Nov. 10, 2002
LEXINGTON, Ky. –
EXHIBITION GAME
Rupp Arena
Nov. 11, 2002
7:30 p.m. ET
RADIO
UK Radio Network (90+ stations): Tom Leach, Mike Pratt, Dave Baker.
TELEVISION
UKTV (Delayed): SBS 6, Transponder 5, 11:35 p.m. ET
Rob Bromley, Martin Newton, Dick Gabriel
Returning Starters
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Ppg Rpg Hometown '03 Note44 Chuck Hayes F 6-6 247 So. 5.9 4.5 Modesto, Calif. Lost an inch40 Jules Camara C 6-11 220 Sr. 6.1 4.0 Dakar, Senegal Returned from IR a week ago10 Keith Bogans G 6-5 213 Sr. 11.6 4.3 Alexandria, Va. Slump, what slump?
Potential Starters4 Gerald Fitch G 6-3 188 Jr. 8.9 5.4 Macon, Ga. May start at two-guard50 Marquis Estill C 6-9 236 Sr. 8.9 4.3 Richmond, Ky. “Healthy as he’s ever been”14 Erik Daniels F 6-8 214 Jr. 3.7 2.9 Cincinnati, Ohio Grew an inch5 Josh Carrier G 6-5 202 So. 1.1 0.3 Bowling Green, Ky. Renewed confidence15 Matt Heissenbuttel G 6-4 194 Jr. 0.9 0.7 Lexington, Ky. Enduring life w/o D. Haney33 Antwain Barbour G/F 6-5 195 Jr. — — Elizabethtown, Ky. Pride of Etown News-Ent.24 Kelenna Azubuike G/F 6-5 208 Fr. — — Tulsa, Okla. Can score12 Bernard Cote F 6-9 227 Fr. — — St. Lambert, Quebec Padgett clone11 Preston LeMaster G 6-2 177 Fr. — — Paris, Ky. Loves LeJumper2 Ravi Moss G 6-2 176 Fr. — — Hopkinsville, Ky. Hidden jewel?3 Brandon Stockton G 5-9 167 Fr. — — Glasgow, Ky. Reigning Mr. Basketball
100 Years
The Wildcats will officially begin their 100th season of basketball in two weeks when Kentucky begins play in the Maui Invitational on Nov. 25 vs. Arizona State. The Cats have a number of events planned throughout the season, including fan balloting for the program’s greatest players, games and moments. The celebration will include replays of the top 10 games on radio, a 25-year celebration of the 1978 NCAA Champions, and bobbleheads before concluding with an all-letterman reunion on Feb. 23 for the Mississippi State game.
Kentucky celebrates unparalleled tradition, including seven NCAA titles, the most wins in college basketball, the best winning percentage in college hoops, the most consensus All-Americans, the most AP top-10 finishes, the most SEC Championships and tournament crowns and 15 national attendance titles.
Exhibition Season
With two weeks remaining before the season opener, the Wildcats begin exhibition play against its annual opponent, Athletes in Action. The program has been in existence since 1967 and became the ministry is credited with starting college basketball’s first amateur exhibition team.
Two players will not see action for Kentucky. Jules Camara, who just returned to practice from a broken hand last week, pulled a hamstring on Friday and will miss the game. Cliff Hawkins, who participated in Blue-White scrimmage a week ago, cannot participate in an exhibition game or a regular-season game until he regains his eligibility.
This is AIA’s seventh game of its 12-game schedule. Last week, the crusaders played two Southeastern Conference teams — Arkansas and Alabama — losing by a combined five points. Here’s their 2002 fall results:
Nov. 3 Air Force L, 66-56Nov. 4 Colorado State L, 97-79Nov. 6 Arkansas L, 77-73Nov. 7 Alabama L, 72-71Nov. 8 Indiana L, 97-56Nov. 9 Bradley L, 94-92Nov. 11 KentuckyNov. 12 Wright StateNov. 14 CincinnatiNov. 16 Ole MissNov. 18 WashingtonNov. 19 St. Louis
Tickets On Sale
Tickets are on sale to the Wildcats’ first two exhibition games – Nov. 11 vs. Athletes in Action and Nov. 18 vs. Team Nike – and to two regular-season home games – Dec. 3 vs. High Point and Dec. 30 vs. Tennessee State. The tickets were made available following student-ticket distribution last week.
