March 11, 2002
LEXINGTON, Ky. –
2002 NCAA Tournament * First Round
No. 12 Valparaiso Crusaders (25-7, 12-2 MCC)
vs.
No. 4 Kentucky Wildcats (20-9, 10-6 SEC)
March 14, 2002 * St. Louis, Mo. * 12:25 p.m. ET
Edward Jones Dome (39,063)
RADIO
UK Radio Network (90+ stations): Tom Leach, Mike Pratt, Dave Baker.
NCAA Radio Network:
Bob Kessling, Dave Gavitt
TELEVISION
CBS Sports (Live): Dick Enberg, Matt Guokas, Armen Keteyian.
COACHING COMPARISONS
Tubby Smith (High Point ’73)
Overall (11th) 254-104 (70.9%) at UK (5th) 130-42 (75.6%) SEC Tourney (7) 13-4 (76.5%) NCAA Tourney (8) 18-7 (72.0%) vs. Valparaiso 0-0 vs. Marquette 0-0 vs. Tulsa 1-0
Homer Drew (William Jewell) Overall (26th) 504-306 (62.2%) at VU (14th) 235-184 (56.1%) vs. Kentucky 0-0
Tom Crean (Central Michigan '89) Overall (3rd) 56-34 (62.6%) at MU (3rd) same vs. Kentucky 0-0
John Phillips (Oklahoma St. '73) Overall (1st) 26-6 (81.3%) at TU (1st) same vs. Kentucky 0-0
PROBABLE STARTERS
WILDCATS No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Ppg Rpg Hometown Last Game 21 Tayshaun Prince F 6-9 215 Sr. 16.9 6.3 Compton, Calif. 12 pts, 5 rebs, 24 mins 44 Chuck Hayes F 6-7 237 Fr. 5.8 4.5 Modesto, Calif. 10 pts, CH 13 rebs, 34 mins 40 Jules Camara F-C 6-11 225 Jr. 5.7 3.8 Dakar, Senegal 4 pts, 3 rebs 10 Keith Bogans G 6-5 205 Jr. 10.9 4.4 Alexandria, Va. 13 pts, 4 rebs 1 Cliff Hawkins G 6-1 185 So. 7.1 *4.2 Dumfries, Va. 4 pts, 2 assts, 5 turnovers
Key Reserves 4 Gerald Fitch G 6-3 188 So. 9.6 5.8 Macon, Ga. DNP – Coach’s Decision 50 Marquis Estill F 6-9 240 Jr. 9.0 4.3 Richmond, Ky. 5 pts, 7 rebs, 1-9 FG 2 Rashaad Carruth G 6-3 195 Fr. 6.0 1.0 College Park, Ga. 0 pts, 1 reb 14 Erik Daniels F 6-7 205 So. 3.9 2.9 Cincinnati, Ohio 8 pts, 4 rebs, 4-6 FG 3 J.P. Blevins G 6-2 180 Sr. 2.5 1.1 Edmonton, Ky. 0 pts, 0 rebs, 15 mins*Assists
UK Opens NCAA Play with Valparaiso
Kentucky makes its national-record 43rd NCAA Tournament appearance against the Valparaiso Crusaders on Thursday, March 14, in St. Louis. Kentucky is the No. 4 seed in the East thanks to a new NCAA policy, will be allowed to play in St. Louis to open the tournament, just a 5.5 hour drive (336 miles) from the UK campus in Lexington and 175 miles from the western end of the state. Should the Wildcats advance to regional semifinal action, they will play in Syracuse on a Friday-Sunday schedule.
The Wildcats earned an at-large bid after falling in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Friday. UK claimed a No. 4 seed for the first time since the NCAA Tournament went to a seeding format in 1979. It’s the second straight season UK has played in the East Region.
It’s the Cats’ 11th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tourney, their 43rd overall, more than any other team in college basketball. Since 1992, UK owns a 60-11 record in postseason play, including NCAA and SEC Tournaments.
The Cats have played 10 teams in this year’s tourney field with a 6-6 record.
UK is 33-9 in tournament openers and has won its last 10 first-round games.
Kentucky is one of six Southeastern Conference teams to participate in the 2002 NCAA Tournament. The Cats join Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Ole Miss and Miss. State.
Nine Lives
The Wildcats have had a topsy-turvy 99th season riddled with injuries and suspensions. Yet, the Wildcats managed to earn a share of the SEC Eastern Division crown and a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. UK won 20 games for the 47th time in school history including the last 12 consecutive seasons. Notables from throughout the season include:
Tayshaun Prince, the 2001 SEC Player of the Year, leads UK’s 13-man tournament roster with 16.9 ppg and 6.3 rpg. Last week, Prince was named a 2nd-team All-American by the NABC. The Cats are without center Jason Parker, who tore an ACL in July and again in October just before Midnight Madness introductions. Parker started all 34 games last season and made the SEC’s All-Freshman team.
The Wildcats won six of their last 10 games prior to the NCAA Tournament. UK’s longest win streak was six games, from Nov. 16-Dec. 15. Then-No. 1 Duke snapped the Cats’ win streak in overtime.
The Wildcats overcame an 0-2 start in SEC play to finish as tri-champs of the Eastern Division. In the league opener, host Miss. State rallied from a 16-point halftime deficit to earn the OT win. This season, UK lost all three of its overtime games.
