Hawkins To Wear No. 1
Incoming freshman Cliff Hawkins will be the first Wildcat on record to wear jersey No. 1 when Kentucky opens the 2000-01season.
Previously, NCAA rules prohibited jersey numbers 1 or 2 from being used to avoid confusion with other signals given by game officials. The rule was rescinded last season making the numbers available in college basketball.
Cats in Top 15 in Dot.Com Polls
The 2001 Wildcats rank 10th and 12th in two “pre-preseason” internet polls released in July.
Kentucky was No. 10 in the CBS Sportsline.com poll and ranked two spots lower in the FoxSports.com poll.
In the FoxSports.com rankings, Duke held the top spot followed by Arizona, Seton Hall, Illinois and Tennessee. OtherSoutheastern Conference teams to appear in the poll include Arkansas (16th) and Florida (19th).
In the Sportsline.com poll, Arizona was ranked No. 1 followed by Duke, North Carolina, Maryland and Tennessee. Floridaranked 13th and Arkansas was 19th.
98th Season On Deck
The Kentucky Wildcats will begin their 98th season of college basketball when they tip off the season in the Coaches vs.Cancer event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 9.
In the past 97 seasons, UK has won seven NCAA titles — 1948, 49, 51, 58, 78, 96 and 98 — and totalled the most winsin college basketball as well as the highest winning percentage (76.4%).
UK also owns three NCAA runner-up finishes, 13 Final Four appearances, a national-record 40 NCAA Tourneyappearances, 40 SEC titles, 22 SEC Tournament titles and a record 10 30-win seasons.
All-Time Wins1. Kentucky 1,7712. North Carolina 1,7553. Kansas 1,712
Rupp Arena Win Streak
UK finished the 1999-00 season with a perfect 14-0 record at Rupp Arena, running its win streak in the facility to 20 games.
Overall, the Cats are 317-35 (90.1%) in Rupp since it opened in 1976-77. UK will be celebrating its 25th anniversary in thebuilding during the 2001 season.
UK has not had a losing season at home in 72 years, the longest streak in the nation. Its a record that began in 1927-28 whenthe Cats were 6-2 at home.
