2009–10 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

2009–10 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
SEC regular season champions and SEC Tournament champions Cancún Challenge champions
NCAA Tournament, Elite Eight
Conference	Southeastern Conference Eastern
Ranking
Coaches	#5
AP	#2
2009–10 record	35–3 (14–2 SEC)
Head coach	John Calipari (1st year)
Assistant coach	Orlando Antigua (1st year)
Assistant coach	John Robic (1st year)
Assistant coach	Rod Strickland (1st year)
Home arena	Rupp Arena

2009–10 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
#2 Kentucky†	14	–	2		.875			35	–	3		.921
#21 Vanderbilt	12	–	4		.750			24	–	9		.727
#15 Tennessee	11	–	5		.688			28	–	9		.757
Florida	9	–	7		.563			21	–	13		.618
South Carolina	6	–	10		.375			15	–	16		.484
Georgia	5	–	11		.313			14	–	17		.452
West
Mississippi State	9	–	7		.563			24	–	12		.667
Mississippi	9	–	7		.563			24	–	11		.686
Arkansas	7	–	9		.438			14	–	18		.438
Alabama	6	–	10		.375			17	–	15		.531
Auburn	6	–	10		.375			15	–	17		.469
LSU	2	–	14		.125			11	–	20		.355
† SEC Tournament winner As of March 30, 2010; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2009–10 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky during the college basketball season of 2009–2010. This season was the first of John Calipari's tenure as head coach; he accepted the position on March 31, 2009.

The Wildcats set several records this season. They became the first men's college basketball program to reach 2,000 wins by defeating the Drexel Dragons on December 21. Coach Calipari set a record for the most consecutive wins for a first-year Kentucky basketball coach at 19-0, surpassing Adolph Rupp's previous mark of 11-0. Kentucky also extended their existing records for most wins all-time, SEC regular-season championships, SEC tournament championships, NCAA tournament berths, and NCAA tournament wins.

The team was briefly ranked #1 in both the ESPN/Coaches poll and AP poll, and posted the best record in the NCAA (35-3) Off the court, Coach Calipari spearheaded an effort to raise money for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, yielding $1.5 million and a congratulatory call from President Barack Obama.

Departures

2009-10 Kentucky departures

Jodie Meeks entered the NBA Draft

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Jared Carter	43	Center	7'2"	277	Senior	Georgetown, Kentucky	Graduated
Matt Scherbenske	2	Guard	6'0"	180	Junior	Lexington, Kentucky	Left team
Kevin Galloway	3	Guard	6'6"	215	Junior	Sacramento, California	Transferred
Michael Porter	13	Guard	6'3"	198	Junior	Modesto, California	Left Team
Jodie Meeks	23	Guard	6'4"	208	Junior	Norcross, Georgia	Entered 2009 NBA Draft
Dwight Perry	30	Guard	6'0"	185	Junior	Durham, North Carolina	Left team
Matt Pilgrim	33	Forward	6'8"	225	Junior	Cincinnati, Ohio	Transferred
A.J. Stewart	15	Forward	6'7"	225	Sophomore	Jacksonville, Florida	Transferred
Donald Williams	25	Guard	6'3"	205	Freshman	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Transferred

Class of 2009 signees

Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Eric Bledsoe G	Birmingham, Alabama	Parker	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	May 6, 2009
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 90
DeMarcus Cousins F	Mobile, Alabama	LeFlore	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	250 lb (110 kg)	Apr 8, 2009
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 98
Darnell Dodson G/F	Greenbelt, Maryland	Miami-Dade CC	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Apr 22, 2009
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 95
Jon Hood G	Madisonville, Kentucky	Madisonville-North Hopkins	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	May 25, 2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 91
Daniel Orton C	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Bishop McGuinness	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	265 lb (120 kg)	Oct 12, 2008
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 97
John Wall G	Raleigh, North Carolina	Word of God	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	May 18, 2009
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 98
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 1   Rivals: 1  ESPN: 1
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Class of 2010 signees

Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Terrence Jones G/F	Portland, Oregon	Jefferson High School	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	May 19, 2010
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 97
Enes Kanter F/C	Tarzana, California	Stoneridge Prep	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	261 lb (118 kg)	Mar 23, 2010
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 95
Brandon Knight G	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	Pine Crest School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Apr 14, 2010
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 97
Doron Lamb G	Brooklyn, New York	Oak Hill Academy	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Apr 18, 2010
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 95
Stacey Poole G	Jacksonville, Florida	Providence School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sep 24, 2009
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 94
Eloy Vargas F	Hollywood, Florida	Miami Dade College	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	May 16, 2010
	Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 95
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Roster

2009–10 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year High school/previous college Home town F 1 Darius Miller 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 223 lb (101 kg) So Mason County H.S. Maysville, Kentucky F 3 Darnell Dodson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Miami Dade College Greenbelt, MD G 4 Jon Hood 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr North Hopkins H.S. Madisonville, Kentucky F 5 Ramon Harris 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Sr West Anchorage High School Anchorage, AK G 11 John Wall 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Word of God Christian Academy Raleigh, NC G 12 Mark Krebs 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 207 lb (94 kg) Sr Newport Central Catholic/Thomas More College Newport, KY C 15 DeMarcus Cousins 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 270 lb (122 kg) Fr LeFlore Magnet High School Mobile, AL F 21 Perry Stevenson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 207 lb (94 kg) Sr Lafayette H.S. Lafayette, LA G 24 Eric Bledsoe 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr A. H. Parker High School Birmingham, AL C 33 Daniel Orton 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Fr Bishop McGuinness H.S. Oklahoma City, OK G 34 DeAndre Liggins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 202 lb (92 kg) So Findley Prep (NV) Chicago, Illinois F 54 Patrick Patterson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Huntington High School Huntington, WV F 55 Josh Harrellson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Jr Southwestern Illinois Junior College St. Charles, Missouri	Head coach John Calipari (Clarion) Assistant coach(es) John Robic (Denison) Orlando Antigua (Pittsburgh) Rod Strickland (DePaul) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule

Date Time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (Attendance) City, State
Exhibition
November 2* 7:00 PM, BBSN	#4	Campbellsville	W 74–38	0–0	19 – Dodson	7 – Orton	4 – Bledsoe	Rupp Arena (21,384) Lexington, KY
November 6* 7:00 PM, BBSN	#4	Clarion	W 117–52	0–0	27 – Wall	9 – Dodson	9 – Wall	Rupp Arena (23,740) Lexington, KY
Non-conference Regular Season
November 13* 6:30 PM, ESPNU	#4	Morehead State	W 75–59	1–0	24 – Bledsoe	12 – Patterson	4 – Bledsoe	Rupp Arena (24,338) Lexington, KY
November 16* 7:00 PM, BBSN	#4	Miami (OH)	W 72–70	2–0	19 – Wall	10 – Tied	5 – Wall	Rupp Arena (23,337) Lexington, KY
November 19* 7:00 PM, BBSN	#4	Sam Houston State Cancún Challenge	W 102–92	3–0	27 – Cousins	18 – Cousins	6 – Tied	Rupp Arena (22,728) Lexington, KY
November 21* 1:00 PM, BBSN	#4	Rider Cancún Challenge	W 92–63	4–0	21 – Wall	18 – Patterson	11 – Wall	Rupp Arena (23,912) Lexington, KY
November 24* 4:30 PM, CBS Sports	#5	vs. Cleveland State Cancún Challenge Semifinals	W 73–49	5–0	15 – Wall	8 – Miller	6 – Wall	Moon Palace Resort (832) Cancún, Mexico
November 25* 9:30 PM, CBS Sports	#5	vs. Stanford Cancún Challenge Championship	W 73–65 OT	6–0	23 – Wall	11 – Patterson	5 – Wall	Moon Palace Resort (1,425) Cancún, Mexico
November 30* 7:00 PM, BBSN	#5	UNC-Asheville	W 94–57	7–0	24 – Cousins	10 – Cousins	14 – Wall	Freedom Hall (15,368) Louisville, KY
December 5* 12:30 PM, CBS	#5	#10 North Carolina	W 68–66	8–0	19 – Patterson	7 – Patterson	7 – Wall	Rupp Arena (24,468) Lexington, KY
December 9* 9:30 PM, ESPN	#4	vs. #14 Connecticut 2009 Big East/SEC Invitational	W 64–61	9–0	25 – Wall	10 – Cousins	4 – Bledsoe	Madison Square Garden (24,468) New York City, NY
December 12* 12:00 PM, CBS	#4	at Indiana	W 90–73	10–0	23 – Bledsoe	11 – Patterson	8 – Wall	Assembly Hall (17,316) Bloomington, IN
December 19* 4:00 PM, CSS	#3	Austin Peay	W 90–69	11–0	21 – Patterson	9 – Patterson	6 – Wall	Rupp Arena (23,938) Lexington, KY
December 21* 7:00 PM, ESPNU	#3	Drexel 2000th Win	W 88–44	12–0	18 – Tied	13 – Cousins	7 – Wall	Rupp Arena (24,354) Lexington, KY
December 23* 1:00 PM, BBSN	#3	Long Beach State	W 86–73	13–0	19 – Wall	11 – Patterson	5 – Tied	Rupp Arena (24,288) Lexington, KY
December 29* 7:00 PM, ESPN2	#3	Hartford	W 104–61	14–0	19 – Tied	12 – Cousins	16 – Wall	Rupp Arena (24,340) Lexington, KY
January 2* 3:30 PM, CBS	#3	Louisville Battle for the Bluegrass	W 71–62	15–0	18 – Cousins	18 – Cousins	4 – Tied	Rupp Arena (24,479) Lexington, KY
SEC Regular Season
January 9 4:00 PM, SEC Network	#3	Georgia	W 76–68	16–0 (1–0)	17 – Tied	7 – Cousins	5 – Wall	Rupp Arena (24,342) Lexington, KY
January 12 9:00 PM, ESPN	#2	at Florida Super Tuesday	W 89–77	17–0 (2–0)	25 – Bledsoe	7 – Tied	6 – Wall	O'Connell Center (12,618) Gainesville, FL
January 16 4:00 PM, SEC Network	#2	at Auburn	W 72–67	18–0 (3–0)	16 – Cousins	11 – Cousins	4 – Wall	Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum (11,669) Auburn, AL
January 23 4:00 PM, SEC Network	#2	Arkansas	W 101–70	19–0 (4–0)	18 – Miller	14 – Cousins	7 – Wall	Rupp Arena (24,356) Lexington, KY
January 26 9:00 PM, ESPN	#1	at South Carolina Super Tuesday	L 68–62	19–1 (4–1)	27 – Cousins	12 – Cousins	5 – Bledsoe	Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC
January 30 4:00 PM, ESPN	#1	#21 Vanderbilt	W 85–72	20–1 (5–1)	21 – Cousins	10 – Cousins	9 – Wall	Rupp Arena (24,339) Lexington, KY
February 2 7:00 PM, ESPN	#4	#25 Mississippi Super Tuesday	W 85–75	21–1 (6–1)	18 – Cousins	13 – Cousins	8 – Bledsoe	Rupp Arena (24,341) Lexington, KY
February 6 4:00 PM, SEC Network	#4	at LSU	W 81–55	22–1 (7–1)	19 – Cousins	14 – Cousins	7 – Wall	Maravich Center (13,083) Baton Rouge, LA
February 9 9:00 PM, ESPNU	#3	Alabama	W 66–55	23–1 (8–1)	22 – Wall	13 – Cousins	4 – Bledsoe	Rupp Arena (23,318) Lexington, KY
February 13 9:00 PM, ESPN	#3	#12 Tennessee ESPN College Gameday	W 73–62	24–1 (9–1)	24 – Wall	12 – Cousins	4 – Tied	Rupp Arena (24,402) Lexington, KY
February 16 9:00 PM, ESPN	#2	at Mississippi State Super Tuesday	W 81–75 OT	25–1 (10–1)	19 – Tied	14 – Cousins	8 – Wall	Humphrey Coliseum (10,788) Starkville, MS
February 20 6:00 PM, ESPN	#2	at #17 Vanderbilt	W 58–56	26–1 (11–1)	19 – Cousins	13 – Patterson	3 – Bledsoe	Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN
February 25 9:00 PM, ESPN2	#2	South Carolina	W 82–61	27–1 (12–1)	23 – Patterson	11 – Cousins	4 – Wall	Rupp Arena (24,355) Lexington, KY
February 27 12:00 PM, CBS	#2	at #19 Tennessee	L 65–74	27–2 (12–2)	19 – Wall	14 – Cousins	6 – Wall	Thompson-Boling Arena (21,214) Knoxville, TN
March 3 8:00 PM, SEC Network	#3	at Georgia	W 80–68	28–2 (13–2)	24 – Wall	10 – Patterson	6 – Wall	Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) Athens, GA
March 7 12:00 PM, CBS	#3	Florida Senior Day	W 74–66	29–2 (14–2)	14 – Tied	9 – Cousins	8 – Wall	Rupp Arena (24,354) Lexington, KY
SEC Tournament
March 12 1:00 PM, SEC Network	#2	vs. Alabama Quarterfinal	W 73–67	30–2	23 – Wall	8 – Cousins	5 – Wall	Bridgestone Arena (19,123) Nashville, TN
March 13 1:00 PM, ABC	#2	vs. #15 Tennessee Semifinal	W 74–45	31–2	19 – Cousins	15 – Cousins	9 – Wall	Bridgestone Arena (20,207) Nashville, TN
March 14 1:00 PM, ABC	#2	vs. Mississippi State Championship Game	W 75–74 OT	32–2	18 – Bledsoe	10 – Cousins	9 – Wall	Bridgestone Arena (20,082) Nashville, TN
NCAA Tournament
March 18 7:15 PM, CBS	#2 (1)	vs. #(16) East Tennessee State East Region First Round	W 100–71	33–2	29 – Bledsoe	8 – Cousins	11 – Wall	New Orleans Arena (10,984) New Orleans, LA
March 20 8:15 PM, CBS	#2 (1)	vs. #(9) Wake Forest East Region Second Round	W 90–60	34–2	20 – Miller	9 – Miller	7 – Wall	New Orleans Arena (11,966) New Orleans, LA
March 25 9:57 PM, CBS	#2 (1)	vs. #(12) Cornell East Region Semifinal	W 62–45	35–2	16 – Cousins	12 – Patterson	8 – Wall	Carrier Dome (22,271) Syracuse, NY
March 27 7:05 PM, CBS	#2 (1)	vs. #6 (2) West Virginia East Region Final	L 66–73	35–3	19 – Wall	13 – Patterson	5 – Wall	Carrier Dome (22,497) Syracuse, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region.

