At CoachCal.com, in a series of upcoming articles I'll recount some of the Kentucky Wildcats' championship moments from the 2011-2012 season to remember. In the first installment, I take a look at the expectations the 'Cats encountered prior to the start of the season, their answer to those expectations, and the attitude John Calipari imparted upon his troops. Here is an excerpt:
In the minds of Wildcat followers, the championship stage had been set: The team was the right mix of youth and experience, and the talent level was thought to be unmatched (despite the No. 2 ranking). Cat fans were ready for the season-long rumble, but were the players prepared for what surely would be an arduous journey?
It was a Kentuckian, someone who grew up in the middle of Cat country, who smartly knew the key to the Wildcats' championship success was the players' commitment to be a team.
"It takes a lot of hard work and dedication," Mason County's Darius Miller said about winning a championship before the season started. "There are going to be a lot of sacrifices made. One big aspect is that we have to be a team, and be on the same page. We have to be like a family. If people are on different pages then it's not going to work."
For the full article go here and Go 'Cats!