John Calipari

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Blue Ribbon College Basketball editor Chris Dortch covers Southeastern Conference basketball - and writes for nba.com - was in Nashville for the SEC Tournament.  He's know Kentucky coach John Calipari since his coaching days at Memphis, and was one of the first to predict that Calipari and UK would be a perfect fit before Kentucky hired him. Dortch shared his thoughts on several UK related items Friday before the Cats played...

His first two years at Kentucky, the Wildcats went to the Final Four each time and won the national championship in 2013. Coming off the success he had at West ¿ Jessamine High School the last two years of his prep career, UK junior Jarrod Polson expected this to be another banner year. “This is not what we were expecting,” Polson said Friday after UK ¿ lost to Vanderbilt in the Southeastern Conference Tournament. Not only was it UK's 11th loss, but the Cats scored a season-low 48 points - a low UK ¿ never reached during Billy Gillipsie's two years and had not reached in seven seasons.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - He had a towel draped over his head and tears streaming down both cheeks as he proclaimed he was the reason Kentucky's NCAA tournament hopes may have disappeared. Sophomore point guard Ryan Harrow wasn't the only reason UK lost 64-48 to Vanderbilt on Friday night in the Southeastern Conference tournament, but he certainly had a game to forget. He was 2-for-15 from the field - and almost all the shots were in the paint. He had four turnovers and just one assist - and often got beat on defense, too. “This loss is just on me,” Harrow said.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Even though he didn't watch Vanderbilt's win over Arkansas on Thursday night, Kentucky coach John Calipari knows his team faces a difficult task in tonight's Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals. “Played them twice. They know us, we know them. They've won five out of their last six. Since we beat them, they win five of six, and the only game they lost was at Florida, where no one won. They make (12) 3's today. We're playing them in their hometown. We've got a challenge,” said Calipari late Thursday night at the UK team hotel.” Calipari said Vandy having to play a second straight night against a rested UK¿is not necessarily an advantage for Kentucky.

LEXINGTON - Remember two years ago when Connecticut struggled to a so-so Big East Conference finish, barely got into the NCAA tournament because it won the Big East tournament and then won the national title - and beat Kentucky in the Final Four - thanks to the inspired play of guard Kemba Walker? Could Kentucky have a Walker-like player to spark a postseason resurgence starting with Friday's play in Nashville in the Southeastern Conference tournament? “Maybe it's Willie (Cauley-Stein)

LEXINGTON - Not only will this season benefit any Kentucky players that return next season, but coach John Calipari says his team's struggles at time will help him in the future as well. “It's a learning experience for me. It's going to make me a better coach for next year's team, some of the stuff went on that won't go on next year, holding the bar to a higher standard, not accepting we'll have enough guys," Calipari said. "The bench is going to be my best friend. All of those kind of things that will come back into play.

John Calipari isn't concerned whether his team plays Vanderbilt or Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals Friday night in Nashville. Those two teams play Thursday with the winner advancing to take on Kentucky, which got a bye for its second-place league finish. “We had two games that could have gone either way with Vanderbilt and Arkansas smashed us. So either game, either team is going to be a hard game for us,” said Calipari. “It isn't going to be like, 'OK, we win this game.' Arkansas absolutely demolished us. And Vanderbilt had their chances to beat us twice.” Calipari has made no secret of his disdain for conference tournaments even though the Cats¿won the SEC tourney title in 2010 and 2011 before losing in the final to Vanderbilt last year.

Kentucky coach John Calipari is not concerned about whether his team plays Vanderbilt or Arkansas in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals Friday night in Nashville. Those two teams play Thursday with the winner advancing to take on UK, which got a bye for its second-place league finish. “We had two games that could have gone either way with Vanderbilt and Arkansas smashed us. So either game, either team is going to be a hard game for us,” said Calipari. It isn't going to be like, 'OK, we win this game.' Arkansas absolutely demolished us. And Vanderbilt had their chances to beat us twice.” Calipari has made no secret of his disdain for conference tournaments even though UK¿won the SEC tourney title in 2010 and 2011 before losing in the final to Vanderbilt this year.

Will Alex Poythress and Archie Goodwin leave Kentucky after one season to take their chances in the NBA as other UK¿players have done after one year under John Calipari? Maybe. Maybe not. Goodwin is averaging a team-high 14.1 points per game along with 4.5 rebounds. Poythress contributes 11.6 points and 6.2 boards. Goodwin is second on the team with 87 assists and has 35 steals. Poythress has 21 assists and 12 blocks. They are one-two on the team in turnovers as Goodwin has 97 and Poythress 64. Both are still projected as lottery picks in some NBA mock drafts even though they have not played as well or as consistently as they hoped or coach John Calipari anticipated.

LEXINGTON - The only way the Cinderella week for Dominique Hawkins could have been any better would have been if he had hit the shot to win the state championship. Instead, Madison Central teammate Ken-Jah Bosley's 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left capped an incredible comeback that gave Hawkins and the Indians a 65-64 victory over Ballard in the state title game Sunday at Rupp Arena. But make no mistake about it. This week belonged to Hawkins, who must be the toast of Richmond today.