Dec. 27, 2001
LEXINGTON, Ky. –
Louisville Cardinals (9-1)
vs.
No. 6/8 Kentucky Wildcats (7-2)
GAME #10
Dec. 29, 2001
4:05 p.m. ET
Rupp Arena (23,000)
Lexington, Ky.
UK RADIO NETWORK
90+ stations: Tom Leach, Mike Pratt and Dave Baker.
TELEVISION
CBS Sports: Jim Nantz and Billy Packer.
UKathletics.com
Official site carries live audio from the UK Radio Network for each game. Enhanced coverage includes live statistics for all home games. Also adds the latest on the 2001-02 Wildcats including season statistics, photos and records.
vs. Louisville
Series Record: UK leads 22-10
In Lexington: UK leads 12-3
In Louisville: UK leads 8-5
At Neutral Sites: Tied at 2
Last Game: Jan. 2, 2001 — UK 64, UL 62
Website: uoflsports.com
Rivals Meet in Season’s Most Anticipated Game
On a schedule that boasts pre-conference meetings with the likes of tradition-rich North Carolina and defending national champion Duke, one date has loomed all season — Dec. 29. The Cats’ annual game with Louisville holds special significance this year as Cardinals’ coach Rick Pitino returns to Rupp Arena for the first time since he left his post as the UK coach in 1997.
Pitino added a new element to the U of L rivalry in March when he took over for Hall of Fame coach Denny Crum after resigning from the Boston Celtics as President and Head Coach last January.
The nationally televised contest marks the first time a former Kentucky head coach has returned to Rupp Arena to face the Wildcats with another team.
The Skinny
Kentucky enters the contest having won seven of its last eight games. Its loss to top-ranked Duke in overtime last week was followed by a convincing 66-52 victory over Indiana in the RCA Dome on Saturday.
Louisville just completed an eight-game homestand where it won all eight games. The Cardinals have suffered only one defeat this season in their only road game to date — a 90-63 loss at Oregon.
Both teams may be without key players. UK senior point guard J.P. Blevins broke his wrist in the win over Indiana last week and will be out for 4-6 weeks. U of L sophomore forward Luke Whitehead has been suffering from a sprained back which he injured in a terrible collision against Coppin State on Dec. 12. He attempted to play against Ohio State in the next game but has since missed the last three contests. His status is uncertain.
Series History
This is the 33rd meeting between the two teams. UK is riding a two-game win streak in the series after dropping two consecutive decisions to the Cardinals. Kentucky was 5-5 entering last year’s game and came away with a 64-62 win after Tayshaun Prince canned two free throws with 26 seconds remaining on the clock.
This is the 21st meeting between Kentucky and Louisville since the series was renewed in 1983. UK leads the renewal segment 13-7. The series began in 1913 with UK winning seven of the first nine contests. The teams then met three times in the NCAA Tournament between 1948-59. After a 24-year absence, the series was renewed at the 1983 Mideast Region title game in Knoxville with Louisville winning the “Dream Game,” 80-68 in overtime to advance to the Final Four.
Coach Tubby Smith is 2-2 against Louisville. Coach Rick Pitino has never faced the Wildcats on the hardwood but posted a 6-2 record against the Cards in his eight seasons at the helm of the UK program.
At Georgia, Smith had an 0-5 record against Pitino-coached Kentucky. The teams met twice in ’96 and three times in ’97, including the ’97 SEC Tournament Championship game.
Louisville is located 71 miles west of Lexington via Interstate 64.
Vs. CUSA
Kentucky is 127-43 (.743) against current members of Conference USA. The Louisville game is the first of two against CUSA teams this season. Next Wednesday, UK will battle Tulane, a former member of the SEC.
Blevins Out
Point guard J.P. Blevins broke his right wrist against Indiana and will be out of action for 4-6 weeks.
Blevins suffered the injury during a lay-up attempt in the first half against the Hoosiers. X-rays performed at the University of Kentucky Hospital on Wednesday confirmed the fracture.
He had played in seven of the nine games this season with three starts. He averaged 2.7 points and 1.4 assists per game. He missed the first two games of the season – the NABC Classic – with a severely sprained right ankle that he injured in the Athletes in Action exhibition game on Nov. 11.
