th conference tournament title.

-Reaching the Elite Eight for the first time in five years

-Having two freshmen (John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins) named All-Americans, a feat no other school has ever accomplished.

That doesn’t even touch the many exciting games, Big Blue Madness, the John Wall dance (and shots, shots, shots, shots, everybody! Sorry, got carried away), and watching this team excel against all odds breaking records and carving a path that will never be forgotten.

So, remind me, why is everyone so sad again? No national title? Ah, I see. But thinking on it, was this year really the year to go for banner No. 8?

Think about it: Tubby Smith won No. 7 in his first year on the job. For the remaining 10 years he coached at UK, he could never top what he did in his first year. How do you top a national title? You can’t.

Smith eventually left because he achieved his top goal in his first year. Years 2-10 were always in that shadow. It’s an awful way to have to coach.

Do you want the same problem with John Calipari?

So everyone, listen up. Remove the funeral garb. Spend the next couple of weeks walking around campus with a smile on your face. Head over to the Johnson Center and hope the UK basketball team has wandered over to shoot hoops with the commonfolk (like they did on Tuesday) or hang around the blue courts between the Craft Center and Wildcat Lodge.

Enjoy Patrick Patterson, DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall and the rest. It may be the last time you see these UK legends.

Buy up jerseys, posters, books, whatever you can get your hands on. You’ll regret not doing so in a few years when the reality of this team’s purpose sets it.
Because this year isn’t a one-time thing. It’s not like UK has a bad coach who got lucky with a few kids and made a run.

UK has real talent, both on the sidelines and on the court. And if there is a mass exodus of players from this year’s squad, you can rest assured that a whole new batch of superstar freshmen will take their place.

The Elite Eight isn’t going to be a possibility every year, it’s going to be a destination. And a national title will come in due time.

Players come and go. That’s why fans buy jerseys and posters to remember them.

“There’s always next year” is a familiar saying for many fans who have teams with subpar performance year in and year out.

The difference is, UK fans can say “there’s always next year” and know that could mean a national title.

That’s something to smile about, isn’t it?

Kenny Colston is a journalism senior. E-mail kcolston@kykernel.com.