Time to Take Off the Rearview Mirror

At one point during the tournament, Calipari said he was going to take the rear view mirror off his car so it would be best to avoid driving around him since he was only going to be looking forward. As painful as it is for us fans, it's time we start forgetting about the storm (anger) and rain (tears) of the UConn game and focus on the bright sky and future ahead.

The UK - UConn rematch was painful to say the least. When halftime rolled around, all I could think about is "Oh my gosh, it's Maui all over again". Jones, who had taken more of a backseat in the points department going into the SEC & NCAA tournaments as he looked to pass more and help his teammates, which in part was contributing to our improved play, was back to being one of the main offensive players. Most of our other players were missing shots and our veterans had disappeared again. While the second half looked better, and at times made us look like the tournament team that beat Ohio State and North Carolina, our play was not consistent enough to overcome the first half issues and win the game. We can argue about the refs and the goal tending call that didn't happen but if we hadn't been having a bad game, none of that would have mattered.

All that is in the past now and it's best to look at the positives as we work towards moving forward:

• I think one of the first things we have to remember (and I know many have already have said this and it doesn't take away the sting completely but) is that we were NOT supposed to get this far with this team. We knew we were going to be a bit short this year bench-wise and really how many of us thought this team would out perform last years? The team started out pretty good but then began dropping a game here and there then the Kanter situation ended up sinking a lot of our high hopes for this team. I know for me when we started losing all those SEC road games, I gave up on this team and put up on Facebook in February "This season's over". Not that we were in danger of not making the NCAA tourney but I didn't give us any chance of making it past the first weekend. Glad I was (and most of us were) wrong. Harrellson ended up becoming more than we ever dreamed he could but hoped he would, Liggins and Miller stepped it up, and this team became close and worked together as an efficient unit. I wanted us to win the championship but couldn't be prouder of where this team got. Being in the Final Four felt good again. I had actually forgotten how good since it had been so long.

• This may encourage some of our freshman to stay. While it will be a couple weeks or so before we know the future of all our current players, we can be fairly certain that if we had won the championship, probably all three of our star freshman would go. I would rather have the championship, but if there's a silver lining, I think this may be it. We were so close to winning it all and I think that may encourage some or all of them to try to finish what they started.

• We don't have to worry about Cal leaving. There have already started a few rumors about if Cal might consider an open NBA job like circulated last season but the truth is, he won't leave right now with the class he has coming in and without getting a championship or at least giving it another few tries. Personally I think every year we keep him here it lessens the likelihood of him going back to the pros unless he wins a championship in the next couple years. Winning the championship would have been great but if we won and then Cal left this year or next to try the NBA again, there's a chance the championship might be the only positive UK would have for quite awhile unless we could somehow lure another big name coach here but that would be doubtful, especially since most of them are older than Cal and happy where they are.

• Next seasons squad. We all had high hopes for last years team which ended up being a game short of the final four. We had less hope for this team but it got to the final four. Next season we bring in a team that many argue is even better than last seasons and may be the greatest incoming team ever. Combine that with the chance of one to three of our current freshman staying and hopefully Miller and especially Liggins staying on as well and the possibility of Hood, Vargas, Poole, or Polson becoming the next Harrellson success story (in a perfect situation) and there's a LOT of hope for next season to be the one that goes all the way.

Nothing can completely take away the sting of the UConn loss for us but there are a few things to be positive about. This season's officially over for everyone now and next season can start today. UConn may have won the 2011 Championship but that's last year and 2012 is still open for anyone. Anyone wearing a UK jersey that is.

Football and basketball may be over for now but keep with us as we keep you up to date on the who stays and who goes situation as well as any other tidbits of news that come up along the way.

Cats 2012!!!