Dec. 22, 1999
Michigan State (8-2)
at Kentucky Wildcats (5-4)
Dec. 23, 1999 7:04 p.m. EST
Rupp Arena (23,000) Lexington, Ky.
CATS ON THE AIR
UK Radio Network — 5:30 p.m. ET
Ralph Hacker, Sam Bowie, Dave Baker
ESPN
Brad Nessler, Dick Vitale, Brad Daugherty
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www.ukathletics.com. Live stats, notes andinformation on this year?s team is available.
Kentucky-Michigan State Battle in Rematch
Nine months ago, top-seeded Michigan State grabbed the lead for good in the final eight minutes of the Midwest Region Championship and held off the Wildcats for a 73-66 win, earning the Spartans’ first trip to the Final Four since 1979 while ending UK’s chance at back-to-back national titles. While State returns eight members of that squad which eventually lost to Duke in the national semifinals, including three starters, the Cats are a different team, losing three members to graduation and two others who transferred. But injury has plagued MSU All-American Mateen Cleaves, who has yet to suit up for the Spartans. The senior point guard is not expected to be active until two more weeks. Despite the hardship, MSU is 8-2 and ranked fifth nationally, earning wins over North Carolina and Kansas.
Kentucky enters the contest after its most convincing win of the season, a 30-point triumph over archrival Louisville last Saturday. UK used a 17-2 run in the second half and held the visiting Cards to 12 points in the final 20 minutes to earn its fifth win of the season. UK broke season highs for field goal percentage (59.6%), 3FGM (7) and 3FG percentage (50.0%) while equaling season highs in FGM (31) and blocks (9).
UK center Jamaal Magloire is now the school’s record holder in career blocks. After three swats against Louisville, he has totaled 229 blocked shots to surpass Melvin Turpin’s mark of 226 set from 1981-84.
The Wildcats are nearing the end of a tough pre-conference schedule in which they play six Top-25 opponents in a nine-game stretch and eight of their first 10 games against 1999 NCAA Tournament teams. The Cats have four non-conference opponents remaining — Alaska-Anchorage, Missouri, Georgia Tech and Miami (Fla.).
UK remains unranked in this week’s major polls. However, Michigan State enters the contest ranked fifth in both polls. MSU is the first top-10 opponent to visit Rupp Arena this season. Last year, UK earned top-10 wins at home over No. 2 Maryland and No. 6 Auburn.
This is Kentucky’s ninth appearance on national TV in 10 games, its seventh on ESPN. UK will appear on national TV 18 times this season.
The Cats’ next game is two days after Christmas — vs. Alaska-Anchorage at Rupp Arena.
Stat Comparisons
UK MSU Record 5-4 8-2 Scoring Off. 67.1 74.8 Scoring Def. 58.8 59.0 Scoring Margin +8.3 +15.8 FG % 42.2 46.5 Def. FG % 40.0 40.6 3FG % 27.4 39.2 Def. 3FG % 31.2 33.9 FT Pct. 68.8 69.7 Reb. Avg. 38.9 40.4 Opp. Reb. Avg. 32.8 26.7 Rebound Margin +6.1 +13.7 TO Avg. 16.7 16.4 Opp. TO 17.7 16.8 TO Margin +1.0 +0.4 Blocks Avg. 6.6 3.5 Steals Avg. 7.9 8.2
Coaching ComparisonsOrlando "Tubby" Smith (High Point '73) Overall (9th year) 192-79 (70.9%) at UK (3rd year) 68-17 (80.0%) SEC Tournament (4 yrs.) 10-2 (83.3%) NCAA Tournament (6 yrs.) 15-5 (75.0%) vs. Michigan State 0-1 Tom Izzo (N. Michigan '77) Overall (5th year) 96-43 (69.1%) at Michigan State same vs. Kentucky 1-0
The Skinny on State
Despite the loss of Mateen Cleaves for much of the pre-Big Ten slate, Michigan State remains one of the nation’s top teams. With a starting lineup of two seniors and three juniors, the Spartans finished second in the Puerto Rico Shootout, beating South Carolina by three in the semifinals before losing to Texas in the championship game, 81-74. MSU bounced back to earn a hard-fought win at North Carolina (86-76) and defeated Kansas in the Great Eight before losing at Arizona, 79-68. Arizona is the only common opponent both teams have faced. UK lost to the “western” Wildcats, 63-51, in the Preseason NIT finals.
Morris Peterson, a 6-7 senior forward who scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench against UK last season, leads the Spartans’ charge, averaging 16.3 ppg and 5.2 rpg.
The Series
Series Facts -- Overall Record: UK leads 10-7 In Lexington: UK leads 7-1 In East Lansing: MSU leads 4-2 At Neutral Sites: MSU leads 2-1
This is Kentucky’s second meeting with Michigan State in nine months but only the fifth matchup between the two teams since 1971. The teams have split the last two meetings, both in a regional final of the NCAA Tournament. In 1978, UK went on to win the NCAA title after beating State, 52-49, in the Mideast Region final in Dayton. Last year, revenge belonged to the Spartans as UK fell 73-66 in the Midwest Region final in St. Louis.
