It seems like so long ago that UK was on the edge of perfection before being forced to a crashing halt by a loss to Wisconsin in the Final Four. After the loss seven Cats left for the NBA Draft, Tyler Ulis was one of the few remaining players on the team. 

It was at that point that John Calipari let the point guard know he planned to build the team around him, and that he did with the most important addition being Ulis’ backcourt mate Jamal Murray. 

Now UK has one of the best backcourts in the nation and along with giving the Cats a chance to make it to another Final Four, both also are top contenders for national awards. 

When Ulis came to UK he stood out because of how he didn’t fit the stereotypical mold of a Calipari point guard. Under Calipari, the Cats have mostly had big, athletic guards like John Wall. With his 5’9” frame, Ulis gave UK something different, a true floor general. 

Other candidates, like Denzel Valentine out of Michigan State, may be able to run an offense but only Ulis can truly backup the claim of being a coach on the floor. He showed his leadership abilities in team’s matchup on the road at South Carolina.

After an early Calipari ejection, Assistant Coach Kenny Payne told Ulis he would coach the defense and the point guard would take the reins for the offense. The sophomore led the team to a win while posting 27 points and 12 assists.

UK was able to clinch a share of the SEC regular season title mostly because of Ulis consistency running the offense. The guard led the conference and 7.4 assists per game, good enough for sixth nationally. 

UK boasted one of the top offenses in the nation following the start of the new year. The Cats rank in side the top five among major conferences in points per possession and field-goal percentage since Jan. 1 and you can safely assume that UK reached these heights because of Ulis’ play.

After being named SEC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, now Ulis looks to collect some awards on the national scale. The point guard has a chance to receive one of the major player of the year awards as he was named one of 15 finalists for the John R. Wooden Award.

The other half of UK’s dynamic backcourt also has a chance to win some hardware. Jamal Murray’s scoring abilities has set him apart as one of the top freshmen in the country. 

The guard out of Canada currently boasts the highest scoring average for any player to play under Calipari while at UK. He also has hit a three in every game for the Cats this season.

Murray’s had some growing pains at the begin of the season but has put his poor shot selecion behind him to become one of the most efficient scorers in the nation. As the season progressed, shot attempts went down for Murray but his scoring continued to rise.

Another freshman, Ben Simmons out of LSU, took SEC Freshman of the Year honors, but Murray should still be considered for the Wayman Tisdale award which is awarded to the best freshman across the college landscape. Murray has also played well enough for All-American consideration as well. 

Both Ulis and Murray have already been named All-Americans by USA Today and earned spots on the All-SEC First Team, but award season is just starting and both should hear their names called for some of the national awards.