Kentucky alumni, civic leaders, local media and probably Tubby Smith's friends shouldn't take anything too personal from this season.

Smith's lack of PT with people around him wasn't a snub. He just needed time to focus as a coach with fewer extracurricular activies. He avoided the stuff that would only give him grief later if he didn't exercise better time management.

	Tubby Smith went back to the basics and brought out the best in his Wildcats.

"What I did this season was eliminate distractions," Smith said. "I know a lot of people outside the program want to have a hand in it and have influence, but I couldn't get caught up in all of that. I couldn't accommodate everybody. That was the best advice I got from a lot of my coaching colleagues, especially Jim Boeheim (at Syracuse)."

Smith "narrowed his focus." He told his assistants that they would be doing most of the recruiting. He made sure everyone on the team knew he would be around more than ever.

"I felt I had to be with our personnel as much as possible," Smith said. "If you can imagine a job like this, you know there could be a lot of distractions."

Smith's attention to detail when it came to this year's UK squad proved to be a prophetic move. The Wildcats have reflected his intensity ever since losing to Louisville in late December. Kentucky's selfless team, its defensive prowess and blistering undefeated run through the SEC separated Smith from his peers and made him ESPN.com's overwhelming choice for national coach of the year.

"It's not that he's different, but it seems the guys realized that what he's telling us is right," Kentucky forward Marquis Estill said. "We struggled at the beginning of the year, but we went back to the basic fundamentals. We got things right and he had everyone focused."

"It was a matter of us focusing on what he was teaching us," Kentucky guard Gerald Fitch said. "And there were no distractions. He had us focused."

Kentucky isn't as talented as it was when it ran the SEC table and won the 1996 title. Nor is this team filled with first-round NBA draft picks like 1998. This team only has one true high school star in senior guard Keith Bogans. But even he has been maligned at times during his career.

Instead, the Wildcats are a collection of role players who bought into being a team, rather than thinking about themselves like they did at times last season. No one got into off-court trouble, nor was there any on-court pouting during the season.

The attitude, like the intensity, started at the top with the man they call Tubby.

"We have talent, but we don't have the individual hype," Smith said. "You don't get coach of the year without great players and a great team. But we've got great character."

Arguably the best team in the country, Kentucky hasn't been a team without issues. The difference between this year and last year when Kentucky was often called "Team Turmoil" is Smith's ability to keep the complaining to a minimum while maximizing the Wildcats' strengths.

Kentucky went through the first semester without point guard Cliff Hawkins. When he became academically eligible, he didn't demand a starting spot. Instead, he accepted his reserve role and flourished. The Wildcats weathered an injury to Antwain Barbour, and there wasn't any pressure either way to play newcomers Barbour or Kelenna Azubuike. And then there is the ego-free rotation in the frontcourt of Estill, Jules Camara and Chuck Hayes -- the heart-and-sole of UK's suffocating defense.

Yes, the biggest change this season was on defense. Smith said he was trying to "outsmart himself," by trying to do too much. He said he got away from simple strategies like trapping the ball closer to the basket.

	“	It was a matter of us focusing on what he was teaching us. And there were no distractions. He had us focused. ”
		— Gerald Fitch, Kentucky guard

"We were doing things that weren't me," Smith said. "And the kids sensed that. Keith Bogans and Jules Camara, players who had been around, knew this wasn't what they were used to. We felt like we needed to add things and we didn't."

Getting back to the basics of when to trap and how intense to play on defense, let alone the fundamentals of defensive positioning, meant the Wildcats would be defense first, offense second. Sure, it could have backfired. But at 26-3 and 16-0 against conference foes heading into Friday's SEC quarterfinals, no one is complaining about Smith stressing stopping the ball, instead of scoring it.

Smith's performance in 2002-03 wasn't head and shoulders above those of Wake Forest's Skip Prosser -- who guided the Deacs to their first outright ACC title since 1962; or Louisville's Rick Pitino -- who turned the Cardinals into a top-five program for most of the year; or Marquette's Tom Crean -- whose Eagles ended Cincinnati's stranglehold on the C-USA; or Boeheim -- who has a youthful Syracuse squad poised for a deep NCAA run.

