LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky an underachiever the last four years? According to a new
list by ESPN’s Jeff Borzello (link to subscription-only content), the Wildcats have done less with more talent than anyone in college basketball since the start of the 2012-13 season.
Huh? UK played in the NCAA championship game in 2014 and reached the 2015 Final Four with a 38-0 record. Since when is that underachieving, considering only Wisconsin and Syracuse can match the Cats’ two Final Fours in that span?
Borzello says his list of the five biggest underachievers the last four years – which also includes LSU, UNLV, N.C. State and UCLA (zero Final Fours between them) – is “all relative to recruiting class rankings.” And it is true that in ESPN’s rankings, Kentucky’s classes in that time ranked No. 2 three times and No. 1 once.
Should John Calipari have won a title in that span? Maybe so. Should the Cats have done better than the NIT in 2013? Yes, but star Nerlens Noel was injured late in the regular season. And the fact remains: UK has 115 wins, including 10 in the NCAA tournament the last four years.
Duke, which did win the 2015 title, has 116 victories, including 11 in the NCAA tournament – and also a first-round loss to Mercer and no other Final Fours. The Blue Devils’ classes ranked No. 12, No. 7, No. 1 and No. 1. No one would claim they’re major underachievers.
But there
are some other top-recruiting programs who seem to fit Borzello’s list better than Kentucky, which in the last six years has been to four Final Fours and won the 2012 national title. Here are three:
Arizona’s recruiting classes ranked No. 3, 5, 6 and 4 during the span considered. In that time, those Wildcats had one first-round NCAA exit, reached zero Final Fours and got to two Elite Eights and another Sweet 16. They won 119 total games, eight in the NCAA tournament.
Kansas’ recruiting classes ranked No. 13, No. 2, No. 9 and No. 7 in the four-year window in question. The Jayhawks turned that into a pair of second-round losses, a Sweet 16 and an Elite Eight. They won 118 total games, seven in the NCAA tournament.
Before reaching the national title game this season – with the No. 33 recruiting class in 2015 – North Carolina had a string of classes ranked eighth, fifth and third nationally. That produced two second-round losses and a Sweet 16. Even with this year’s run, the Tar Heels totaled 108 wins the last four seasons, nine in the NCAA tournament.
So it’s worth asking again: Is Kentucky
really one of the biggest underachievers in college basketball since 2013? Seems an odd take.
