Disappointing finish, but Kentucky had a helluva season

The season did not exactly end the way that the thousands and thousands of Kentucky fans that descended upon Houston this week had hoped.

Wildcat fans didn't want to see their team go home early. They didn't fly or train or drive the 1,000 miles from Lexington to see their team lose on Saturday night. Kentucky fans wanted -- no, expected -- to win. And there is no shame in being disappointed.

But what I hope Big Blue Nation realizes is that this team probably wasn't supposed to be here.


This wasn't the year the Wildcats were supposed to be in the Final Four. They were supposed to be playing for a national title last season, when they had five players go in the first round of the NBA Draft. Once Enes Kanter was ruled permanently ineligible by the NCAA, most Kentucky fans began looking forward to next season. Because before this Final Four even began, before we even know which of Kentucky's talented freshman would be bolting for the NBA, the talk about the Wildcats being the No. 1 team in the country in 2011-2012 had already begun.

That's what tends to happen when the recruiting class you bring in is full of names like Anthony Davis, Marquis Teague, Mike Gilchrist, and Kyle Wiltjer. Throw in the likes of DeAndre Liggins and Darius Miller returning for another season, and John Calipari will once again have a roster that is stocked to the gills with talent.

What shouldn't fall by the wayside in the disappointment of Kentucky's loss on Saturday night is just how incredible of a run the Wildcats had in the tournament.

Josh Harrellson became this season's Omar Samhan, a big, goofy looking, slow-footed center than took the NCAA's media contingent by storm. Harrellson wasn't known outside of the state of Kentucky coming into this season. The only reason he saw time during the year was a result of Enes Kanter being ruled ineligible. Even then, Harrellson was nearly kicked off the team early in the season because of an ill-advised tweet he sent out. Even in the basketball-mad state of Kentucky, Harrellson was better known for the jorts he wore off the court than his performance on the court.

Never the less, the kid that was considered Kentucky's weak link coming into the season will leave with a professional basketball career staring him in the face.

DeAndre Liggins was a top 50 recruit coming out of high school, but attitude problems stemming from how he dealt with the death of his brother back in high school never allowed him to find any kind of consistency on the court. But the athletic, 6'6" Liggins became a defensive stopper this season, building Coach Cal's confidence in him on the offensive end to the point that he actually became a weapon this season. The same can probably be said about Darius Miller, another versatile small forward that came into is own this year.

These Wildcats were a fantastic story. They were the underdog. Calipari shed his reputation of being a recruiter, not a coach, and blended a cinderella story out of a concoction of talented newcomers and returning misfits.

This group became eminently likeable.

That's not something easily said about a Kentucky team, especially one coach by John Calipari.

And that's not something that Kentucky fans should forget.