Coach Tubby Smith earned his 250th career win in February, becoming only the seventh coach to reach the plateau in 11 seasons or less.
The Wildcats have suffered the following injuries: J.P. Blevins (missed NABC Classic with sprained ankle, missed 10 games with broken wrist), Rashaad Carruth (missed first four games with high ankle sprain), Adam Chiles (missed three games with bruised ribs), Jason Parker (out for season with torn ACL).
Five players have missed 11 games due to team suspensions. One player, Marvin Stone, was dismissed after the Indiana game when he failed to return to the team following the Christmas holiday. Adam Chiles is suspended indefinitely and his team status will be reviewed after the season.
Madness Numbers
As the nation’s winningest team, Kentucky holds many distinctions in NCAA Tournament play, including:
Appearances Kentucky (1942-02) 43 UCLA (1950-02) 36 North Carolina (1941-01) 35 Tournament Games Kentucky (1942-01) 124 North Carolina (1941-01) 116 UCLA (1050-01) 106 Tournament Wins Kentucky (1942-01) 87 North Carolina (1941-01) 81 UCLA (1950-2001) 78 Tournament Winning Percentage Duke (1955-01) 76.8 (73-22) UCLA (1950-01) 72.9 (78-29) Kentucky (1942-01) 70.2 (87-37) NCAA Championships UCLA (1964-95) 11 Kentucky (1948-98) 7 Indiana (1940-87) 5 NCAA Final Fours North Carolina (1946-00) 15 UCLA (1962-95) 14 Kentucky (1942-98) 13 Duke (1963-01) 13 NCAA Final Four Wins UCLA (1962-95) 24 Kentucky (1942-98) 17 Duke (1963-01) 14
The Valparaiso Series
Kentucky and Valparaiso have never met on the hardwood.
The Crusaders will be Kentucky’s first Mid-Continent Conference opponent in school history. The teams have no common opponents this season.
The Valpo Skinny
Valparaiso has won a school-record 25 games this season, including 14 of its last 15 played. The Crusaders played at Arizona, losing 74-70, and three days later lost at Kansas, 81-73.
Valpo is making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the Mid-Continent Conference regular-season and tournament titles. Its most memorable tournament was the Crusaders’ 1998 run, when they upset Ole Miss, 70-69, in the first round on a buzzer beater, then shocked Florida State, 83-77, in overtime. Jim Harrick’s Rhode Island squad then ended the Valpo run with a 74-68 win in the Sweet 16.
The Crusaders have 11 juniors and seniors on their roster with a host of foreign talent. Senior Lubos Barton of the Czech Republic leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.1 ppg while senior Milo Stovall captured the MCC Tournament MVP honors after scoring 52 points in the three games.
Homer Drew coaches the Crusaders and won his 500th game last month. He also earned Coach of the Year honors in the MCC.
Should the Cats Advance…
If Kentucky advances past the first round, it will play the Marquette-Tulsa winner. Here’s the skinny on the two teams…
Marquette
Series Record: UK leads 7-5
In Lexington: UK leads 2-0
In Milwaukee: UK leads 1-0
In NCAA Tournament play: Tied 4-4
Last Meeting: MU 75-63, March 20, 1994 in NCAA Second Round.
Kentucky and Marquette have met 12 times overall, including eight times in the NCAA Tournament.
Marquette head coach Tom Crean has Kentucky connections after serving as the associate head coach at Western Kentucky from 1991-94 for former UK assistant Ralph Willard.
Assistant Coach Darrin Horn is a native of Lexington, Ky., where he led Tates Creek High School to the 1991 Sweet 16 Championship game. He went on to play for Willard and Crean at WKU before landing a job on Kyle Macy’s coaching staff at Morehead State. Horn was an assistant coach for the Eagles from 1998-99.
Tulsa
Series Record: UK leads 4-0
In Lexington: UK leads 4-0
In Tulsa: 0-0
In NCAA Tournament Play: 0-0
UK played Tulsa three times between 1947-48, all wins in Lexington. The teams did not meet again until the 1997 season, a 74-53 UK win in Rupp Arena.
Kentucky coach Tubby Smith served as the head coach of the Golden Hurricane from 1992-95, recording a 79-43 (64.8%) record in his four seasons. He guided Tulsa to the NCAA Sweet 16 in each of his final two seasons there, recording back-to-back 20-win seasons.
Tournament Averages
Keith Bogans and Tayshaun Prince can boast of fine play in past NCAA Tournament games. In two seasons, Bogans has averaged 16.6 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, highlighted by his 23-point game last season against Southern Cal.
Prince has averaged 13.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in nine games during his previous three seasons. He’s had three outstanding games — 28 points vs. St. Bonaventure in 2002, 27 against Holy Cross last season and 31 vs. Iowa two days later.
National Polls
After losing to South Carolina in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament, UK fell to a season-low 16th in the final AP poll, and 15th in the Coaches poll. UK has spent 11 of the 18 weeks this season in the AP top 10.
UK began the season ranked fourth in both major polls.
