Next year's National Title game could feature....

Kansas vs. Kentucky

You read that correctly. Kentucky could realistically end up in the national title game after a 2009 season that featured below average results leading to an NIT bid, a coaching change, and an extremely angry fanbase.

We'll wait and dissect Kansas on another day. Now, here's why Kentucky will be back in a very short time.

First, it all starts with coaching. The Wildcats split ways with the once all-world head coach, Billy Gillispie, who went 40-27 in his two years in Lexington, in exchange for another hot-shot well-know coach, John Calipari. While both gentlemen have a proven track record in the college game, one stands out above the other in the recruiting world, and frankly, it's not even close.

Meet the master of recruiting, the man who is going to bring Kentucky back to its glory days in just one short year. Calipari knows it takes more than coaching to win a national title these days. You have to win on the recruiting front, and as he showed at Memphis-- a program that has zero national titles but still landed the likes of Derrick Rose-- Calipari works just as hard if not harder off the court than on it.

After signing a top ten class at Memphis which featured three McDonald's All-Americans, Calipari was intrigued to take his services elsewhere, to a place where he knew he could mix his expert recruiting skills with a program filled with tradition and past prominence. It's no secret that high school stars today look for a college that gives them the best chance to make it to the NBA, more so than school itself. While Kentucky hasn't produced the star-studded NBA classes as they once did, the nation's interests and media fascination with the Wildcats is still a live and well. If you do well at Kentucky, you are never forgotten, and awarded down the line.

In retrospect, it's no forgone conclusion that Kentucky will end up in Indianapolis next season, as the team must learn Calpari's run and gun offense, and gel with one another to be a successful tournament team. However, with the return of former McDonald's All-American postman Patrick Patterson, the possible return of last season's leading scorer Jodie Meeks, and a #1 overall recruiting class according to Rivals.com, the Wildcats are set for a Final Four run.

Kentucky's 2009 Recruiting class (rankings according to Rivals.com)

PF- Demarcus Cousins: 5* Other offers: Kansas State, Washington
PG- Eric Bledsoe: 5* Other offers: Memphis, Florida
C- Daniel Orton: 5* Other offers: Kansas, Oklahoma
SF- Darnell Dodson : 4* Other offers: UCLA, Memphis, Miami
SG- Jon Hood: 4* Other offers: Tennessee, Georgia

Not to mention, if Kentucky can land the nation's #1 overall recruit according to Rivals.com, John Wall, in addition to a return from Meeks, the Wildcats backcourt would surely be the best in the nation. Wall has said that his top three schools at this point are Miami, Duke and Kentucky. A decision is expected in the coming weeks.

For this to reality of a national championship to transpire, Meeks must make the right decision and head back to college, for himself and Kentucky. He's projected to be selected in later part of the first round, which for some prospects is an easy payday and a seat on a team's bench. With another year of college, Meeks could grow as a leader on the floor rather than just a playmaker. There are many talented college basketball players, but not many talented players with the leadership skills needed for the next level.

Meeks scouting report: Meek is a natural two-guard, who is an excellent shooter from the perimeter, and can also take his defender off the dribble into the paint. His quick first step and 6-4 frame gives him the upperhand against smaller defenders.

While I didn't get into Kansas, which will be another post down the road, the Kentucky story is too much to pass up with what could happen in the coming weeks. If Wall commits, Meeks returns, and the current players believe in Calipari, watch out for Kentucky in 2009-2010, and for years to come.