Assignment 25-Zac Byrd

Spring is once again here and we are just about ready to start the new season.  We have a #2 recruiting class coming in and surprisingly we have 4 out of 6 people returning from last season’s team.  What we didn’t think would happen ended up happening for the second time in the Coach Cal Era; some of the best players actually stayed for their sophomore year.  While that’s great, next year marks the first year under Coach Cal that a McDonalds All-American will be staying for his junior year (Poythress).  

“It’s a national championship or bust”, “this year a 71% chance for 40-0”, and “Kentucky already leads the league in rebounding” are some of the many phrases and stats being thrown out there.  Yes Kentucky Basketball has once again has captured the attention of many Big Blue fans right after the season ended but it has also captured the big eyes of the college basketball analysts.  Analysts like last year are already predicting the Cats to win their 2 championship in 4 years.  The 40-0 hype last year was clearly an overreaction to a group of freshman with no experience trying to come in and beat veterans in the biggest stage, the championship.  But now with a roster that now boasts 9 McDonalds all Americans, 3 7-footers, and a national championship tested coach how can you pick against Kentucky? So once again in the upcoming year watch for UK to be the New York Yankees of the college basketball world.