Of unexpected pleasures and coronations

Anyone who says he or she foresaw the University of Louisville's run to the Final Four back in January lies.  Big time.

I didn't see it coming, and I'll put my belief in the Cardinals -- and Rick Pitino -- up against anyone's.  However, I do recall telling several of my friends who were ready to bail on the Cards that we've seen this movie before.  Not only Pitino's teams, but also some of Denny Crum's, have gone through awful-looking stretches in January, only to emerge as world-beaters come March.

I had U of L pegged as a Sweet Sixteen team before the season -- I thought given the talent on hand, that was a reasonable expectation.  I must admit I've never been happier to be wrong.

At midseason, a noisy chunk of Planet Red started howling for Pitino's head, claiming the game had passed him by.  Pitino silenced the doubters by crafting a terrific postseason run.  The Cards caught fire in the Big East tournament, and carried that championship momentum into the Big Dance, riding a suffocating defense into the last weekend of the season.

Looking forward to next season, if the Cards can avoid the epidemic of injuries that plagued them last year and this year, they could be scary good.  I don't recall seeing a U of L team improve as much over the last third of the season as this one did.  Kyle Kuric and Chris Smith will be missed, but if Mike Marra returns from his injury and Wayne Blackshear gets healthy, they along with transfer Luke Hancock should provide additional outside firepower.

On the inside, Chane Behanan continues to refine his Rodney McCray impression, and if Gorgui Dieng delivers on his vow to add 20 pounds of muscle in the offseason, he will become a beast on the glass.  Throw in a healthy Stephan Van Treese and an improved Zach Price, and the Cards should rebound with anyone on their schedule.

I'm not yet ready to make this a prediction, but next season marks the 30th anniversary of the only back-to-back Final Four appearances in U of L history.  Just sayin'.

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Now a thought or two on the University of Kentucky's national championship.

First, it looks like John Calipari can coach a little.  It's one thing to assemble a collection of talent like this;  it's another to mold them into a group that values collective success more than individual achievement.  We've seen teams nearly as talented implode under the weight of clashing egos -- North Carolina in 2009-10 comes to mind.

But Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Terrence Jones and the rest of the Cats truly played as though the "Kentucky" on the front of the jersey mattered more than their own names on the back.  And even though my Cards twice fell victim to their virtuosity, I applaud the Cats and was thrilled to watch them validate a season's worth of sky-high expectations and cut down the nets in New Orleans.  It probably will make Big Blue Nation's lunatic fringe a bit tough to deal with for the next few weeks, but I'm extremely happy for the team.