5 moments that shaped a Final 4 run

Looking back on five key moments that helped fuel Kentucky’s first Final Four run since 1998:

Josh Harrellson's transformation has been a huge key to UK's Final Four season.

Cal Not Sending His Jorts To Goodwill:

The first moment that helped define this Kentucky team actually happened two years ago. When news broke that John Calipari would be leaving Memphis to become the new UK boss, no one – and I mean nooooooo one – in the Big Blue Nation expected that Josh Harrellson would remain part of the program. The Cats were suddenly in the mix for hot-shot McDonald’s All-Americans, and scholarships were not readily available. Something had to give.

You couldn’t fault anyone – maybe even ol’ Jorts himself – for thinking that he may be one of the odd men out. He didn’t seem to fit the Dribble Drive Motion offense, and the season that had just wrapped up featured him spending an afternoon in a bathroom stall at Vandy due to his previous coach’s frustration with his play. Harrellson’s ticket out of Lexington was surely punched. Wrong. Calipari opted instead to let power forward Matt Pilgrim, a potential fan favorite due to internet reports that he had dominated practices during his season sitting out following a transfer from Hampton, and promising guard Kevin Galloway go. A great deal of that reasoning was just good fortune for Harrellson, who was seen as a hard worker who would not cause trouble and gripe about a lack of playing time behind highly-touted signees DeMarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton.

It has proven to be the single most important decision that Calipari has made during his short time in Lexington. Without Harrellson, UK isn’t anywhere near the Final Four this season. You could argue the Cats don’t get past Princeton in the first round without the big guy.

Twittergate:

Harrellson’s Key Moment, Part II.

In what seems like an eternity ago, Harrellson opened many eyes during the Cats’ annual Blue-White Scrimmage in October when he pulled down a team-high 26 rebounds. But you could count Calipari among those not easily impressed.

“Can Josh do this for 15 or 20 minutes a game?” Calipari said with a tone that suggested ‘C’mon, folks. Get real.’ “… Either we’re the worst offensive rebounding team in America or he’s gotten better, one of the two. I haven’t figured it out. We’ll watch the tape and figure it out.”

DeAndre Liggins has brought a nasty streak to the young Cats, who were pushed around early in the schedule.

Not too flattering for a guy who had just pulled down one less rebound than he did the entire 2009-10 season, and Harrellson used the Twitter social network to fire back a message of frustration to his coach:

"Either we are the worst offensive rebounding team or he had gotten better"!!! Just amazing to me I can't get a good job or way to go

yes he has been working hard this off season... It is just amazing to me but I look past it and keep trucking! You can't stop this train!!!

Well, the Twitter train was stopped. Calipari revoked Harrellson’s right to tweet and put his big man through some extra disciplinary conditioning that may have sparked Harrellson’s transformation from perceived weak link to beast mode center capable of battling the best centers in America.

You think Jorts can give UK 15 or 20 good minutes now? You bet. Cal had no idea what he was creating that night. Or maybe he did. Perhaps that’s part of his genius.

Liggins Embracing The Pitbull Role:

I’ve long maintained that any championship basketball team needs a bad guy. Not a real bad guy or a troublemaker off the court, mind you, but a player willing to occasionally mix it up with the opponent and get them thinking about the mind games instead of executing. Kentucky had it the last time it won a national championship. Remember Jamal Magloire versus Wojo?

Kentucky was lacking that player midway through the season, but I believe junior guard DeAndre Liggins was coaxed by Cal to take up the mantle. You never heard the coach complain too much when Liggins would pick up an occasional technical foul. Deep down inside, I think he knew he had the perfect pitbull in Liggins – a tough, street-hardened kid from Chicago – and he unleashed him late in the SEC schedule. Liggins’ level of assertiveness skyrocketed as he harassed opponents like Tennessee’s Scotty Hopson, Vanderbilt’s John Jenkins and Ole Miss’s Reggie Buckner into subpar performances.

Liggins, one of the best on-ball defenders in the country, has taken the role and ran with it. Apparently, North Carolina's Harrison Barnes was more than a little frustrated on Sunday, and it could have had something to do with his 2-for-9 shooting from 3-point range. Liggins will need to work it two more times – without crossing the line and hurting UK at a key moment – to help deliver banner No. 8 to Rupp’s rafters.

Close Ls:

In a typical season when UK loses eight games, you tend to hear some grumbling from the fan base. Calipari tip-toed dangerously close to the ol’ “Ten Loss” label some of the more disgruntled fans like to apply to their coaches. But the BBN cut this particular team some slack due to its youthful roster and the fact that five of those defeats came by two points or less. (UK’s eight losses were by 37 combined points. While it was frustrating to see the Cats lose close games to the likes of Ole Miss and Arkansas, fans could see potential with improved execution.

That improved execution came down the stretch run of the season. UK won a tight game against No. 21 Vanderbilt in Rupp Arena and another one at Tennessee in the regular-season finale. Those wins seem to spark a new level of confidence in the Cats, something they’ve carried into tight games during the NCAA Tournament. The miscues that led to losses at Alabama, Ole Miss, Florida, Vanderbilt, North Carolina and Arkansas turned into clutch plays against Princeton, West Virginia, Ohio State and the rematch with the Tar Heels.

One of the marks of a good team is learning from its mistakes and turning bad experiences into long-term benefits. The Cats have done that better than any team in recent memory.

Miller’s #wildcatblood:

Fans have long awaited the emergence of former Kentucky “Mr. Basketball” Darius Miller, who had previously guided Mason County to state championships before signing with the Cats three years ago. The junior forward had shown glimpses of star potential, but never was able to put together a stretch of games that made fans confident he could be anything but a role player at UK. Too laid back, they said. Not assertive enough.

Something changed in February. Those seated close to the floor at Rupp Arena or with good HD television at home could see a different look in Miller’s eyes as he started a career-best string of 10 consecutive games in double figures from Feb. 15 to March 17. The run started after a four-point loss at Vandy in which Miller was held to only seven points. His 24-point effort in a showdown with eventual SEC champion Florida was perhaps the most celebrated performance of the season for the Big Blue Nation, and that included a trio of 30-point games by the Cats’ talented freshmen. Fans knew this UK team would only go as far as the veterans could help carry it. When Miller began playing with a chip on his shoulder it may have been the thing that put this UK team over the top.