And Arizona's Lute Olson, Kansas' Roy Williams, Oklahoma State's Eddie Sutton, Wisconsin's Bo Ryan and Illinois' Bill Self each did outstanding jobs in leading their teams into the NCAA Tournament.

But Smith's self-awareness, his ability to recognize that he had to pull back, focus on his team, get back to the basics and don't start second-guessing anymore, is what made Kentucky into a surprising national title contender.

No, it's not all just because of Tubby Smith. But he shouldn't shy away from taking some credit. He sure has taken enough blame in the Bluegrass State.

Freshman of the Year
Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse
This is one of the best freshman classes in recent memory. The star status of this group, in part because of so many opportunities, was simply wonderful. But Anthony was clearly the best. And not only was he the best freshman in the country, but he could have made an argument to be the top player.

Anthony averaged 22.5 points, 10 boards and was as dominant a player as any other in the country. He is the reason Syracuse is a legit Final Four threat. Few freshmen have had as much of an impact as Anthony has had this season, any season.

Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim called it in the preseason when he said Anthony would be the national freshman of the year. And, as he said back in November: "It won't even be close."

It wasn't.

Biggest surprise
Craig Smith, Boston College
The Eagles get the nod over Louisville for discovering their big man, while the Cardinals discovered a shooting star in Francisco Garcia. Smith was an L.A. player who didn't get noticed in SoCal (if that's possible). So, he came East to a prep school after he didn't qualify last season for BC. Smith would have been the freshman of the year in the Big East had Anthony not stopped by for a season at the 'Cuse. He's given the Eagles the balance they lacked last season and helped Troy Bell become the Big East player of the year for the second time in three years.

Best Find
Wake Forest
The Demon Deacons were picked as low as seventh in some publications. Skip Prosser did a marvelous job blending a youthful team with an experienced lead player in Josh Howard. The pair was the best in their respective jobs in the ACC this season.

Biggest Disappointment
Virginia
The Cavs should have been an NCAA team, but something happened to this squad. Maybe there was infighting, or possible shooting slumps, or senior-itis or something else. But Virginia's collapse was worse than UCLA, Georgetown or even Alabama. This team has no excuse for missing the NCAAs.

Worst Scandal
St. Bonaventure
How sad is it that this even a category, but after the past few weeks it's impossible to overlook all the black eyes in college basketball. That said, academic fraud is the worst penalty in the NCAA, but the Bonnies quit, and that's probably the least respected solution for a problem in athletics. The players say no one heard their story, but this wasn't a just cause. Standing up for women's rights, or civil rights, or any kind of human rights is a just cause. Sitting out the final two games because you can't play in the Atlantic 10 tournament doesn't compare.

Biggest Injustice
Fresno State
Looking for someone to feel sorry for? Try the Bulldogs, whose administration sacrificed this season's team -- 48 hours after winning the WAC regular-season title -- for the 2004 season. The postseason ban at the 11th hour was clearly a kiss to the infractions committee, hoping they'll look kindly on the Bulldogs and not penalize them next season when they open a new on-campus building. This was flat-out wrong. They should have sat out the 2004 postseason like Michigan did for 2003 when the Wolverines made the call before this season.

The Biggest 'What If' ...
Just think what could have been if North Carolina hadn't lost Sean May to a fractured foot. If May had been healthy all season, the Tar Heels could have been the story in college basketball. North Carolina was the "it" team in the beginning of the season with a Preseason NIT title. The Tar Heels could have done serious damage in the ACC with a man in the middle. Instead, they'll likely have to settle for a late-season run and possible "NIT Double".

Five statements we never would have made in the preseason:
1. Kentucky will go undefeated in the SEC.
2. Wake Forest will win the ACC.
3. Wisconsin will win the Big Ten.
4. Georgia will go on a self-imposed postseason ban and suspend Jim Harrick Sr.
5. Louisville will be ranked as high as No. 2 in the country and win 17 straight games.

