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John Calipari: John Wall was a ‘building block’ for Kentucky’s success

John Calipari touched on what John Wall means to Kentucky at the Wizards-Kings exhibition game at Rupp Arena Saturday night.

John Wall - photo by Walter Cornett

– photo by Walter Cornett

John Wall, along with numerous other greats, attended Friday night.  Kentucky coach ‘s message at Big Blue Madness was clear: Kentucky basketball is family and it's for life.

That message certainly resonated with point guard John Wall, who, despite only playing one season at Kentucky, got one of, it not the biggest ovation of the night.

“People think they have to stay four years to have a relationship with the program, the coach,” Calipari told Chris Miller of CSN Mid-Atlantic at the Wizards-Kings exhibition game at Rupp Arena Saturday night.

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On This Day In UK Basketball History

On March 28, 1992, in what many called the “best NCAA Tournament game ever,” Kentucky takes defending NCAA champion Duke into overtime before losing 104-103 in the East Regional finals in Philadelphia. A last-second shot by Christian Laettner sends Duke to the Final Four, and breaks the hearts of Wildcat fans everywhere. It is Cawood Ledford’s last game as the “Voice of the Wildcats.”

 

On March 28, 1998, against Stanford, Kentucky rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit, then grabbed a 5-point overtime lead, before fending off the Cardinals to advance to the title game for the third straight season. Jeff Sheppard canned three long-range three-pointers - two in the final three minutes and one in overtime - en route to a career-high 27 points.

 

On March 28, 2014, unranked Kentucky beat No. 5 Louisville 74-69, in the 2014 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.  Aaron Harrison buried a three-pointer from the left corner with 39 seconds left that put UK ahead to stay before 41,072 in Lucas Oil Stadium.

 

On March 28, 2015, No. 1 Kentucky defeated No. 8 Notre Dame, 68-66, in the 2015 NCAA Tournament Elite Eight.  With its 37-0 record on the line, Kentucky trailed Notre Dame 59-53 with 6:14 left. UK rallied in front of 19,464 fans in Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and preserved its perfect season thanks to a crucial blocked shot by Willie Cauley-Stein and two game-deciding free throws from Andrew Harrison in the final seconds.

 

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