Sports

Kentucky walk-on enjoys happy birthday

NEW ORLEANS — What’s the best present you’ve ever received? It might now measure up to the one Kentucky reserve guard Brian Long received last night.

Long got to cut down the nets with his teammates after the Wildcats beat Kansas 67-59 to win the national championship on his 20th birthday.

“No better present in the world,’’ Long crowed as he walked off the court behind Anthony Davis, who held aloft the Most Outstanding Player trophy of the Final Four. “It’s surreal.’’

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Long’s father, also named Brian, is a longtime friend of Kentucky coach John Calipari. In a state in which almost every prep basketball player would give his favorite pair of sneakers to walk on, Calipari awarded one of those coveted spots to Long.

“We met at Five-Star 30 years ago when we were young coaches, just starting,’’ the elder Long, the former coach at River Dell (N.J.), where he’s now the athletic director, told The Post by telephone. “He’s the most loyal friend you could ask for.’’

Long, a 5-9 freshman, was a good player at River Dell, where he averaged 9.6 points and five assists. His brother Keith played at UNLV, and his brother Travis played for Calipari at Memphis.

Brian has gone where no member of his family has gone before.

“I said to him, ‘None of your other brothers got to a Final Four, you did,’ ’’ said Calipari. “He’s on that court, raised up 22 feet off the floor shooting baskets. I mean, it’s the greatest thing about being a coach.’’

***Anthony Davis became the first freshman in history to win the MOP trophy in the Final Four. He had 24 points, 30 rebounds and 11 blocked shots in two games.

Joining Davis on the All-Final Four team are Kentucky sophomore Doron Lamb and teammate Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. Thomas Robinson and Hoboken’s Tyshawn Taylor of Kansas also made the team.

***

Calipari and Kansas coach Billy Self were both guests lecturers last fall at former Rutgers assistant coach Jim Carr’s first coaches clinic to benefit the Brayden Carr Foundation.

Brayden Carr, Jim and Natalie Carr’s son, died of complications from epilepsy on May 10, 2011 at the age of 2. Bobby Hurley and Larry Brown also attended.

“The one thing about we coaches, when it’s time to come together, we do it,’’ said Calipari. “Now, we fight, we’re all jealous, all that other stuff, who makes this, who got what kid, all that stuff. But at the end of the day, there’s only 300 of us that sit in these seats and each of us have three or four assistants that are in these positions and understand what it’s like.’’

“To have someone like Jim, who is a terrific guy,’’ said Calipari. “I have children. I have two daughters and a son. Just couldn’t even imagine if that had happened to me. I couldn’t imagine.’’

Self also was moved to step up

“I would do anything that I possibly could to help a situation like that,’’ Self said on Sunday. “Jim and I still stay in touch. As a matter of fact, he texted me yesterday. He’s a good man. I wanted to be a part of that and help a family out that was struggling, to give them a little joy.

I think that’s done wonders for their families, based on what Jim’s told me.’’