Vs. Ranked Opponents
After sweeping the regular-season series with Florida, the Cats are 2-3 against ranked opponents this season. Kentucky defeated the No. 5 Gators, 70-68, in Gainesville on Jan. 29, and again in Lexington when the Gators were ranked eighth, 70-67, on March 2. UK lost to No. 1 Duke, 95-92, in overtime on Dec. 18 in the Jimmy V Classic, dropped a close battle to No. 14 Alabama, 64-61, in Lexington on Jan. 26 and fell to No. 21 Georgia, 78-69, on Feb. 16. Rankings were current at the time of the game.
Smith Loves March
Tubby Smith owns an impressive 23-6 record in March (79.3%) since taking over at UK. He’s 9-2 in the SEC Tournament, 12-3 in the NCAA tourney and owns a 2-1 advantage over Florida in regular-season closers while at Kentucky.
March Magic
UK is 246-93 all-time in the month of March for a 72.6 winning percentage.
Milestones
Keith Bogans, currently 25th on UK’s all-time scoring list, has 1,304 career points and with 16 more can tie Jim Andrews (1971-73) for 24th.
Tayshaun Prince has made 195 3FGs in his career, making him No. 2 all-time in three-pointers made at UK. While he will not catch school-record holder Tony Delk (283), he is the highest ranking three-point shooter in UK history in the post-Pitino Era. Meanwhile, Bogans moved past John Pelphrey and into fifth place against Vanderbilt. He has 166 made 3FGs.
Prince passed the 1,700 plateau with his 12 points against South Carolina in the SEC Tournament. He now has 1,704 career points.
Marquis Estill needs six points to reach 500 in his two-year career.
Jules Camara needs five blocks to catch current UK assistant Reggie Hanson in eighth place on the all-time blocks chart at Kentucky.
Reduced Turnovers
The Wildcats have drastically reduced their turnover average the past eight games. During the stretch, UK has averaged just 11.3 tpg with the highest mark being 16 vs. Arkansas and the best mark being a season-low six turnovers vs. Tennessee on Feb. 19.
For the season, UK is averaging 14.6 tpg. Prior to the last eight games, the Cats were committing 15.9 tpg.
Improved FT Shooting
The Wildcats are shooting 67.0% from the foul line this season, but have converted over 70% of their charity tosses in eight of their last 12 games. In addition, UK has gone to the line at least 18 times in each of the past seven games.
Prior to the last 12 games, UK had shot 64.9% from the line. During the 12-game stretch the Cats have shot 69.8% from the FT stripe. The low point occurred 12 games ago — a 48.5% effort at Auburn.
Starting Spark
Chuck Hayes is enjoying a solid freshman campaign, averaging 5.8 ppg and 4.5 rpg in just 16.0 mpg. However, in his six games as a starter, Hayes has shined, averaging 9.7 points and 7.2 rebounds per outing. Hayes recorded his first career double-double in UK’s SEC Tournament game, scoring 10 points while grabbing a career-high 13 rebounds.
Birthday Wishes
Two Wildcats are celebrating birthdays. Freshman Rashaad Carruth will turn 20 on Tuesday, March 12 while Cory Sears reaches 22 next Tuesday, March 19.
White House Honors Cheerleaders
The national champion Kentucky cheerleaders will be recognized with 11 other NCAA champions at a White House ceremony on Tuesday, March 12.
UK captured its eighth straight UCA Cheerleading Championship in January, the Wildcats’ 12th overall title. It’s the team’s first Presidential recognition.
The Wildcats were scheduled to tour D.C. and meet with Kentucky congressmen.
DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that Kentucky won its fifth of seven NCAA Championships in St. Louis in 1978?
The Wildcats beat Arkansas in the national semifinal, 64-59, then outlasted Duke, 94-88, to capture the crown at the Checkerdome, which has since been torn down.
Jack “Goose” Givens scored 41 points to lead the Cats over the Blue Devils, still the third most points ever scored in a championship game.
Blevins Earns Academic All-SEC Honor
Senior J.P. Blevins was named to the SEC’s Academic Honor Roll, the lone Wildcat on the list of 18 released by Commissioner Roy Kramer last week. Blevins, who will graduate in May with a degree in communications, became the first Wildcat since Travis Ford (1992-94) to earn the honor three times.
Requirements for the award were a 3.0/4.0 GPA, a sophomore or higher in academic standing and have 24 semester hours toward a degree. Blevins owns a 3.67 GPA in communications.
Princely Praise
Last week, Tayshaun Prince was named a second-team All-American by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and a first-team All-SEC selection in voting conducted by the league coaches and the AP.
It marked the second straight season that Prince earned All-America honors and first-team All-SEC recognition. Last year, Prince finished as a second-team All-American by the AP and USBWA and made the 10-member Wooden All-American team. He’s the first Wildcat to earn back-to-back All-America honors since Kenny Walker 1985-86.
Prince was the only Wildcat among the first, second or third teams in SEC voting. Chuck Hayes, however, was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. Alabama’s Erwin Dudley was the 2002 SEC Player of the Year and Tide coach Mark Gottfried was named SEC Coach of the Year in both polls.
Neutral Sites
UK owns a 3-2 record at neutral sites this season with losses coming to No. 1 Duke at the Meadowlands and South Carolina at the SEC Tournament in the Georgia Dome. UK’s last neutral site win came on Jan. 2, a 101-67 victory over Tulane.