Coaching Comparisons
Orlando "Tubby" Smith (High Point '73) Overall (11th year) 241-97 (71.3%) at UK (5th year) 117-35 (77.0%) SEC Tournament (6 yrs.) 13-3 (81.3%) NCAA Tournament (8 yrs.) 18-7 (72.0%) vs. Louisville 2-2
Rick Pitino (UMass ’74) Overall (16th year) 361-125 (74.3%) at UL (1st year) 9-1 (90.0%) vs. Kentucky 0-0
Team Comparisons
Cats CardsRecord 7-2 9-1Scoring Offense 85.8 78.8Scoring Defense 67.3 66.0Scoring Margin +18.4 +12.8FG % 47.3 43.6FG % Defense 39.2 40.23FG % 30.9 28.53FG % Defense 31.4 28.0Free Throw % 65.6 58.2Rebound Average 46.1 41.4Opponent Rebound Average 33.2 41.7Rebound Margin +12.9 -0.3TO Average 16.2 15.0Opponent TO 18.9 20.7TO Margin +2.7 +5.7Blocks Average 4.3 4.6Steals Average 7.9 9.4
That First Staff
Rick Pitino’s first coaching staff at Kentucky (1989-90) consisted of Associate Coach Ralph Willard (Holy Cross), Assistant Coach Tubby Smith (Kentucky), Assistant Coach Herb Sendek (NC State) and Graduate Assistant Coach Billy Donovan (Florida). The group guided “Pitino’s Bombinos” to a surprising 14-14 record with no Cat taller than 6-7.
The second season, Willard departed for Western Kentucky and Smith was named associate coach. Bernadette Mattox, now the UK women’s coach, joined the staff as UK went 20-6 and recorded the best record in the SEC in 1991. Smith became the Tulsa head coach after two seasons at Kentucky.
Pitino’s Cat Highlights
Louisville coach Rick Pitino enjoyed eight successful seasons as UK’s head coach, including a national championship in 1996 and a return trip to the title game in 1997 before he took over the NBA’s struggling Boston Celtics in May 1997. At UK, he compiled a 219-50 (81.4%) record, winning two SEC Championships and five SEC Tournament titles. He had his jersey retired in the rafters of Rupp Arena at his farewell dinner in July 1997. Other UK highlights include:
1996 AP Coach of the Year
Three Final Four appearances (1993, 1996 & 1997)
Coached three SEC Players of the Year, three All-Americans (Jamal Mashburn, Tony Delk and Ron Mercer), 12 All-SEC players and four All-SEC Freshman team members.
Minardi Fund
A statewide art project features 144 Wildcats decorated by regional artists and displayed throughout the Bluegrass State this season. The fundraising effort, entitled “Wildcat Madness,” will generate approximately $500,000 for the UK Basketball Museum.
Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, artist Hunter Faulkner cloaked an additional Wildcat in red, white and blue glass that resembles the U.S. flag. The Cat may make a national tour and the sponsorship dollars raised will benefit the “Billy Minardi Fund,” a charity named after Rick Pitino’s brother-in-law who was killed during the attack on the World Trade Center. The fund has been established to assist the attack victim’s children with college expenses.
Minardi was in attendance at UK’s NCAA Tournament games last March in Long Island.
Fur & Feathers
Kentucky opened the 2001 calendar with a win over Louisville. If the Cats can close the book on 2001 with another win over the Cards, UK will have finished a successful 12 months with a 27-6 record.
For the past seven years, the team that has won the annual football game — UK or U of L — went on to lose the basketball game. The football series was renewed in 1994, and Louisville has won the gridiron contest in ’95, ’96, ’99 and ’00. Following the fooball season, UK captured the basketball victory in ’95, ’96, ’99 and ’01. The other three years, UK won the football contest and the Cards won in hoops.
This past fall, U of L handed UK a season-opening loss in Commonwealth Stadium, 36-10, and if the mysterious streak continues, UK should be the victor this season on the hardwood.
UK freshman Adam Chiles is a Louisville native and played high school ball at Ballard with Cards’ freshman Brandon Bender. The two were part of the 1999 Kentucky Sweet 16 Championship and finished their careers with a 32-2 record in 2001.
U of L freshman guard Alhaji “Junior” Mohammed is the brother of former UK forward Nazr Mohammed, who signed a long-term contract with the Atlanta Hawks last summer. Nazr was part of two national championship teams at UK (1996 & ’98) before departing after his junior year for the NBA draft. Alhaji wears his brother’s jersey number — 13.
Tayshaun Prince and U of L’s Ellis Myles hail from the same hometown, Compton, Calif., but went to different high schools. Prince played at Dominguez, while Myles attended Centennial.