Statistics

The team posted the following statistics:

Name	GP	GS	Min.	Avg.	FG	FGA	FG%	3FG	3FGA	3FG%	FT	FTA	FT%	OR	DR	RB	Avg.	PF	DQ	Ast.	TO	Blk.	Stl.	Pts.	Avg.
John Wall	37	37	1,288	34.8	202	438	0.461	37	114	0.325	175	232	0.754	30	129	159	4.3	72	1	241	149	19	66	616	16.6
DeMarcus Cousins	38	37	893	23.5	206	369	0.558	1	6	0.167	162	268	0.604	156	220	376	9.9	122	2	38	78	67	37	575	15.1
Patrick Patterson	38	38	1,255	33.0	215	374	0.575	24	69	0.348	90	130	0.692	116	167	283	7.4	61	1	36	41	51	27	544	14.3
Eric Bledsoe	37	35	1,122	30.3	144	312	0.462	49	128	0.383	82	123	0.667	19	95	114	3.1	82	1	107	112	12	52	419	11.3
Darius Miller	38	32	804	21.2	86	215	0.400	43	128	0.336	31	39	0.795	31	62	93	2.4	72	2	58	35	22	22	246	6.5
Darnell Dodson	35	7	506	14.5	70	192	0.365	50	144	0.347	19	25	0.760	16	72	88	2.5	40	0	17	23	9	15	209	6.0
DeAndre Liggins	29	0	445	15.3	36	86	0.419	14	44	0.318	23	39	0.590	18	48	66	2.3	42	1	24	17	8	20	109	3.8
Daniel Orton	38	0	502	13.2	48	91	0.527	0	2	0.000	33	63	0.524	45	81	126	3.3	88	5	15	38	52	21	129	3.4
Ramon Harris	36	2	395	11.0	21	62	0.339	5	31	0.161	20	33	0.606	30	45	75	2.1	27	0	23	26	5	11	67	1.9
Perry Stevenson	34	1	259	7.6	18	27	0.667	0	1	0.000	8	13	0.615	13	35	48	1.4	19	0	7	12	20	4	44	1.3
Josh Harrellson	22	0	88	4.0	12	26	0.462	2	4	0.500	2	2	1.000	9	18	27	1.2	8	0	0	6	7	2	28	1.2
Jon Hood	17	0	74	4.4	6	19	0.316	4	11	0.364	4	4	1.000	7	5	12	0.7	6	0	6	4	0	1	20	1.2
Mark Krebs	16	1	44	2.8	2	17	0.118	2	15	0.133	0	0	0.000	0	2	2	0.1	2	0	1	1	1	1	6	0.4
TEAM	38													58	57	115	3.0	0			5			0
Season Total	38	—	7,675	—	1,066	2,228	0.478	231	697	0.331	649	971	0.668	548	1,036	1,584	41.7	641	13	573	547	273	279	3,012	79.3
Opponents	38	—	7,675	—	875	2,314	0.378	245	783	0.313	473	688	0.688	488	789	1,277	33.6	795	—	418	531	119	261	2,468	64.9