Former Cat Now Interim AD
Terry Mobley, who lettered for the Wildcats from 1963-65, is now serving as the interim athletics director at Kentucky .
Mobley played for Adolph Rupp and was a member of the Wildcats’ 1964 SEC Championship team. In ’64, he started 25 of the 27 games at guard, averaging 9.4 ppg in leading the Cats to a 21-6 record. He was best remembered for one shot — a short jumper with four seconds left that gave top-ranked UK a victory over No. 9 Duke in the Sugar Bowl title game. He was a veteran on the ’65 team that featured up-and-coming stars Larry Conley, Louie Dampier and Pat Riley. As a senior, he started half the games, averaging 9.0 ppg as the Cats finished 15-10.
The Harrodsburg, Ky., native serves as the Chief Development Officer at UK.
RPI Polls
The most recent RPI poll released by CollegeRPI.com rated Kentucky No. 10 overall with the nation’s third toughest schedule. The Cats’ schedule ranks fourth in the Sagarin rankings.
Strength of schedule ratings are listed in parenthesis:
CollegeRPI.com SagarinKentucky 10th (3rd) 13th (4th)Valparaiso 83rd (246th) 59th (222nd)Marquette 23rd (87th) 9th (91st)Tulsa 33rd (113th) 30th (125th)
The Southeastern Conference is rated as the nation’s toughest conference by CollegeRPI.com and Sagarin.
1. SEC
2. Big Ten
3. ACC
Pride in Defense
Defensive highlights this season include:
Leading the SEC in FG percentage defense during league play (41.5%) and in blocked shots (5.3 bpg).
Limiting host Florida to a then-season-low 68 points and a season-low 31 rebounds in the teams’ first meeting. Matched the season-low rebounding again in Lexington.
Holding the SEC’s top three-point shooting team, Vanderbilt, to 31.8% accuracy on Feb. 13.
In 13 of the 29 games this season, UK opponents have shot less than 40% from the field. The Cats are 12-1 in those outings. Overall, UK opponents have combined to shoot 40.8% from the field. Indiana and South Carolina both shot 32.1% from the field, the best defensive efforts by the ’02 Wildcats.
Georgia (54.1%), Tennessee (53.4% – 2/19), Vanderbilt (53.6% – 2/27) and South Carolina (50.0% – 3/8) are the only teams to shoot better than 50% against the Cats this season.
Entering NCAA play, the Cats’ defense is averaging 7.8 steals per game. That’s up from last year’s 6.7 spg and the best at UK since the ’98 champs averaged 8.7 spg.
UK’s Offense Due
The Wildcats are shooting 44.8% from the field, the lowest percentage since hitting 42.3% in 2000. While UK has shot 50% or better from the field six times this season, UK has shot under 40.0% in five of the past seven games, including a season-low 31.1% effort in the loss to South Carolina (3/8). UK had previous sub-40% shooting efforts against Western, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
Changing Lineups
Against Florida on March 2, Kentucky started its eighth lineup of the season, inserting J.P. Blevins on Senior Day for Keith Bogans.
In the first eight games of the season, Smith used four different lineups. Only Tayshaun Prince has started every game. Hawkins has started 26 times while Blevins has four starts. Jules Camara has 15 starts, while Marquis Estill has 11. Chuck Hayes has started six games, and Erik Daniels also has a start to his credit. Keith Bogans has 26 starts this year.
Cats in the NCAA
In the NCAA statistics released March 5, the Wildcats ranked 24th in scoring margin (+10.0 ppg). Despite losing the battle of the boards in four of the last six games, UK was tied for 27th in the nation in rebounding margin, outrebounding opponents by 5.5 rpg.
Cats in the SEC
In the latest Southeastern Conference rankings for all games played, UK’s Tayshaun Prince is fourth in the league in scoring (16.9 ppg) while Cliff Hawkins ranks fourth in assists (4.2 apg). Jules Camara and Prince are tied for third in blocks (1.4 pg) and Marquis Estill is fifth (1.3 pg). Prince also ranks 11th in rebounding (6.3 rpg).
The Wildcats are second in scoring (76.6 ppg), third in scoring margin (+9.2) and second in rebounding margin (+5.8 rpg). UK is first in rebounding (40.3 rpg) and offensive boards (15.6 orpg). The Cats rank second in blocks (4.8 pg).
In SEC games only, Prince finished the season ranked second in the league in blocked shots with 1.9 bpg. Camara was fourth with 1.4 pg and Estill ranked sixth with 1.3 bpg. Hawkins was third in assists (4.3 apg).
Gerald Fitch was 10th in rebounding in league games with 6.2 rpg, while Prince ranked ninth in FG% (43.5%) and was tied for eighth in scoring (16.4 ppg).
Double-Doubles
Chuck Hayes recorded his first career double-double against South Carolina with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
Tayshaun Prince has tallied five double-doubles this year, including a 16-point, 10-rebound outing against Arkansas.
Gerald Fitch had his second double-double of the year with 13 points and 11 rebounds against Ole Miss after a 16-10 performance against Tulane in early January. He has recorded three double-doubles in his career.
Jules Camara had his best effort of the season against Duke, scoring 10 points while grabbing 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and the fourth of his career.