The upper arena seats are $17 apiece and can be purchased at the Memorial Coliseum ticket office – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday – online at ukathletics.com, by phone at 859-257-1818 or 800-928-CATS or at participating Ticketmaster locations statewide.
Last Year
The Wildcats struggled against AIA last season, before pulling out an 88-83 victory in overtime. UK was led by Tayshaun Prince and Keith Bogans, who scored 19 and 17 points, respectively. AIA hit 14 of 30 from three-point range as Damian Long had 19 and Derek Grimm pitched in 17. David Daniels, who continues to be a thorn in the Cats’ paws year after year in this exhibition game, added 10 points and five assists. Will that guy ever graduate?
UK has not lost an exhibition game since 1993, when the Australian National Team, led by Aussie Andrew Gaze, scored a victory over the Cats.
Milestones
Keith Bogans is currently tied for 22nd on UK’s all-time scoring list with Mike Pratt. Pratt, who’s now in his second season with the UK radio broadcast team, also tallied his career point total in three seasons.
Marquis Estill has shot 61.4% from the field during his two-year career. He stands to become the Wildcats’ all-time leader in field goal percentage. The record holder is Charles Hurt, who shot 59.3% from the field from 1980-83.
Jules Camara ranks ninth on the Wildcats’ all-time blocked shots list, trailing current UK assistant coach Reggie Hanson by two.
Returning Production
UK lost just one starter off its 2002 Sweet 16 team (Tayshaun Prince), but only returns 67.1% of its scoring from a year ago. Here’s the complete breakdown, which includes Cliff Hawkins, who’s expected to return during the Christmas holidays:
Points – 67.1%
Rebounds – 76.6%
Assists – 81.7%
Blocks – 67.3%
Steals – 77.4%
Camara Returns
Jules Camara suffered a broken hand in early October during individual instruction and missed the first three weeks of practice, including all those 6 a.m. sessions. The fifth-year senior returned to practice one week ago, Nov. 4.
Rupp Arena
Kentucky begins its 27th season at Rupp Arena, where the Wildcats own a 340-39 (89.7%) record in Rupp.
The Cats have won the national attendance title the past seven seasons. Overall, the Wildcats have won 15 national attendance titles in the building.
Once again this season, the arena will debut new upgrades, including a new concourse, a standing-room only “eRUPPtion Zone” for the student body and a media press box, all totaling $5.1 million. The new purple concourse is two levels, replacing the old one level boxed concession stand. It features greater concession stand access and more restrooms. The ‘eRUPPtion Zone” moved 400 season ticket holders to other seats in lower arena and moves the band and nearly 700 students into the end zone nearest UK’s bench. It also gives students access to floor-level seating, er, standing. Shockingly, a UK junior from Lincolnton, N.C., Andy Acker, named the area in a contest among the student body. His entry was picked from nearly 200 submissions.
Continued Security Measures
Officials at Lexington Center Corporation, which operates Rupp Arena, announced plans to continue strict security measures adopted last season in the wake of the Sept. 11 tragedy.
Items that cannot be brought into the arena include weapons, backpacks, bags, flag poles, containers made of glass, aluminum, plastic and/or paper, food, ice chests, video cameras, alcoholic beverages, artificial noisemakers, or any object considered dangerous to patrons in Rupp Arena.
Fans are permitted to bring in cell phones, pagers, still cameras, small purses, binoculars, small radios, diaper bags and seat cushions. All items brought into the arena are subject to search.
Once again, the UK Basketball Museum, located in the adjacent Civic Center, will check coats and bags for $2.
Three Mania
Kentucky ranks third nationally in consecutive games with a made three-pointer. The Wildcats have hit a three-pointer in 473 consecutive games, which trails UNLV (507) and Vanderbilt (504).
The Wildcats’ last game without a three-pointer came 14 seasons ago against Seton Hall on Nov. 26, 1988, a “three-point” loss in the Great Alaska Shootout.