Student manager Aaron Howard, a graduate student, has a brother, Anderson, who’s a senior at U of L and serves as a student manager for the Cardinals. Their father, Terry, lettered for U of L from 1972-75.
Did You Know?
Did you know that Oklahoma State head coach Eddie Sutton (1986-89) is the only former UK head coach to return to Rupp Arena coaching another collegiate team. His Cowboys played at the venue in both the 1992 and 1998 NCAA Tournaments.
Note: Rick Pitino coached the Celtics in two preseason exhibition games at Rupp Arena during his four years in Boston.
Cawood’s Court
The new floor at Rupp Arena will be named “Cawood’s Court” in pregame ceremonies. 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 will include the unveiling of a logo courtside not far from where he called all the action. The ceremony also will include 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 Scoring
Cliff Hawkins recorded back-to-back career highs in the last two outings as he continues to become more comfortable in his starting role.
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 on Saturday. For the week, he averaged 16 ppg and 4.0 apg.
Within the Borders
The game with Louisville is the fourth and final game with a Kentucky college on the 2001-02 schedule, the most since the 1920-21 season.
The Cats have already played Western Kentucky, Morehead State and Kentucky State. They faced Kentucky Wesleyan, Cumberland, Georgetown and Centre during the ’21 season, posting a 5-1 record in the meetings.
Bench Production
The Wildcats have utilized their deep bench this season and for good reason. The bench has contributed 31.0 ppg and 17.1 rpg and has recorded more than 19 points in every game but the Western Kentucky loss which saw the reserves score only eight points.
Starting Switches
Tubby Smith has a deep roster this season which allows him multiple lineups. Nine games into the season, the Wildcats have started four different combinations.
Only Tayshaun Prince, Gerald Fitch and Keith Bogans have started all eight games. Cliff Hawkins has started six games at the point while injured running mate J.P. Blevins has three starts. Marquis Estill (5), Marvin Stone (2) and Jules Camara (2) have all split time inside.
Three Mania
Against Indiana, Kentucky became just the fourth team in the nation to hit a three-pointer in 450 consecutive games. UK trails UNLV, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech who have already reached the milestone. UNLV, Vanderbilt and Princeton have hit a three-pointer in every game since the rule was adopted in 1987, but Princeton has yet to play 450 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.
Cats In The Stats
Kentucky has increased production on the offensive end after a disappointing 52-point performance to open the season against Western Kentucky. The Cats are now averaging a league-leading 85.8 ppg this season, the most since the Cats averaged 91.4 ppg during the 1996 championship season. Since falling to WKU, Kentucky is averaging 90.0 ppg in its last eight games.
Coach Tubby Smith has always made solid defense his top priority and this year is no different. In the first nine games, teams have combined to shoot 39.2% from the field highlighted by Indiana’s 32.1% shooting, the best UK defensive effort of the season. Duke used a 63.6% effort in overtime to push its FG shooting to 46.4% for the game, the best effort by an opponent this season. In Smith’s four previous years at Kentucky, opponents have combined to shoot less than 40% from the field three times.
Kentucky leads the nation in rebounding margin this season, outrebounding opponents by an average of 12.9 rpg, the greatest rebound margin at UK since 1956-57. That season, the Cats outrebounded opponents by 15.7 rpg. UK has averaged 46.1 rpg, while opponents have grabbed 33.2 rpg.
In other NCAA statistics, the Wildcats entered last week (Dec. 17) ranked seventh in scoring (22.1 ppg) and eighth in scoring margin (22.1 ppg) while junior Marquis Estill ranked 10th in FG percentage (64.8%). UK’s 118 points against Kentucky State were the fourth-most points scored in a game this season. NCAA Division I statistics are updated each Tuesday throughout the season.
In the Southeastern Conference rankings, UK’s Tayshaun Prince is second in scoring (18.3 ppg) while Cliff Hawkins ranks ninth in assists (3.89 apg). The Wildcats are first in scoring (85.8 ppg), rebounding (46.1 rpg), rebounding margin (12.9 rpg) and offensive rebounds (18.4 orpg).
Vs. Ranked Opponents
No. 1 Duke was the first ranked opponent the Cats faced this season.
UK in December
The Wildcats hold a 426-101 record in the month of December for a stellar .808 winning percentage. The mark is the best of any month for the Cats. Last season, UK was 4-2 during December. At home, the Cats are 275-37 (88.1%) all-time during the year’s 12th month.