Current Wildcats who have recorded double-doubles in their career include:
Cat Career DoublesKeith Bogans2Jules Camara4Marquis Estill1Gerald Fitch3Chuck Hayes1Jason Parker2Tayshaun Prince12
Three Mania
Kentucky has hit a three-pointer in 470 consecutive games. UK trails UNLV, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech, which all have similar streaks. UNLV, Vanderbilt and Princeton have hit a three-pointer in every game since the rule was adopted in 1987, but Princeton hasn’t played as many games.
The Wildcats’ last game without a three-pointer came 13 years ago against Seton Hall on Nov. 26, 1988, a “three-point” loss in the Great Alaska Shootout.
Last Time Out
Kentucky lost its first SEC Tournament game in two years when it fell to South Carolina, 70-57, in the quarterfinals. Keith Bogans led the poor-shooting Wildcats with 13 points, while Tayshaun Prince added 12 and Chuck Hayes had 10 points to go with his 13 boards. UK shot a season-low 31.1% including a 1-for-19 effort from three-point range.
Top-10 Assault
Tayshaun Prince joined an elite group of UK basketball players on Feb. 9. With his 18 points in the win over LSU, Prince moved past Louie Dampier (1965-67) and into the top 10 on UK’s all-time scoring list.
His 15 points against UT pushed him past Ed Davender and into ninth on the list. He currently has 1,304 points in his career, just 40 points behind the legendary Alex Groza (1945-49) in eighth. Prince is the first Wildcat to crack the top 10 since Tony Delk in 1996. The ’96 Final Four MVP finished fourth with 1,890 points.
Attendance Leaders
The Cats averaged 21,014 fans per game at Rupp Arena this season to lead the nation again. UK outdistanced Syracuse by an average of nearly 3,000 spectators. North Carolina had finished second last season in average attendance, but the Heels fell to less than 18,000 per game this year. This is the seventh straight year UK has won the national attendance title, the 15th overall since Rupp Arena was opened in 1976-77.
Overtime Trials
The Wildcats have yet to earn an overtime win this season in three tries. The Wildcats have fallen to Duke, 95-92, Miss. State, 74-69, and Tennessee, 76-74.
Kentucky has now played 81 overtime games in 99 seasons, and owns a 44-37 record in those contests.
In the Tubby Smith era, the Cats won their first seven overtime games but have lost their last four over the past two seasons.
The most OT games UK has played in one season was five — 1978-79.
National Exposure
The Cats have appeared on national TV 13 times this season. The Florida game on March 2 marked the unprecedented seventh time on CBS, according to 17-year veteran producer Bob Dekas. The Cats also played six times on ESPN.
SEASON NOTES
SEC Domination
Kentucky is in its 69th season of SEC play. 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.
Good Work, Tayshaun!
Tayshaun Prince represented Kentucky as a featured member of the SEC Good Works Team for the week of March 10-16. The team is comprised of one student-athlete from each of the league’s 12 member institutions. The player must show excellence on the court and a dedication to community service.
Prince has spent much of his career devoting time to community service projects, including visiting local hospitals and serving as a mentor for local elementary students.
Rupp Arena
With the win over Florida on March 2, Kentucky wrapped up play at Rupp Arena this season with a 12-3 record.
At the end of its 26th season in the building, UK owns a 340-39 (89.7%) record in Rupp.
This year, the Cats have won the national attendance title for the seventh straight season. The Wildcats have won 15 national attendance titles in the building.
Big Draw I
This season, the Cats played in front of five of the top 10 regular-season crowds in the nation, including four at home. Kentucky has entertained 10 of the nation’s top-20 crowds as well. Statistics courtesty of the NCAA and include all games through March 3:
Game (Site) Attendance1. UK-Indiana (N) 29,3792. Syracuse-Georgetown 29,2153. UK-Louisville (H) 24,3304. UK-Florida (H) 23,6065. UK-Alabama (H) 23,5446. Syracuse-Virginia Tech 23,2267. UK-North Carolina (H) 23,1538. Syracuse-Boston College 22,9289. Missouri-Illinois 22,15310. UK-Arkansas (H) 22,109
Big Draw II
Kentucky routinely draws an opponent’s top home crowd each season. In fact, in the nine road games the Cats played this year, UK matched or exceeded the team’s average crowd.
Opponent Attendance Opp. Avg.Miss. State 9,347 4,607S. Carolina 12,097 7,975Notre Dame 11,418 10,984Auburn 10,500 9,500Florida 12,212 10,346Tennessee 17,260 13,661LSU 8,549 8,305Georgia 10,523 8,799Vanderbilt 14,168 8,848
Bowie’s Jersey Retired
Former All-American Sam Bowie had his Kentucky jersey retired in a ceremony prior to the Arkansas game on Feb. 23. Bowie, a native of Lebanon, Pa., played for the Cats for three seasons (1980-81, ’84) while battling numerous leg injuires which forced him to miss both the 1982 and ’83 seasons. Yet, he still totaled 1,285 points and averaged 13.4 points and 8.8 rebounds per game during his career. The 7-1 center led the Cats to the 1984 Final Four and earned second-team All-America honors by The Sporting News.
Bowie played 11 seasons in the NBA and worked from 1998-’01 as the analyst on the UK Radio Network. He currently resides in Lexington and is involved in the standardbred horse industry. In 2000, he became the first African-American to be named to the Kentucky Racing Commission.
