UK comes in at #4 on ESPN's "Most Prestigious" list

Duke, UNC, KU, UK, Arizona for the top 5. About what I'd expect. I did find it interesting to have all the information regarding Final Fours, National Titles, All Americans, etc in one convenient comparision.

(Duke with 25 All Americans since 1985? East Coast Media Bias ftw)

5 months ago chirop1 Comment 26 comments 0 recs |

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Awesome. And Texas came in 18…not too shabby for them.

by jc25 on Jul 25, 2008 4:01 PM EDT 0 recs

That is ...

... pretty good indeed. Well earned, I would say.

A Sea of Blue -- Kentucky Sports for the Discerning Fan

by Truzenzuzex on Jul 26, 2008 7:44 AM EDT up 0 recs

UCONN

No surprise that the Huskies are at #6. Calhoun has done a great job up there.

by racercat98 on Jul 25, 2008 4:03 PM EDT 0 recs

Calhoun

Been at UConn for 20 years. 2 FF, 2 NCAA title. 1 (of each) per 10 years.

Some don’t find that acceptable.

by FortyYearCatFan on Jul 25, 2008 5:23 PM EDT 0 recs

Calhoun

by RichardL on Jul 25, 2008 5:29 PM EDT up 0 recs

wow

you seriously can’t let things go, can you?

GO BIG BLUE!! GO BIG BLUE!!

by UKWildCatFanatic on Jul 25, 2008 5:33 PM EDT up 0 recs

Ha!

And so it begins again!

Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."

by chirop1 on Jul 25, 2008 5:38 PM EDT up 0 recs

i know

but now it’s to the point that you can’t be complimentary of any coach without it being slight to coach smith.

GO BIG BLUE!! GO BIG BLUE!!

by UKWildCatFanatic on Jul 25, 2008 7:39 PM EDT up 0 recs

Ya know....

Therapy can work wonders for those who can’t let go of the past…..

by RichardL on Jul 25, 2008 6:36 PM EDT up 0 recs

true...

...but i’m not going to hold my breath.

GO BIG BLUE!! GO BIG BLUE!!

by UKWildCatFanatic on Jul 25, 2008 7:39 PM EDT up 0 recs

Funny.....their list is screwed up...

They list Kansas at number 3 and UNC at number 2. But, they have Kansas with more “points” and even mention that Kansas slipped by UNC for number 2 on the list…..Must be an ACC thing.

by RichardL on Jul 25, 2008 5:27 PM EDT 0 recs

Hilarious!

I hadn’t even noticed that.

Of course its difficult, its a shortcut... if it was easy it'd just be "the way."

by chirop1 on Jul 25, 2008 5:42 PM EDT up 0 recs

Calhoun

Two great years (1999 and 2004) out of 36 year career as a coach. 20 NCAA appearances in those 36 years.

Career 69.6% W-L record and 69.5% in NCAA games. 21.5 W and 9.4 L averages.

Good but not good enough to be mentioned with Coach K, Roy Williams, Pitino, etc.

But I’ll give credit where due. He was better at Fairfield U than Pitino was at Boston U in early 1980’s.

by FortyYearCatFan on Jul 25, 2008 8:06 PM EDT 0 recs

Correction > Northeastern U, Not Fairfield (But > Pitino There)

(11 seasons with 10+ L out of 22 at UConn)

Connecticut 1986-87 8 19 —
Connecticut 1987-88 20 14 NIT Champions
Connecticut 1988-89 18 13 NIT Quarterfinals
Connecticut 1989-90 31 6 NCAA Elite 8
Connecticut 1990-91 20 11 NCAA Sweet 16
Connecticut 1991-92 20 10 NCAA Second Round
Connecticut 1992-93 15 13 NIT First Round
Connecticut 1993-94 29 5 NCAA Sweet 16
Connecticut 1994-95 28 5 NCAA Elite 8
Connecticut 1995-96 30 2 NCAA Sweet 16
Connecticut 1996-97 18 15 NIT Third Place
Connecticut 1997-98 32 5 NCAA Elite 8
Connecticut 1998-99 33 2 NCAA National Champions
Connecticut 1999-00 25 10 NCAA Second Round
Connecticut 2000-01 20 12 NIT Second Round
Connecticut 2001-02 27 7 NCAA Elite 8
Connecticut 2002-03 23 10 NCAA Sweet 16
Connecticut 2003-04 32 6 NCAA National Champions
Connecticut 2004-05 22 8 NCAA Second Round
Connecticut 2005-06 29 4 NCAA Elite 8
Connecticut 2006-07 17 14 —
Connecticut 2007-08 24 9 NCAA First Round
Career Totals 773 337

by FortyYearCatFan on Jul 25, 2008 8:11 PM EDT up 0 recs

I don't care for Calhoun, but what he has done at UConn is remarkable.

by Ken Howlett on Jul 25, 2008 9:34 PM EDT up 0 recs

Perhaps

I don’t like the guy (personally). He has done some good (even great) things there. But he’s not All That compared to the best of his peers.