National Predictions
Kentucky has been ranked in various preseason polls, anywhere from No. 7 to No. 22. In the coaches poll, the ESPN/USA Today poll, the Cats were the preseason No. 17 selection. Here’s the rundown of other various rankings for the Cats:
Street & Smiths - 17 Basketball News - 9Sporting News - 22 Lindy's - 14USBWA - 13 Collegeinsider.com - 20ESPN.com - 8 CBS Sportsline - 15Blue Ribbon - 14 Slam - 7BK Time in Tenn. - 7 ACC Handbook - 8ESPN Bracketology - 9
National Exposure
The Cats will appear on national TV 16 times during the 2002-03 regular season. The Cats are slated to appear on ESPN 10 times, including three games at the Maui Invitational in November, and six times on CBS.
SEC Poll
The Wildcats were picked to finish third in the SEC Eastern Division in a preseason poll of media members. UK, which has not finished lower than second since the league split into divisions in 1992, was also predicted to finish fourth in the race for the SEC regular-season crown.
Keith Bogans was the only Wildcat picked to either the first or second team preseason All-SEC poll. The first team included Erwin Dudley (Alabama), Mario Austin (Miss. State), Jarvis Hayes (Georgia), Maurice Williams (Alabama), and Brett Nelson (Florida). The second team included Bogans, Ronald Dupree (LSU), Matt Bonner (Florida), Ezra Williams (Georgia) and Derrick Zimmerman (Miss. State).
SEC Domination
Kentucky will play its 70th season of SEC action in 2003. A charter member, the Cats have been the most dominant team in the league through the years, recording a 780-212 mark (78.6%). No other team has won more than 647 regular-season games (Alabama) and no other team has a better winning percentage. UK has averaged 11.3 wins and 3.1 losses per season during its SEC tenure.
The Wildcats have won 41 SEC titles and 23 SEC Tournament Championships, more titles than the other teams combined.
Kentucky has won eight of the last 11 SEC Tournament titles.
BIG BLUE MANIA
Keightley’s Seen Half of UK’s Games
Unbelievable.
Bill Keightley begins his 42nd season as equipment manager of the UK basketball team. The beloved “Mr. Wildcat” has served on the staff since the 1961-62 season and has witnessed 1,264 games during his career, owning a 966-298 record during that era.
The Wildcats, who are celebrating their 100th season of basketball, have played 2,386 games, meaning Keightley has witnessed 53.0% of the games.
The Lawrenceburg, Ky., native, who has a jersey retired in the rafters of Rupp Arena, has worked under five different head coaches at UK — Rupp, Hall, Sutton, Pitino and Smith. The current cats have a modern nickname for the 75-year-old Keightley — “Smooth.”
Wiggins Starts 50th Season
Big Blue fan Bob Wiggins continued his amazing streak of following the basketball Cats. He’s starting his 50th season watching Kentucky play in person and through his own record-keeping, has attended 1,222 UK games.
Wiggins, who is retired and lives in Falmouth, Ky., saw 615 consecutive games — home and away — from 1977 until he suffered a heart attack just before the 1996 Great Alaska Shootout. It’s the second-longest streak on record at UK.
The illness forced him to miss four games, but he has since returned to see every contest in person, a streak of 208 games.
Meanwhile, his home court streak is still intact. Wiggins has not missed a home game in 41 years, a streak spanning 589 games. During that period, which dates back to 1960-61, UK has a home record of 523-66.
UK’s NBA Players
To start the 2002-03 NBA season, the following Wildcats were active:
Derek Anderson – Portland
Tony Delk – Boston
Jamaal Magloire – New Orleans
Jamal Mashburn – New Orleans
Walter McCarty – Boston
Ron Mercer – Indiana
Nazr Mohammed – Atlanta
Scott Padgett – Utah
Mark Pope – New York
Tayshaun Prince – Detroit
Antoine Walker – Boston
In addition, former UK assistant coach Jim O’Brien is the head coach of the Boston Celtics while former UK All-American Pat Riley coaches the Miami Heat.
Other Wildcats participating in professional basketball include Heshimu Evans, Jared Prickett, Andre Riddick and Wayne Turner, who are all playing overseas, and Saul Smith, who plays for Columbus of the NBDL.
— Go Cats —