He becomes the 42nd Wildcat to earn the prestigious honor.
Prince Named Finalist
On Feb. 12, Tayshaun Prince was named one of the 20 finalists for the Naismith College Basketball Player of the Year Award which is presented annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.
Prince was the only SEC player among the finalists. The preseason list was narrowed by the Naismith Board of Selectors, which includes basketball coaches, journalists and administrators.
On Feb. 6, he was named one of the 10 finalists for the inaugural Senior CLASS Award presented by the Kansas City Club.
The CLASS award, an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, will be presented during the Final Four.
Joining Prince as finalists were Maurice Baker (Okla. St.), Lonny Baxter and Juan Dixon (Maryland), Sam Clancy (USC), Dan Dickau (Gonzaga), Lynn Greer (Temple), Udonis Haslem (Florida), Steve Logan (Cincinnati) and Preston Shumpert (Syracuse).
Prince On Wooden List
Tayshaun Prince was among the Top 30 candidates for the Wooden Award in its midseason poll released Dec. 28. Prince was a Wooden All-American last year. This year’s honors will be announced March 26 and include the 10-member All-America team and college basketball’s Most Outstanding Player.
Healthy at Last
The Wildcats have had their share of injuries this season. The return of J.P. Blevins and Adam Chiles to action on Feb. 2 marked the healthiest the squad has been since mid-December.
Blevins, who suffered a broken right wrist on Dec. 22 vs. Indiana, underwent surgery to have a screw inserted into the break on Dec. 27. He missed 10 games due to the injury.
It was not his first injury of the season. He missed the Cats’ first two games of the year with a sprained ankle. He’s played in eight games with three starts, averaging 2.9 ppg and 1.4 rpg while playing 17.5 mpg.
Chiles suffered bruised ribs prior to the Notre Dame game. He missed four games before reappearing against South Carolina on Feb. 2.
Jason Parker suffered two torn ACLs in the same knee prior to the season. After undergoing his second surgery Nov. 1, he’ll miss the entire year. Marquis Estill pulled a back muscle late in the preseason and missed both exhibition games but did return in time to play in the Cats’ first game vs. Western Kentucky.
Rashaad Carruth suffered a high ankle sprain/bone bruise and missed both exhibition games and the Cats’ first four regular-season contests. Gerald Fitch also broke his nose in UK’s first exhibition game against Nike Elite but failed to miss any action.
True Glue
Gerald Fitch earned national attention in early February by Sports Illustrated as a “Glue Guy” – ‘someone who’s versatile, tough, smart, unselfish, but not a star.’ The magazine started the list three years ago, and writer Seth Davis dubbed Fitch the leader of the third annual squad.
“When Keith Bogans was mired in a shooting slump, Fitch helped Kentucky by tossing in points. When Bogans had it going against Florida, Fitch was content to score just two points and contribute six boards, two assists and two steals. That’s called stickin’ it to ’em.”
Also making the team were Duke’s Dahntay Jones, UCLA’s Billy Knight, Maryland’s Byron Mouton, Indiana’s Jarrad Odle and Alabama’s Antoine Pettway.
Ahhhh, Maui
Next Nov. 25-27, the Wildcats will compete in the Maui Invitational. It’s UK first return to the islands since Nov. 1997. Other participating teams include Arizona State, Chaminade, Gonzaga, Indiana, UMass, Utah and Virginia.
Mr. Clutch Strikes Again
Tayshaun Prince has a laundry list of clutch performances during his four-year career at Kentucky. Against Auburn on Jan. 22, he struck again. Prince canned a three-pointer to curtail Auburn’s 14-4 run and give the Cats’ a 57-50 lead. The shot boosted UK on an 8-0 run that iced the game.
Other clutch performances by Prince include a game-winner against Florida last season, scoring 16 of the Cats’ final 23 to lead a comeback at Vanderbilt, a double-clutch three against St. Bonaventure in the 2000 NCAA Tourney and a runner in the lane with 23 seconds to go that lifted UK to a win at Miami that same season.
Eight in a Row
Kentucky continued its dominance at the UCA Cheerleading Championships on Jan. 12 when the Wildcats took the title for the eighth consecutive year. It was the 12th title overall for the team. The UK squad is coached by Saleem Habash with advisor T. Lynn Williamson.
Central Florida finished second in the event, which was held at MGM Grand Studios in Orlando, Fla.
Kentucky has won the event in 1985, ’87, ’88, ’92, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99, 2000, ’01 and ’02.
Three-Point Show
Kentucky set a school record when nine different Wildcats made a three-point field goal in UK’s win over Tulane on Jan. 2. Since the three-point shot was implemented in 1987, no UK squad had ever had nine different Cats can a three in the same game. The nine different “lives” splashed in 16 total treys against the Green Wave, the most in a game in the Tubby Smith Era at Kentucky. It also marked the most since UK canned 16 against UNC Asheville in Dec. 1996.
Prince Named SEC Player of the Week
The Southeastern Conference named Kentucky senior Tayshaun Prince its Player of the Week for Dec. 24-Jan. 1.
The 6-9 senior was very consistent in late December, tallying 17 points and nine rebounds against Duke, 17 and 11 against the Hoosiers and 18 and nine against the Cardinals. The double-double against Indiana was his third this season and the 10th of his career.