2 NC, 2 FF, 7 E8, 11 S16 in 22 seasons.

1 of 11. 1 of 11. 1 of 3. 1 of 2. Good, just not good enough.

I don’t think he should be fired or run out of Storrs CT but he’s just good, not great.

by FortyYearCatFan on Jul 25, 2008 10:15 PM EDT up 0 recs

ESPN List

“The premier program in the SEC cracks the Top 5 despite being banned from the NCAA Tournament twice”

If one didn’t know better, one would think that UK had been denied entry into the Tournament because of two separate violations, both resulting in banishment, instead of what actually happened.

I’ll bet a Starbucks that the wording was written intentionally misleading.

by Ken Howlett on Jul 25, 2008 9:43 PM EDT 0 recs

Poor Wording

But UK was banned from NCAA in 1990 and 1991.

Made it 21 of the other 22 years though.

by FortyYearCatFan on Jul 25, 2008 10:16 PM EDT 0 recs

I know when UK was banned, as do most fans over the age of 10.

by Ken Howlett on Jul 25, 2008 11:02 PM EDT up 2 recs

so true...

that deserves a rec!

GO BIG BLUE!! GO BIG BLUE!!

by UKWildCatFanatic on Jul 26, 2008 12:54 AM EDT up 0 recs

LOL! Gracias!

by Ken Howlett on Jul 26, 2008 3:41 AM EDT up 0 recs

Twice Meant 2 Years

Rather than two times.

UK was banned from all competition in 1953 but only SECT and NCAA / NIT competition in 1990 and 1991.

UK still made postseason play in 21 of the 24 years from 1985 through 2008 seasons.

Only Arizona made it every one of the 24 – not Duke, not UNC, not Kansas.

by FortyYearCatFan on Jul 26, 2008 8:43 AM EDT up 0 recs

we know

but the way it’s written makes it seem UK was banned twice, when actually they were banned once but for two years.

it’s not just poorly worded, but completely misleading. anyone who doesn’t know about what actually happened can only infer that UK got into trouble twice.

GO BIG BLUE!! GO BIG BLUE!!

by UKWildCatFanatic on Jul 26, 2008 10:12 AM EDT up 0 recs

Actually UK Did Have 2 NCAA Problems In That Timeframe

NCAA warning in 1988 for not cooperating with NCAA investigation from 1985 timeframe. (Lex H-L articles on $ payments to UK players, etc)

And the NCAA probation and sanctions handed down in 1989 (banned in 1990 and 91).

by FortyYearCatFan on Jul 26, 2008 11:25 AM EDT 0 recs

problems

ok, my last line wasn’t phrased how i wanted it…we did get into trouble twice.

but really the issue with ESPN was that they said we got banned twice. that is completely untrue.

GO BIG BLUE!! GO BIG BLUE!!

by UKWildCatFanatic on Jul 26, 2008 4:23 PM EDT up 0 recs

UK Numbers (1985 Thru 2008)

4. KENTUCKY WILDCATS, SEC

Positives: 20 conference titles (8 regular-season, 12 tourney); 6 30-win seasons; 21 NCAA berths; 7 No. 1 seeds; 14 Sweet 16s; 4 Final Fours; 1996 and ‘98 national titles; 52 NCAA tourney wins; 10 All-Americans; 5 NBA top-10 picks

Negatives: 1 losing season (13-19 in 1988-89); 2 NCAA sanctions; has not advanced past the NCAA tourney first weekend since 2005

Total points: 378

Did you know? The premier program in the SEC cracks the Top 5 despite being banned from the NCAA tournament twice. The Wildcats dominated the conference tournament, earning 12 automatic berths (tied with Penn for the most). UK hasn’t been too shabby in the Big Dance either, making three straight national title games from 1996-1998 and winning twice. However, the Wildcats haven’t made the Final Four since.

1. 2 NCAA titles in 24 years. (1 in 12)
2. 4 Final 4 in 24 years. (1 in 6)
3. 14 Sweet 16 in 24 years. (7 in 12)
4. 8 SEC titles in 24 years. (1 in 3)
5. 12 SECT championships in 24 years. (1 in 2)
6. 7 #1 seeds in 24 years. (About 1 in 3)
7. 21 NCAA in 24 years. (7 of 8)
8. 52 W in NCAA in 24 years. (2.25 W per NCAA)

Those are the UK standards in the Modern Era. Gillispie can be fairly judged by those standards, I think.

Presuming he completes his 7 years and re-ups for at least 5 more, that’s 12 years.

by FortyYearCatFan on Jul 26, 2008 12:30 PM EDT 0 recs