After Coach Sutton placed the program on probation and the darkness presided over UK, God provided UK with a blessing in bringing an up-and-coming coach in a young New Yorker named Rick Pitino. Although scholarships were limited and there was no TV appearances the first year, Pitino worked with the boys who stayed on this team through thick and thin, The Unforgettables. These boys were from the mountains of Eastern Kentucky and knew what it meant to put that jersey on. Within 3 years, Pitino had UK back in the NCAA Tournament and made the Elite Eight. From 1993-1997, the Wildcats were competing for National Championships, making the Final Four 3 out of those 5 years. In 1996, argueably the best team in college basketball history to put on a uniform, the Cats went 34-2, avenging those two losses as well on their way to their 6th National Championship. In 1997, Pitino took a team made up of considerably different players and took them back to the championship game, only to lose in overtime to Arizona. After the season, Coach Pitino decided he would take the job as the head coach of the Boston Celtics. This would open up a new chapter yet again in Kentucky Basketball.
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