UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Kansas coach Bill Self was impressed with John Calipari’s squad after Kentucky defeated his Jayhawks 75-65 on Tuesday night in New York.
“They have a chance to have a special, special team, without question,” Self said immediately after the game.
If there were any questions, they’ve been answered after Self watched the game tape. Talking on his weekly radio show, Self said this year’s UK team is one of the most talented he’s ever faced.
Gary Bedore from the Lawrence World-Journal writes about the gushing praise Self had for the Wildcats:
Kansas University coach Bill Self believes the Kentucky basketball team that pasted KU, 75-65, on Tuesday in New York ranks as one of the finest squads his Jayhawks have faced in the past nine years.
“We’ve played two teams that would rival them from a talent standpoint — one would be Memphis, and one would be Florida,” Self said Wednesday on his Hawk Talk radio show.
The Jayhawks downed eventual national champion Florida, 82-80, in overtime on Nov. 25, 2006, in Las Vegas, and toppled Memphis, 75-68, in overtime in the 2008 NCAA title game.
“You are looking at maybe four lottery picks,” Self added of UK’s Terrence Jones, Anthony Davis, Marquis Teague and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and/or Doron Lamb.
“If they keep getting better, they have a chance to be the best team in the country,” Self added. “From a raw-talent standpoint, even the Carolina team we faced in the Final Four with (Ty) Lawson, (Wayne) Ellington, (Tyler) Hansbrough and Danny Green … this Kentucky team may even be superior to that. That’s some hard-rocking dudes. They have a real shot (at 2012 national title).”
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