Dec. 4, 2001
LEXINGTON, Ky. –
Virginia Military Keydets (1-2)
vs.
No. 11/12 Kentucky Wildcats (3-1)
Cats Begin Tough December Schedule, 1,800 Approaches
Kentucky begins what promises to be a highly competitve December schedule when it opens play against Virginia Military Institute. The Wildcats play host to North Carolina on Saturday, a pre-final exam week battle, before facing Duke, Indiana and Louisville within a 12-day stretch during the Christmas holiday.
The Wildcats need two wins to become the first team in college basketball to record 1,800 victories. Now at 1,798, UK can reach the milestone with two wins this week. Ironically, No. 1,800 could come against North Carolina on Saturday at Rupp Arena. The Tar Heels are No. 2 nationally in all-time wins with 1,782.
Kentucky enters the week riding a three-game winning streak. The Cats’ last action came one week ago, an 82-68 win over Mid-American Conference favorite Kent State in Cincinnati. The Wildcats got a solid effort from Cliff Hawkins off the bench. The sophomore totaled a career-high 12 points and six assists in 31 minutes against the Golden Flashes.
VMI makes its second trip to the Bluegrass State in as many weeks. The squad, which hails from Lexington, Va., is 1-2 after losing at Morehead State last Wednesday, 98-87, before falling at Virginia Tech Monday, 74-73.
VMI coach Bart Bellairs, 45, is a native of Richmond, Ky.
Series Information
Series Record: UK leads 4-2
In Lexington, Ky.: UK leads 1-0
In Lexington, Va.: VMI leads 2-0
At Neutral Sites: UK leads 3-0
Last Game: Dec. 30, 1985 – UK 95, VMI 55
Website: www.vmi.edu/athletics
PROBABLE STARTERS
WILDCATSNo. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Ppg Rpg Hometown Last Game21 Tayshaun Prince F 6-9 215 Sr. 15.3 4.5 Compton, Calif. 17 pts, 5 rebs50 Marquis Estill F 6-9 240 Jr. 12.8 4.3 Richmond, Ky. 19 pts, 6 rebs4 Gerald Fitch G 6-3 185 So. 7.0 4.5 Macon, Ga. 6 pts, 5 rebs10 Keith Bogans G 6-5 205 Jr. 17.3 6.0 Alexandria, Va. 19 pts, 6 rebs3 J.P. Blevins G 6-2 181 Sr. 0.0 *1.5 Edmonton, Ky. 0 pts, 3 rebs
KEYDETSNo. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Ppg Rpg Hometown Last Game20 Jason Conley F 6-4 175 Fr. 27.3 7.7 Chevy Chase, Md. 26 pts, 12 rebs34 Radee Skipworth F 6-6 195 So. 18.3 4.7 Hershey, Pa. 11 pts, 3 rebs4 Zach Batte F 6-9 215 Fr. 0.7 1.7 Idaho Falls, Idaho 0 pts, 0 rebs11 Ben Rand G 5-11 160 So. 13.0 4.0 South Boston, Va. 21 pts, 6 rebs22 Daron Pressley G 6-0 160 So. 2.7 4.7 Landisville, Pa. 2 pts, 4 rebs *Assists
Tickets Available
Plenty of tickets are still available for UK’s home game with VMI on Dec. 5 while only a few remain for the Kentucky State game on Dec. 15. In addition, tickets can be ordered for the Indiana game played in the RCA Dome at Indianapolis on Dec. 22.
Seats for VMI and Kentucky State are $17 each while the IU tickets are priced at $30 apiece. They can be purchased at the Memorial Coliseum ticket office (M-F, 9-4 p.m.), via phone with a Visa or MasterCard (800-928-CATS) or on the web at ukathletics.com.
Tulane tickets for Jan. 2 at Freedom Hall are $22 each and available by mail only. Make check or money order payable to UKAA, c/o Memorial Coliseum Ticket Office, Rm. 111, Lexington, KY 40506-0019 and add $2 to each order for postage and handling.
Series History
This will be the seventh meeting between the two teams but the first in 16 years. Kentucky took the last meeting, a 95-55 decision in Louisville on Dec. 30, 1985. The teams have met only one time in Lexington, Ky., a 72-56 UK win on Dec. 1, 1960.