Michigan State’s last trip to Lexington was Dec. 13, 1971, a 91-85 win over Coach Adolph Rupp’s last UK squad. The win was State’s first in Lexington in eight tries.
Coach Tubby Smith is 0-1 against Michigan State while Tom Izzo is 1-0 against the Cats.
Kentucky is 82-49 against Big Ten teams all-time after falling to Indiana on Dec. 4.
Rupp Arena
The Kentucky Wildcats, in their 24th season of basketball at Rupp Arena, are 307-35 (89.8%) in the facility. UK has recorded seven perfect home seasons and four years with only one defeat since Rupp Arena opened in 1976-77. The Big Blue earned its 300th victory in the 23,000-seat gymnasium on Jan. 30, 1999, an 86-62 win over LSU. Kentucky was 12-1 in the facility last year.
With a 4-0 record at Rupp this season, the Wildcats have won 10 straight games in the facility.
Smith Thru 85
Through his first 85 games, Tubby Smith has the second-best record of any UK coach since 1930. Smith is 68-17 which trails only Hall of Fame coach Adolph Rupp, who was 75-10 through his first 85 games spanning 4-plus seasons.
Eddie Sutton began with a 67-18 mark, Joe B. Hall had a 59-26 record and Rick Pitino began with a 58-27 ledger.
Lineup Change
For only the second time this season, Coach Tubby Smith altered the starting lineup. Against Louisville, he inserted freshman Keith Bogans at shooting guard, moved Desmond Allison to small forward and Tayshaun Prince to power forward, and brought Jules Camara off the bench.
The change precipitated UK’s shooting performance (59.6%) and defense (12 points by U of L in the second half).
Bogan’s Continued Emergence
Keith Bogans made his first collegiate start last Saturday against Louisville and answered the challenge with 12 points, four assists and two steals while shooting 5-of-6 from the field. He’s now scored in double figures five times, including the last four consecutive games. The freshman from Alexandria, Va., tallied a season-high 17 points against Maryland in the Preseason NIT and has followed with 11 points vs. Indiana, 12 vs. UNC Asheville and 14 at Maryland.
Owning the Glass
Uncharacteristically, Coach Tubby Smith’s team was outrebounded in two of its first four games. But the Wildcats have battled back, outrebounding their last five opponents highlighted by their largest margin, 17 boards, against Louisville. UK is now outrebounding opponents by 6.1 rpg.
Much of the improvement centers around UK’s big men. In the last three games, Marvin Stone has registered double-figure boards once and Jamaal Magloire has had 16 and 10 rebounds, respectively. Magloire is now averaging 7.8 rpg, the most in his career.
UK vs. Top 25
Kentucky is 2-3 against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 this season. Against No. 16 Utah, the Wildcats recorded a 56-48 win, and against No. 24 Maryland in the Preseason NIT, UK tallied a three-point win, 61-58. The Cats’ losses have come against No. 8 Arizona, No. 23 Indiana and at No. 21 Maryland on Dec. 11. AP rankings were current at the time of the game.
While Kentucky is slated to play six teams ranked in the Top 25 prior to their conference slate, all the other Southeastern Conference teams combined will now play eight. Auburn battled No. 2 Stanford, Florida played No. 24 Purdue in Maui, Georgia has faced No. 8 Kansas and No. 25 Wake Forest, and South Carolina has lost to both No. 5 Michigan State and No. 19 DePaul. Arkansas lost to No. 23 Wake Forest on Monday and Mississippi State played Stanford on Dec. 21. Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt are not scheduled to face a ranked opponent prior to the league schedule. In the seven games the SEC teams have played against ranked opponents, they have a combined record of 1-6.
UK’s first 10 opponents have a combined record of 61-27, which includes UNC Asheville’s 1-9 start.
UK Out of Top 25
With a 5-4 record, the Wildcats remained out of the Associated Press Top 25 poll for the second consecutive week. Last week, UK was out of the AP poll for the first time since Dec. 4, 1990. The streak ended at 164 consecutive weeks in the rankings, the fifth-longest streak on record. UCLA owns the most consecutive weeks in the poll with 221 between 1966-80, followed by North Carolina’s 171 (1972-82), North Carolina’s current streak of 168 and Marquette’s mark of 166 weeks (1969-79).
Double-Doubles
Freshman Marvin Stone became the first Wildcat this season to record a double-double. The Huntsville, Ala., native had 12 points and 10 rebounds against UNC Asheville.
Jamaal Magloire has followed with back-to-back double-double efforts. At Maryland, he had 12 points and 16 rebounds before a 12-point, 10-rebound performance against Louisville. Magloire now has seven double-doubles in his career.
