August 6, 2007

Steve Megargee
Rivals.com College Basketball Staff Writer

They were called The Untouchables.

Their dominance was undeniable.

Kentucky's 1995-96 team won 25 consecutive games and posted a perfect Southeastern Conference regular-season record on its way to claiming the school's sixth national championship. Nine members of that team went on to play in the NBA.

"Our practices were more competitive than our games," Kentucky guard Jeff Sheppard said.

That isn't a knock on Kentucky's competition.

The SEC produced two Final Four teams ? Kentucky and Mississippi State ? that season. Only a 3-pointer by Syracuse forward John Wallace with 2.8 seconds left in overtime prevented Georgia from giving the SEC three representatives in the regional finals.

Sheppard's statement instead provides a testament to Kentucky's level of talent.

The Wildcats' playing rotation in their 76-67 victory over Syracuse in the NCAA final included three eventual NBA lottery picks (Derek Anderson, Ron Mercer and Antoine Walker) plus two more future first-round choices (Tony Delk and Walter McCarty).

Think it was tough getting playing time on that kind of roster? Heck, some guys rarely got a chance to prove themselves in practice.

Cameron Mills, a guard on that team, remembers how he spent most of that season's practices working out in the weight room or watching the team's 10 best players scrimmage against one another.

He considered it an honor to see practice sessions that took on a cutthroat intensity as players tried to impress coach Rick Pitino.

"Game days under Pitino were like days off for us," Mills said. "We looked forward to game days, not because we were taking for granted the teams we were playing, but game days were easier. We didn't have to work as hard."

They still worked hard enough.

Kentucky went 34-2 and won by an average margin of 24 points. The average score of its regular-season SEC games was 90-66.

The Wildcats' depth allowed them to play at the same frenetic pace throughout each game. Pitino's psychological skills prevented the star-laden roster from getting overcome by ego.

Pitino knew his players well enough to make sure complaints about playing time didn't interrupt the Wildcats' title quest.

"The one thing that's not mentioned like it should be mentioned is the coaching job Rick Pitino did with that team," said Richard Williams, who coached Mississippi State that season. "When I say that, people look at me as if I'm crazy because they think with nine NBA guys you should just roll the ball out there. But you're dealing with egos. You're dealing with guys who know they have a chance to play in the NBA. It takes a superb coaching job to keep those guys playing together and to get them to go through the season with only two losses.''

By keeping the team together, Pitino could best utilize Kentucky's extraordinary depth. Kentucky substituted so freely that it could play fullcourt pressure throughout the game without any fear of exhausting its players.

The Wildcats had plenty of other incentives to go along with the need for playing time.

Kentucky already had recovered from the depths of probation and had reclaimed its position as one of the nation's elite programs during the early 1990s, but the Wildcats still hadn't won an NCAA Tournament during the Pitino era. Pitino and his players recognized this season represented their best chance to capture that elusive title.

Any worries that the Wildcats might look ahead to the tournament disappeared when they lost 92-82 to eventual Final Four participant Massachusetts in their second game of the season. Kentucky wouldn't lose again until the Southeastern Conference tournament final.

Kentucky refused to lose its competitive fire, even while winning 13 consecutive games by double digits. Pitino made sure of it.

"He has an awesome ability to keep you humble and hungry to continue to improve and continue to work on your weaknesses," Sheppard said. "We didn't think we were as good as we were. It was the '90s, so the media was around us a little bit, but nobody had e-mail. Nobody was on the Internet. Nobody had cell phones. None of that instantaneous (information) was available to us. Magazines and newspapers weren't allowed in the locker room. It was out of sight, out of mind.

"We didn't realize the big hype, the statewide hype and the national hype behind us. We just knew we were ranked at the top. That's where we wanted to be and definitely where we wanted to finish."

Kentucky's aura of invincibility suffered a major blow when Mississippi State stunned the Wildcats 84-73 in the SEC tournament final. Nobody had come within 13 points of the Wildcats for 12 consecutive games until Mississippi State pulled off that performance for the ages.

Mills believes that loss actually aided the Wildcats in their title quest.

"When you figure how many games we'd gone without a loss (25), you start getting fat, getting lazy and resting on your laurels to a degree," Mills said. "If we don't lose that game to Mississippi State, I don't know if we'd have had the wherewithal to make a championship run.''

The Wildcats had learned from that early-season loss to Massachusetts that they might not win the title without effectively defending elite post players. Wooden Award and Naismith Award winner Marcus Camby had collected 32 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots in that early season triumph over Kentucky.

"It made us realize we've got to be able to stop Marcus Camby," Sheppard said. "We've got to stop the best college basketball players in the country ? the Marcus Cambys and Tim Duncans. So we built our defense around that."

Kentucky ended up facing both of them on their way to the title.

The Wildcats thrashed Wake Forest 83-63 in the NCAA Midwest Regional final by holding Duncan to 14 points. Kentucky didn't have an experienced center nearly as talented as Duncan, but the Wildcats used their depth to hound the future San Antonio Spurs star all day long. Walker, McCarty and Mark Pope took turns guarding Duncan, who finished with five turnovers and only two baskets.

That set up a rematch with Camby and Co. in the Final Four.

Camby was exceptional once again with 25 points, eight rebounds and six blocks. But the Wildcats had come too far to let one outstanding individual opponent wreck their mission.

And those back-to-back efforts against Duncan and Camby also proved they'd learned their lesson from that early-season loss to Massachusetts.

"We double-teamed (Camby) with our big guys," Sheppard said. "We double-teamed him big on big. We double-teamed him a little the first game, but we didn't double-team him with a guard this time. We double-teamed him with our big guys. We trapped him really aggressively, right when he caught the ball. We forced him to pass. We did the same thing with Tim Duncan."

Kentucky would have to battle one more star player before claiming the title.

Wallace had carried Syracuse to the championship game by maintaining his stellar play even after sinking that memorable 3-pointer in a regional semifinal victory over Georgia. Wallace threw a huge scare into Kentucky by collecting 29 points and 10 rebounds in the championship game.

But as Camby learned two days earlier, one exceptional individual effort couldn't bring down a team for the ages.

Delk sank seven 3-pointers to tie a championship game record and Mercer added 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting as the Wildcats pulled away down the stretch.

"It was a relief to finally win," Sheppard said. "I was relieved for Coach Pitino. He was the greatest coach without a championship at the time. That championship was kind of the notch on his belt that was missing."

Pitino showed his gratitude after the game, as he took note of the Wildcats' season-long dominance by branding this team "The Untouchables."

The Wildcats had knocked off Utah's Keith Van Horn, Duncan, Camby and Wallace ? perhaps the four best players in the nation ? in consecutive games. The only teams to beat Kentucky all year ? Massachusetts and Mississippi State ? also lost to the Wildcats.

No wonder Sheppard occasionally wonders how his old team would have fared against some of the greatest teams from other eras.

"I just know with that group of talent on our team, with our system and our coach, I'd love to play any team in the history of college basketball just because of our ability to focus on one great player and try to shut that person down," Sheppard said.

Sheppard's conviction reveals the unyielding confidence that made this team so special. The Wildcats delivered the type of extraordinary season that leaves writers reaching for adjectives.

Their confidence was unshakable. Their depth was unbelievable. Their defense was impregnable.

Then again, why come up with synonyms when Pitino already had found the one word that described this team so perfectly?

Untouchable.

Steve Megargee is a national writer for Rivals.com. He can be reached at smegargee@rivals.com.