It was his first SEC Player of the Week honor this season and the first by a Cat. Prince won the award once as a sophomore and twice last season.
Prince Named SEC POW – Again!
Tayshaun Prince earned his second SEC Player of the Week honor for the week of Feb. 23-March 2 after leading UK to wins over Tennessee and Arkansas. He averaged 15.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg and posted his fifth double-double of the season against the Hogs with 16 points and 10 rebounds. It was the fifth career POW honor for Prince.
Stone Dismissed
Marvin Stone was dismissed from the Kentucky men’s basketball team on Dec. 27. The 6-10 junior failed to return from the holiday break and became the first player to be dismissed from the Wildcats’ basketball team in Smith’s five seasons.
Stone averaged 5.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He saw action in all nine contests, starting the first two, and averaged 13.9 minutes per game.
The Huntsville, Ala., native totaled 397 points and 314 rebounds in his career after playing in 75 games with 11 starts.
He transferred to Louisville.
Cawood’s Court
The new floor at Rupp Arena was named “Cawood’s Court” in ceremonies before the Louisville game. The tribute honors Cawood Ledford, who was the beloved “Voice of the Wildcats” for 39 years (1953-92). Ledford passed away in early September following a long battle with cancer.
The ceremony included the unveiling of a logo courtside not far from where he called all the action and a donation by two area businesses to the Cawood Ledford Scholarship Fund at UK. The fund was established in 1992 to assist former student-athletes in completing their degrees.
Hawk’s Shooting Eye
Cliff Hawkins recorded back-to-back career highs in December.
The sophomore tallied 15 points against Duke, including nine of the Cats’ first 11 in overtime. He then returned to score 17 points against Indiana four days later. For the week, he averaged 16 ppg and 4.0 apg.
Within the Borders
Kentucky’s 20-point win over Louisville closed out a four-game schedule this season with state schools. UK finished with a 3-1 record in those games. It was the most games with in-state schools since the 1920-21 season.
The Cats fell to Western Kentucky and defeated Morehead State, Kentucky State and Louisville. They faced Kentucky Wesleyan, Cumberland, Georgetown and Centre during the ’21 season, posting a 5-1 record in the meetings.
Carruth Burned Devils
Rashaad Carruth broke out against Duke, taking control of the offensive end during the first half to total 14 points in the period after scoring 12 all season.
He finished the game with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting and set or tied career highs in every category.
Carruth missed the first month of the season with a high ankle sprain and played in only three games prior to the Duke contest.
Vs. Top-Five Teams
The win over No. 5 Florida improved Kentucky’s record to 50-41 all-time against top-five teams, including a 1-1 mark this season. Kentucky dropped an overtime thriller to No. 1 Duke in December.
Under Tubby Smith, UK is 6-6 against the top-five teams. The list is based on the team’s ranking in The Associated Press poll at the time the game was played. Against teams ranked fifth, UK is 16-9 all-time.
Cats vs. No. 1 Teams
After falling to top-ranked Duke, 95-92, in overtime on Dec. 18, Kentucky fell to 4-9 against No.1-ranked teams in the AP poll since 1949.
The Wildcats played Duke two other times when the Blue Devils were ranked No. 1 in the country. Duke won both games, 80-55 on Nov. 19, 1988 and 104-103 in overtime on March 28, 1992.
Kentucky’s last win over a top-ranked team was an 81-74 victory against UMass at the Meadowlands in the NCAA Semifinals on March 30, 1996.
December to Remember
Kentucky kicked off a highly anticipated December schedule of great rivalries on Dec. 8 with a 79-59 rout of North Carolina. After 118-63 win over Kentucky State, the Wildcats lost a thrilling overtime game to No. 1 Duke, 95-92, in the Jimmy V Classic. After holding Indiana to 32.1% shooting in a 66-52 win in the RCA Dome, the Cats finished off the Rick Pitino-coached Louisville Cards, 82-62.
UK By Months
The Wildcats hold a 510-176 all-time record in the month of January for a .743 winning percentage. UK finished the month with a 5-3 mark.
UK closed out February on the road with a loss at Vanderbilt. The Cats were again 5-3 during the month. The Wildcats own a 582-182 (76.2%) all-time record in February.
TREY-Shaun’s Game
Tayshaun Prince’s effort vs. UNC won’t soon be forgotten. Along with his three-point shooting display, Prince totaled 31 points, 11 rebounds and four steals. He matched his career scoring and steals totals. It was his second consecutive double-double, the ninth of his career.
Prince’s streak of five three-pointers on five straight possessions to start the North Carolina game were the first of seven for the game, all coming in the opening half. His fifth, just a few inches inside the “U” at center court, measured nearly 30′.
His seven 3FGs in a half tied Derrick Miller for the most threes scored in a half at Kentucky. Miller also drained seven to start the Kansas game on Dec. 9, 1989 before finishing with eight threes in the game.
Prince’s seven, however, were the most treys recorded by a Wildcat in Rupp Arena as Miller’s came in the Jayhawks’ storied Allen Field House.
Queen City Mark
In November, Kentucky played its fifth consecutive season at the Firstar Center in Cincinnati, defeating Kent State, 82-68. The Wildcats are now 6-1 all-time in the arena.