Unfair injuries that took away potential star seasons:
1. New Mexico's Senque Carey suffers rare spinal injury in game against Northwestern State.
2. Vermont's T.J. Sorrentine fractures both wrists in the preseason.
3. Western Kentucky's Chris Marcus has foot surgery, barely plays in a few games, then quits the team ... all after Todor Pandov tore his knee up in the Hilltoppers' opening-season loss at Arizona.
4. Sean May for Carolina (see above).
5. Boston College's Uka Agbai suffers freakish neck fracture in loss to Holy Cross.
6. Kansas' Wayne Simien has to shelve his season with a dislocated shoulder.
7. Wyoming losing preseason MWC player of the year Marcus Bailey prior to the start of conference play with a torn ACL.

Team that did the most with the least amount of publicity:
Oklahoma State, which was overshadowed by Oklahoma in its state; by Kansas, Texas and Texas Tech in the Big 12; but finished the regular season 10-6 in the Big 12, 21-8 overall and was never out of a game.

Hardest team to figure:
Indiana, which never looked fantastic but certainly played like it cared more prior to New Year's. This team's psyche was never quite right and still is an ongoing mystery.

Best late-season coaching jobs:
Bruiser Flint of Drexel and Brad Soderberg of Saint Louis. The Dragons made the Colonial Athletic Association final after looking awful at times in the non-conference. Drexel finished tied for second in the regular season, and Flint proved he could coach, no matter the level of talent. Soderberg's patience paid off as the Billikens put itself in position for a possible NCAA bid with a 9-7 Conference USA finish.

Most bizarre ending that won't go away:
Oklahoma over Texas Tech (a.k.a. "The Shot Clock Incident"). OK, we know the clock stopped once when Texas Tech had the ball, then again when Oklahoma had the ball. But Hollis Price still made a heck of a shot to tie the game and send it into overtime. Oklahoma won. Game over. No reason for a forfeit. There was no conspiracy. How could there be when the clock stopped for Texas Tech, too. This game isn't the reason the Red Raiders are on the bubble.

What we're hearing ...
Around the Wooden Award ... The reason Saint Joseph's Jameer Nelson, Kentucky's Keith Bogans, Georgia's Jarvis Hayes and Syracuse's Carmelo Anthony weren't on the final Wooden Award list was because of the grade-point average rule. A student must have a standing 2.0 to be on the list. But that doesn't mean these players aren't or won't be eligible for next season. The NCAA deems players eligible from one season to a next, and every school's standards are different from one semester to another. "Saint Joseph's standards are to make progress toward a degree and Jameer is on target to graduate next May," Saint Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said of the junior guard. "I have no problem with the standard, but I think they should apply it to the McDonald's game, too. If you're not eligible to play in college, you shouldn't play in that game."

In the SEC ... Coaches have been told not to recruit former Georgia signee Alexander Johnson out of Maine's Bridgton Academy. The SEC office let it be known that there could be an investigation related to the Georgia case, so it's not worth other SEC schools getting involved with Johnson.

At Georgia ... Once Jim Harrick Sr. gets sacked, look for these names to be mentioned in the job search -- former Hawks coach Lon Kruger, Dayton's Oliver Purnell, Western Kentucky's Dennis Felton and possibly former Bulls coach Tim Floyd.

On the coaching carousel ... Interim Georgia coach James Holland was on the verge of being a head coach before the controversy occurred. He still should get a shot somewhere, considering he hasn't been linked to any wrongdoing. Former Washington State coach Paul Graham deserves a top assistant job somewhere in the country after failing to earn his final year of his contract. Clemson will have to make a decision on Larry Shyatt's last two seasons of his contract in a hurry. Colorado's Ricardo Patton saved his job with a likely NCAA bid. The word out of Fordham is the school isn't about to buy out Bob Hill's final six years on his contract, and Hill isn't leaving unless he's got a good gig in the NBA.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com. His Weekly Word on college basketball is updated Fridays throughout the year.