Fans greet Cats at airport, Rupp
Kentucky forward Marcus Lee shakes hands with a fan at Blue Grass Airport as the Cats return to Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., on Tuesday, April 8, 2014. Photo by Adam Pennavaria
April 9, 2014
By Kevin Erpenbeck
The UK basketball team was greeted with cheers and jubilation when it returned to Rupp Arena after finishing as the runner-up in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
Thousands of fans gathered to welcome the Cats home as part of a season-ending celebration for the team. Tickets to the event were distributed for free early Tuesday morning.
Athletic director Mitch Barnhart thanked all the fans who came to the event to show their appreciation for the team, comparing it to the celebration that followed the 2011-12 National Championship season for UK.
“We made this ride from the airport to (Rupp Arena) two years ago, and I forgot how emotional it was to see the fans line the streets to thank this group of basketball players,” Barnhart said. “We’re indebted to you for your devotion to this program.”
UK defeated four teams that were seeded higher than it during the tournament and became just the third 8-seed to make a National Championship appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Cats were defeated by 7-seed UConn on Monday in the championship game.
Head coach John Calipari spoke about the Cats’ 2013-14 season and tournament experience, calling it an “unbelievable journey” for the entire team.
“We started climbing that mountain, and we slipped a couple of times,” Calipari said of the season. “But (this team) kept climbing, and in the end, there were two of us at the top of that mountain. No one else made it there.”
Calipari said he knows the players will look back on the season and recall it with fond memories.
“These kids will be able to tell their grandkids one day about the journey they shared and the experience they had on this team,” Calipari said. “They can tell them they were given the worst possible seed in the NCAA Tournament and continued to fight back after trailing by double digits in every game.”
In the end, the Cats should feel proud of how they finished the season, Calipari said.
“We finished second in the entire country,” he said. “That’s quite the accomplishment.”
Senior Jon Hood also thanked the fans for their support throughout his career at UK.
“You all supported us through the ups and downs on the year and continued to come out and see us no matter how we were playing,” Hood said. “Thanks for supporting (this team) and me individually for five years. You guys are the greatest fans in the country, and I’ll never forget it.”
