Oct. 2, 2001

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Athlon Sports magazine has picked the Kentucky Wildcats to win the NCAA Championship in Atlanta, Ga., next April. The publication’s college basketball preview, on stands now, selected Kentucky to come out of a Final Four crew of Duke, Illinois and Southeastern Conference-rival Florida.

The magazine also selected forward Tayshaun Prince as a first-team All-American. Prince, the only senior on the team, joins Stanford’s Casey Jacobsen, Florida’s Brett Nelson, Illinois’ Frank Williams and Duke’s Jason Williams. Junior guard Keith Bogans earned honorable mention.

Athlon also picked the Wildcats to finish first in the Eastern division of the SEC with Prince repeating as Best Player and first-team All-SEC awards. Bogans was selected to the second team, while Coach Tubby Smith was deemed the best coach in the league. Sophomore guard Cliff Hawkins earned Best Defender honors, while UK’s Rupp Arena was chosen as the toughest place in the conference to play.