Season Openers
Kentucky is 81-18 in season openers after its loss to Western Kentucky in the NABC Classic. Last season, the Cats were upset in New York by St. John’s, 62-61. Tubby Smith is 8-3 in season openers during his head coaching career.
Home Openers
Kentucky is 84-15 all-time in home openers after the loss to WKU. Nine of those losses occurred before Adolph Rupp began coaching in 1930. The Cats are 65-6 since 1930, losing the home opener in 1955 to Temple, 1962 to Va. Tech, 1972 to Iowa, 1988 to Northwestern State, 2000 to Penn State and this season to Western Kentucky.
UK now stands at 23-3 in home openers at Rupp Arena.
PRESEASON NOTES
AP Names Prince All-America
Forward Tayshaun Prince added yet another honor to his resume in November as he was named to the The Associated Press Preseason All-America team, the only senior on the list.
Prince joined Duke’s Jason Williams, Stanford’s Casey Jacobsen, Missouri’s Kareem Rush and Illinois’ Frank Williams.
Prince is just the second Wildcat to earn the preseason honor from the AP since the national news organization began naming a preseason team in 1985. Jamal Mashburn was a preseason All-American prior to the 1992-93 season.
Prince also was named first-team Preseason All-America by collegeinsider.com, Athlon Sports, Blue Ribbon Basketball, The Sporting News and Basketball News.
He was a second-team selection by AP at the end of last season.
Parker Injury
Jason Parker underwent his second ACL surgery on his right knee in four months when he had a patella tendon autograft performed by team physicians Darren Johnson and Scott Mair on Nov. 1. Parker injured the knee June 24 in a pickup basketball game and had his initial surgery July 2. He retore the ligament prior to introductions for Big Blue Madness on Oct. 12.
Parker has missed the 2001-02 season as a redshirt. He will have three years of eligibility remaining.
Their Old Kentucky Home
This season’s roster boasts six products from the Bluegrass State, the most since the 1991 season.
J.P. Blevins (Edmonton), Marquis Estill (Richmond), Cory Sears (Corbin), Matt Heissenbuttel (Lexington), Josh Carrier (Bowling Green) and Adam Chiles (Louisville) all hail from within the state’s borders.
In ’91, Reggie Hanson, Richie Farmer, John Pelphrey, Deron Feldhaus, Michael Parks and Todd Bearup all came from Kentucky. Much like Sears and Heissenbuttel, Parks and Bearup were both walk-ons 11 seasons ago.
Face Lift
Fans who attended UK home games this past season recognized changes at floor level. In addition to the new floor that was purchased last summer, courtside fan seating was added as well. Twenty-two new “scholarship seats” displaced some traditional media seating and were installed on press row. The 22 seats were sold for $313,000 a pair and the revenue generated has gone to endow all 13 men’s basketball scholarships. There are still three pairs remaining to be sold.
Kentucky celebrated its 25th season in the first built-for-basketball arena last year, playing for a quarter of a century on the original floor. Pieces of the original floor were auctioned off prior to the charity game, “A Night of True Champions,” on Aug. 11, raising more than $38,000. The money was split between the UK Basketball Museum, the KHSAA and the Lexington Civic Center for the purchase of the new floor.
The new floor was designed by UK in conjunction with Lexington Civic Center officials. It was constructed by Robbins, Inc., in Cincinnati, Ohio at a cost of $125,000.
BIG BLUE MANIA
Back In Town
Several former Wildcats have appeared back in the Bluegrass during the winter. Heshimu Evans, Kentucky’s spark off the bench in the Cats’ drive to the ’98 title, has been playing this season in Portugal. He was home at the end of January on a one-week break and participated in the “KENTUCKY” cheer at the Cats’ game with Alabama on Jan. 26.
Jeff Sheppard, the 1998 Final Four MVP, is back from his professional playing career in Italy. He was spotted updating his resume in CATS in January. He’s living in London, Ky., with his wife Stacey, a former star of the women’s team, and their daughter, Madison.
Allen Edwards, a teammate of Sheppard’s, is back in school on the Cawood Ledford Scholarship fund. He’s one of three Wildcats taking advantage of the fund, which allows former student-athletes to return to school after their eligibility has expired to complete their degree requirments. Also enrolled is Derrick Miller (’90) and Dale Brown (’93).
Jared Prickett (’97) returned from his professional career in Argentina due to the South America country’s severe recession. He’s now playing in Europe.
Keightley In 41st Season, Works 1,250th Game
Equipment manager Bill Keightley is in his 41st season in the UK program. Against Auburn, the beloved Mr. Wildcat worked his 1,250th UK game, after serving on the Wildcats’ staff since 1961-62. He’s watched the Cats roll to a 964-297 record during that era.
Keightley, 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.
Wiggins Passes 1,200
Big Blue fan Bob Wiggins continues his amazing streak of following the basketball Cats. In all, he’s in his 49th season watching Kentucky play in person and through his own record-keeping, has attended 1,219 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 205 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 2001-02 NBA season, the following Wildcats were active:
Derek Anderson Portland Tony Delk Boston Walter McCarty Boston Jamaal Magloire Charlotte Jamal Mashburn Charlotte Ron Mercer Indiana Nazr Mohammed Atlanta Scott Padgett Utah Mark Pope Milwaukee 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.
— Go Cats —