Honors

SEC Awards

Wall was named SEC Player of the Year. Cousins, Patterson, and Wall were chosen to the first-team All-SEC by coaches and the media. Cousins was the SEC Freshman of the Year, and he, Bledsoe, and Wall were All-Freshman team selections by the coaches and media. Cousins became the second straight Wildcat to be named SEC Freshman of the Year (Patterson). Calipari was named SEC Coach of the Year by the coaches media.

National District Awards

Wall was named District IV (Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida) Player of the Year, Calipari was named District IV Coach of the Year and Patterson was named to the All-District IV team by the USBWA. Cousins and Wall were listed on the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I All‐District 21 first team, while Patterson was listed on the second team on March 12.

All-American and National Awards

Wall was a consensus first-team All-American, and Cousins was a consensus second-team All-American. The Associated Press named Cousins and Wall as first-team All-Americans. The USBWA named Wall a first-team All-American and Cousins a second-team All-American. The NABC named Wall a first-team All-American and Cousins a second-team All-American. The Sporting News named Wall a first-team All-American and Cousins a second-team All-American. John Wall became the first Kentucky player to win a National Player of the Year award as he won the Adolph Rupp Trophy. Wall also won the two Freshman of the Year awards as he was named USBWA National Freshman of the Year and Freshman of the Year by the Sporting News.

Rankings

Ranking movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes.

Poll	Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17	Wk 18	Wk 19	Final
AP	4	4	5	5	4	3	3	3	3	2	2	1	4	3	2	2	3	2	2	2
Coaches	4	4	5	5	4	3	3	3	3	2	2	1	4	3	2	2	3	2	2	2

2010 NBA draft

On April 7 five players announced their intentions to enter the 2010 NBA Draft. Five players declared themselves eligible for the draft: Bledsoe, Cousins, Orton, Patterson, and Wall. Leading up to the draft Wall, Cousins, and Patterson were projected as lottery picks. Meanwhile, Bledsoe and Orton were projected as possible first round draft picks.

In the draft Wall was selected No. 1 by Washington. He was followed by Cousins, who went to the Sacramento Kings at No. 5; Patterson, who was taken by the Houston Rockets at No. 14; Bledsoe, who was chosen No. 18 by the Oklahoma City Thunder; and Orton, who was chosen No. 29 by the Orlando Magic. Wall became the first player in Kentucky history taken first in the draft. The five players taken in the first round tied the record for most players taken from one school in the first round.

NBA draft selections

Year	Round	Pick	Overall	Player	NBA Club
2010	1	1	1	John Wall	Washington Wizards
2010	1	5	5	DeMarcus Cousins	Sacramento Kings
2010	1	14	14	Patrick Patterson	Houston Rockets
2010	1	18	18	Eric Bledsoe	Oklahoma City Thunder
2010	1	29	29	Daniel Orton	Orlando Magic