Next Game
Former UK assistant Shawn Finney will face the Wildcats for the first time as a head coach when his Tulane Green Wave meets the Cats in Louisville’s Freedom Hall on Jan. 2.
In just his second season at Tulane, Finney has led his team to an 8-1 start with wins over Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech. The Green Wave’s only loss came at the hands of then-No. 6 Florida. It’s only the third time in 50 years that the Wave has opened the season at 8-1. TU faces Mississippi State on Saturday in New Orleans.
Finney was an assistant under Tubby Smith at Tulsa, Georgia and Kentucky.
The first game of the new year is UK’s annual neutral site game at Freedom Hall.
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 will finish off a tough 12-day stretch against archrival Louisville.
National Exposure
The Indiana game marked Kentucky’s third appearance on national television this season.
Kentucky will appear six times on ESPN and seven times on CBS.
Records Watch
Tayshaun Prince’s seven three-pointers against the Tar Heels catapulted him into fifth place on UK’s all-time made 3FG list. He currently has 159 in his career and needs one more to to tie John Pelphrey fourth place.
Both Prince and Keith Bogans continue to climb UK’s list of all-time scoring leaders. Prince moved into the top-20 with 17 points against Indiana and sits at 20th with 1,380 points, while Bogans is 39th with 1,108.
Last Time Out
The Wildcats held Indiana to its lowest point total in the series since 1976 in a 66-52 win in the RCA Dome. It was the largest margin of victory by either team in the facility.
The Cats held the Hoosiers to 32.1% shooting from the field and 18 FGs, both season lows by a UK opponent.
Tayshaun Prince recorded his third double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Cliff Hawkins’ 17 points were a career best for the second consecutive game.
National Polls
UK began the season ranked fourth in both major polls.
After dropping in the rankings two consecutive weeks following its season-opening loss to Western Kentucky, the Cats have steadily climbed back into the top 10. They sit at sixth in the AP and eighth in the Coaches poll.
Double-Doubles
Tayshaun Prince posted his third double-double of the season against the Hoosiers with 17 points and 11 rebounds. He had back-to-back double-doubles earlier this month against VMI and North Carolina.
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 Doubles Keith Bogans 2 Jules Camara 4 Marquis Estill 1 Gerald Fitch 1 Jason Parker 2Tayshaun Prince 10 Marvin Stone 1
1,000 Point ClubNo. Points Wildcat (Years)1. 2,138 Dan Issel (1968-70)2. 2,080 Kenny Walker (1983-86)3. 2,038 Jack Givens (1975-78)4. 1,890 Tony Delk (1993-96)5. 1,843 Jamal Mashburn (1991-93)6. 1,801 Kevin Grevey (1973-75)7. 1,770 Cotton Nash (1962-64)8. 1,744 Alex Groza (1945-49)9. 1,637 Ed Davender (1985-88)10. 1,575 Louie Dampier (1965-67)11. 1,535 Mike Casey (1968-69, 71)12. 1,517 Ralph Beard (1946-49)13. 1,509 Melvin Turpin (1981-84)14. 1,475 Cliff Hagan (1951-52, 54)15. 1,464 Pat Riley (1965-67)16. 1,461 Johnny Cox (1957-59)17. 1,411 Kyle Macy (1978-80)18. 1,399 Winston Bennett (1984-88)19. 1,395 Rick Robey (1975-78)20. 1,380 Tayshaun Prince (1999-02)21. 1,367 Mike Phillips (1975-78)22. 1,359 Mike Pratt (1968-70)23. 1,344 Frank Ramsey (1951-52, 54)024. 1,320 Jim Andrews (1971-73)25. 1,285 Sam Bowie (1981-84)26. 1,283 Jim Master (1981-84)27. 1,257 John Pelphrey (1989-92)28. 1,252 Scott Padgett (1995-99)29. 1,238 Tom Parker (1970-72)30. 1,232 Deron Feldhaus (1988-92)31. 1,220 Derrick Hord (1980-83)32. 1,213 Bill Spivey (1950-51)33. 1,208 Rodrick Rhodes (1993-95)34. 1,170 Wayne Turner (1996-99)35. 1,167 Reggie Hanson (1988-91)36. 1,156 Derrick Miller (1987-90)37. 1,153 Vernon Hatton (1956-58)38. 1,151 Wallace Jones (1946-49)39. 1,108 Keith Bogans (2000-02)40. 1,091 Jeff Sheppard (1994-96, ’98)41. 1,076 Bill Lickert (1959-61)42. 1,073 Rex Chapman (1987-88)43. 1,069 Dirk Minniefield (1980-83)44. 1,064 Jamaal Magloire (1997-00)45. 1,041 Jim Line (1947-50)46. 1,023 Bob Burrow (1955-56)47. 1,013 Ron Mercer (1996-97)48. 1,009 Jimmy Dan Conner (1973-75)49. 1,001 Bobby Watson (1950-52)
SEASON NOTES
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.
