Rick Pitino came into the 1996 Kentucky Wildcats season feeling the pressure and—at least according to him—it was coming from some unlikely places. Pitino told a story of visiting Rome during the summer and meeting Pope John Paul II. As Pitino tells the story, he went over and kissed the pope’s ring. The Holy Father […]
The year in 1996 sports was marked by one in which proud franchises or programs returned to the top after what each would consider a lengthy absence. Continuing the theme would be a singularly great player who made a celebrated return and led his team on a historic run.
Kentucky and UMass were not only ranked 1-2 in the country, but either one or the other had been ranked #1 in the country for all but three weeks in December and they held the top two spots from Christmas forward. Ironically, given his future in Lexington, it was John Calipari who was coaching UMass as they were in their fifth year of national prominence.