LEXINGTON, Ky. — News flash: John Calipari likes his team.
During a preseason video news conference late last month, the Kentucky men's basketball coach was working through the issues of trying to play college hoops amid a global pandemic.
"We've got a good team. (So) I just want to play," Calipari said. "We have to get this underway in a safe way."
Assuming the 2020-21 college basketball season finds a navigable path through the coronavirus and to the NCAA Tournament, we will find out if Kentucky's team is good enough to return the Wildcats to their first Final Four in six seasons.
From 2010-11 through 2014-15, Calipari and UK made reaching the Final Four look easy. The Wildcats played on the final weekend of the NCAA Tournament four times — 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015 — in five seasons, winning it all in 2012.
Alas, since the 2014-15 Cats saw their dream of an undefeated national championship end in an excruciating Final Four loss to Wisconsin, Kentucky has not been back to the college hoops promised land.
In evaluating whether the 2020-21 Wildcats have the qualities to produce a return, it seems helpful to compare the current Cats to Calipari's prior UK Final Four teams in certain vital areas.