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.
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.
Walk-on Wonder
After relinquishing his scholarship in June to keep the Cats compliant with the NCAA limit of 13 scholarships, Marquis Estill grabbed national attention.
Once he moved into the starting role at power forward for five games early in the season, Estill again earned notice. Of the school’s listed in the AP Top 25 at the time, he was the ONLY walk-on starter.
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-American
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.
Conference Supremacy
Kentucky was picked to finish first in the SEC by a media vote at the conference’s annual media day on Nov. 1.
Tayshaun Prince also was predicted to repeat as SEC Player of the Year, while he and Bogans both were named first-team Preseason All-SEC.
Men’s Basketball PredictionsChampion – Kentucky (20), Florida (3).
Eastern Division
1. Kentucky (20) 26
2. Florida (3) 43
3. Tennessee 76
4. South Carolina 98
5. Georgia 105
6. Vanderbilt 123
Western Division
1. Alabama (15) 33
2. Arkansas (5) 60
3. Ole Miss (2) 66
4. Auburn (1) 78
5. LSU 121
6. Mississippi State 125
All-SEC First Team
G – Brett Nelson, Florida 17
G – Keith Bogans, Kentucky 15
C – Udonis Haslem, Florida 22
F – Tayshaun Prince, Kentucky 22
G/F – Rod Grizzard, Alabama 11
Prince, Bogans on Wooden List
Tayshaun Prince and Keith Bogans were both named to the preseason Wooden Award Candidate list for 2001-02.
Only 50 college basketball players make the prestigious list, which culminates in the presentation of the Wooden Award for the nation’s best collegiate basketball player each April.
The award was started in 1976 and has seen past winners that include Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Tim Duncan. No Kentucky Wildcat has ever claimed the honor.
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 will miss the 2001-02 season as a redshirt. He will have three years of eligibility remaining.
Production Return
Kentucky lost one senior from last year, returning 12 lettermen and four starters from a team that finished as co-champions of the Southeastern Conference and won the league tournament. With the loss of Jason Parker for the season, the numbers change to three returning starters. The statistics below reflect the returning production, excluding Parker:
Points 80.6%
Rebounds 82.4%Assists 71.4%Blocks 83.4%Steals 72.1%
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 attending UK home games will recognize changes at floor level. In addition to the new floor that was purchased last summer, courtside fan seating has been added as well. Currently, 20 new “scholarship seats” have displaced some traditional media seating and been installed on press row. The 20 seats were sold for $313,000 a pair and the revenue generated will go to endow all 13 men’s basketball scholarships. There are still four 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
Chapman Makes Dunk List
Former Wildcat Rex Chapman made the list of Slam Magazine’s top-50 dunkers of all-time. Chapman, who played two seasons (1987-88) before becoming a first-round draft pick of the Charlotte Hornets, was No. 35 on the list.
The top five were Vince Carter, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Julius Erving and Jackie Jackson. Not on the list was former Cat Kenny Walker, who won the NBA’s slam dunk contest in 1993.
Keightley In 41st Season
Kentucky equipment manager Bill Keightley is in his 41st season in the UK program. The beloved Mr. Wildcat has served UK since 1961-62, watching the Cats roll to a 951-291 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 1,200 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 186 games.
Meanwhile, his home court streak is still intact. Wiggins has not missed a home game in 41 years, a streak spanning 581 games. During that period, which dates back to 1960-61, UK has a home record of 517-64.
UK’s NBA Players
To start the 2001-02 NBA season, the following Wildcats were active:
Derek Anderson – Portland
Tony Delk – Phoenix
Walter McCarty – Boston
Jamaal Magloire – Charlotte
Jamal Mashburn – Charlotte
Ron Mercer – Chicago
Nazr Mohammed – Atlanta
Scott Padgett – Utah
Mark Pope – Milwaukee
Antoine Walker – BostonIn 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 —