The series dates back 87 years. VMI’s two victories occurred in the teams’ first two meetings — Christmas Eve, 1914, a 32-18 win by the Keydets, and Feb. 9, 1922, a 37-32 victory.
UK vs. Southern Conference
Kentucky holds a near perfect record against current Southern Conference opponents at 21-2. That record includes a 10-0 mark against Chattanooga. The Wildcats only two SoCon losses have come at the hands of VMI.
UK in December
The Wildcats hold a 422-100 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 273-37 (88.1%) all-time during the year’s 12th month.
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 against Morehead State, Estill again earned notice. Of the school’s listed in this week’s AP Top 25, Estill is the ONLY walk-on starter. He’s averaging 12.8 ppg, third on the team, and 4.3 rpg.
Cats on the Glass
Kentucky has hit the boards thus far this season, outrebounding opponents by an average of 9.0 rpg, which ranks No. 2 in the SEC this season. UK has averaged 43.8 rpg, while opponents have grabbed 34.8 rpg. UK has led the league in offensive rebounds, averaging 19.0 per game.
Not bad for a squad that’s led in rebounding by 6-5 guard Keith Bogans, who plays mostly small forward. After grabbing as many rebounds as the UK band (none) in the exhibition game against Athletes in Action, he accepted Coach Tubby Smith’s challenge to make rebounding a top priority and is now averaging 6.0 rpg. Last year he averaged 4.6 per contest.
Records Watch
Tayshaun Prince’s two three-pointers against Kent State moved him into a tie with Jamal Mashburn for eighth place on UK’s all-time made 3FG list. He needs four more to capture seventh place.
Both Prince and Keith Bogans continue to climb UK’s list of all-time scoring leaders. Prince is 26th with 1,276 points, while Bogans moved into 44th against Kent State with 1,057.
Last Time Out
Keith Bogans and Marquis Estill led four scorers in double figures with 19 points each as the Cats sailed to an 82-68 win over Kent State.
Cliff Hawkins was a spark off the UK bench, contributing a career-best 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including a perfect 2-for-2 mark from 3FG range. He added six assists in his 31 minutes of play.
Injury Updates
Prior to the first exhibition game, Rashaad Carruth suffered an ankle sprain in practice and has not played in a single game this season. The freshman has returned to practice and is listed as probable for the VMI game.
National Polls
UK began the season ranked fourth in both major polls.
After dropping in the polls two consecutive weeks following its season-opening loss to Western Kentucky, UK climbed two spots in both polls this week, to 11th in the AP, 12th in the Coaches rankings.
Three Mania
Kentucky’s streak of hitting a three in consecutive games has reached 445 games, the nation’s fourth-longest streak, trailing UNLV, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech. UNLV, Vanderbilt and Princeton have hit a three-pointer in every game since the rule was adopted in 1987.
The Wildcats’ last game without a three-pointer came against Seton Hall on Nov. 26, 1988, a “three-point” loss in the Great Alaska Shootout.
SEASON NOTES
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.
Within the Borders
UK plays four Kentucky colleges during the 2001-02 season, the most since the 1920-21 season.
The Cats have already played Western Kentucky and Morehead State, and will battle Kentucky State and Louisville in December. They faced Kentucky Wesleyan, Cumberland, Georgetown and Centre during the ’21 season, posting a 5-1 record in the meetings.
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 Predictions
Champion – 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 947-290 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 Keeps on Coming
Big Blue fan Bob Wiggins continues his amazing streak of following the basketball Cats. 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 181 games.
Meanwhile, his home court streak is still intact. Wiggins has not missed a home game in 41 years, a streak spanning 578 games. During that period, which dates back to 1960-61, UK has a home record of 514-64.
In all, he’s in his 49th season watching the Cats in person and through his own record keeping, has attended 1,195 UK games.
UK No. 2 with Most 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 Boston
In addition, former UK assistant coach Jim O’Brien is the head coach of the Boston Celtics while the Cats’ all-time leading scorer Dan Issel coaches the Denver Nuggets and former UK All-American Pat Riley coaches the Miami Heat.
— Go Cats —
