We all remember the 2012 NCAA Tournament champion Kentucky Wildcats. We mostly are reminded these days when Anthony Davis makes one of his many spectacular plays, but we sometimes forget about the other guy who was instrumental in that victory. They all were, of course — every one of them. But if you asked me for the two guys most responsible, it would have to be Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.
MKG did some things that were mostly known only to the Kentucky faithful, like starting the famous "Breakfast Club" that he used to motivate both himself and the others who joined him, and by the end of the year, he had been joined by almost everybody.
MKG was never a great scorer, but he was very similar in many ways to Anthony Davis — he affected games without getting 20 points and 10 rebounds. He was the ultimate competitor, the guy who didn’t know how to take a play off. All he wanted to do was win, and winning was the most important thing to him in a way that it really wasn’t to some of the other guys. Michael took every single game as a personal challenge to be defeated, and MKG was like the Terminator — He couldn’t be bargained with, or reasoned with. He didn’t feel pity, or remorse, or pain, and he absolutely would not stop — ever — until he was victorious.
The video talks about the archetype of this mindset early on — the late block against Kansas in the NCAA Tournament championship game after he got beat back-door. I saw it live and I couldn’t believe it then; it seemed like he had way too far to go, and yet somehow, he got there. It was a seminal moment in an unforgettable season that has been forgotten by many; but not Kentucky fans.
So enjoy the video, it is well made, slickly produced, and informative. Kudos to the SB Nation team for putting it together.