Kentucky wins a national championship every 20 years

Dating back to the 50s, Kentucky basketball has won a National Championship every 20 years. From the Fiddlin Five of 1958 to Coach Joe B. Hall and the 1978 Cats, to the Comeback Cats of 1998..... to the young 2018 Cats? Let's break down each team, including this year's team. Fiddlin Five 1957-58 (23-6): Kentucky's fourth National Championship came in 1958 as coach Adolph Rupp and his "Fiddlin Five" defeated the great Elgin Baylor and Seattle 84-72 in Louisville. The Fiddlin Five was made up of mostly upperclassmen from the state of Kentucky. Senior guard Vernon Hatton averaged 17.1 ppg, junior forward Johnny Cox averaged 14.9 ppg, senior forward John Crigler averaged 13.64 ppg, senior guard Adrian Smith averaged 12.41 ppg (Big Blue History) , etc., were huge contributors on this team. Prior to the season, Rupp made a statement about his team, saying,"They're pretty good fiddlers, be right entertaining at a barn dance. But, I'll tell you, you need violinists to play in Carnegie Hall. We don't have any violinists." (Quote from story) In fact, he was right for most of the season, as no other team in the country prior to the 1957-58 Wildcats had ever won a National Championship losing six games or more in the regular season. The Fiddlin Five lived up to their nickname and proved everyone wrong winning a championship. Joe B. Hall's 1977-78 Cats (30-2): This team was much different than the 1958 team. The Wildcats were ranked No. 1 or were in the top three for most of the season and only slipped up twice during the regular season, with losses to Alabama and LSU. This team also had three All-Americans, Jack "Goose" Givens, Rick Robey, and Purdue transfer Kyle Macy. Ever heard of them? Givens averaged 18.06 ppg (Big Blue History) and had a HUGE impact in the national championship game against Duke, scoring 41 points as the Cats beat the Blue Devils for their fifth national championship, 94-88. [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="917"] UK Athletics[/caption] The Comeback Cats 1997-98 (35-4): Kentucky just came off a heartbreaking loss to the Arizona Wildcats in the title game just a year before and lost head coach Rick Pitino to the Boston Celtics. That didn't stop new head coach Tubby Smith and a lot of the returning players for a run at a championship in 98. You had seniors Jeff Sheppard, Cameron Mills, and Allen Edwards leading the team, along with veteran juniors Wayne Turner, Scott Padget, Nazr Mohammed, Heishmu Evans. Not to mention Jamaal Magloire was a sophomore who played meaningful minutes. This team was nicknamed the "Comeback Cats" following double-digit comeback victories to Duke (Elite Eight 86-84), Stanford (Final Four 86-85 in OT), and Utah (National Championship 78-69). This marked Kentucky seventh National Championship and Smith's first. Will this 2017-18 team be the next to join these title teams? [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="917"] UK Athletics[/caption] The 2017-18 Cats (?): As you might have already heard, we are young, really young. We have one player on the team returning from last year's team who saw the floor for 672 minutes and only averaged 4.58 ppg (Big Blue History). You do, however, have talented guys like Hamidou Diallo, Kevin Knox, Quade Green, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, PJ Washington, Nick Richards, and Jarred Vanderbilt (when he returns). So far we know defense and getting up the floor won't be an issue, but being sloppy for a while might be a problem. This team will struggle early on, but come March, they will be a force to be reckoned with. https://www.instagram.com/p/BbE2okGHRSx/?taken-by=kentuckymbb Stay calm, be patient, and dream big that this is the year. 20 years. The journey begins on Friday. @Alex_Holder_KSR