December Results
At home in December, the Wildcats are 269-37 all-time, a winning percentage of 87.9 percent. Overall — home, away and neutral — UK is 415-98 (80.9%).
Youthful Contributions
Sophomore Tayshaun Prince is the Wildcats’ leading scorer so far, averaging 14.0 ppg. If Prince finishes the season as UK’s top scorer, he’ll become the fourth sophomore in the last decade to accomplish that feat, joining Jamal Mashburn, Tony Delk and Ron Mercer with that honor. He’s led UK in scoring in four games and twice tallied at least 20 points this season.
Freshman Keith Bogans is third on the team in scoring averaging 8.8 ppg. The 6-2 guard could become the first frosh since Jamal Mashburn to finish in the top three in scoring. Mashburn averaged 12.9 ppg during his first season in 1991, good for third on the team.
Consecutive Threes
The Cats have hit three-pointers in 382 consecutive games. The last time UK was held without a three-point field goal was Nov. 26, 1988, a three-point loss to Seton Hall in the Great Alaska Shootout (63-60). UK’s current streak ranks fourth nationally. UNLV, Vanderbilt and Princeton have had a three-pointer in every game since the rule was implemented in 1986-87.
Smith’s Overtime Success
With an exciting 92-88 victory over Kansas in the second round of the 1999 NCAA tourney, the Wildcats won all three overtime games last season. UK also defeated host Georgia, 91-83, and Indiana, 70-61.
The Cats are 5-0 in overtime games since Tubby Smith took over as coach. In ?98, the Wildcats earned overtime victories over Arkansas, 80-77, and Stanford, 86-85. The Cats had lost seven of their last eight overtime games prior to the five-game win streak.
Overall, UK is 42-33 in overtime games, dating back to Feb. 12, 1907.
Smith is 13-3 in overtime games during his eight-year coaching career. He’s 5-0 at UK, 2-1 at Georgia and 6-2 at Tulsa, which includes a 2-1 mark in double overtime. His one overtime loss at Georgia was an 83-81 defeat to Syracuse in the 1996 NCAA Tournament and one of his OT defeats at Tulsa came at the hands of top-ranked Arkansas in 1994.
Cats-Spartans Last March
#2 Michigan State 73, #8 Kentucky 66
March 21, 1999 St. Louis, Trans World Dome
Midwest Region Championship Att: 42,519
Michigan State hit key shots down the stretch and held UK to 37.5 percent shooting in the second half to end the Wildcats’ attempt at a fourth straight Final Four appearance with a 73-66 victory.
MSU, paced by Morris Peterson’s 19 points and 10 rebounds, advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1979. Along with a stingy defense, State outrebounded the Cats after halftime, 22-10.
UK started the game with a 17-4 run. Heshimu Evans tallied all 12 of his points in the first 10 minutes of the contest before foul trouble sent him to the bench.The Cats tried to fight off the Spartans’ rally as Jules Camara’s dunk with eight seconds remaining gave the Cats a four-point lead. But Mateen Cleaves drained a 30-foot three-pointer at the halftime buzzer to pull MSU within one at the break.
After halftime, UK maintained a narrow lead until Andre Hutson’s layup put the Spartans up for good, 55-54, with 7:30 left. Scott Padgett’s two three-pointers cut the MSU margin to three with 19 seconds left. But Peterson’s six free throws down the stretch sealed the win.
Tayshaun Prince hit all three of his field goals, including two three-pointers, and all four free throws to finish with 12 points.
Kentucky FG 3FG FT R F A TO B S TP Heshimu Evans 5-10 2-2 0-0 6 4 1 1 0 0 12 Scott Padgett 3-8 2-6 3-5 3 4 2 2 2 0 11 Michael Bradley 2-4 0-0 0-0 4 0 0 1 0 1 4 Desmond Allison 3-8 0-2 1-1 2 1 2 1 1 1 7 Wayne Turner 2-8 0-3 1-2 2 1 8 2 0 1 5 Tayshaun Prince 3-3 2-2 4-4 2 2 1 0 1 0 12 Saul Smith 0-1 0-1 0-0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 Ryan Hogan 1-2 0-0 0-0 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 Jamaal Magloire 3-5 0-0 3-4 1 3 0 1 3 1 9 Jules Camara 2-4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 Team Totals 24-53 6-16 12-16 29 16 15 9 7 5 66 Michigan St. FG 3FG FT R F A TO B S TP Antonio Smith 1-2 0-0 2-2 7 2 0 1 0 2 4 Andre Hutson 6-10 0-0 2-4 5 3 1 2 0 0 14 Jason Klein 1-6 1-5 0-0 1 3 0 1 0 0 3 Matten Cleaves 4-11 2-5 0-0 4 0 11 3 0 0 10 Charlie Bell 3-5 1-2 0-0 3 3 2 1 0 2 7 Thomas Kelley 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 Doug Davis 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 Morris Peterson 6-13 0-2 7-8 10 3 1 1 0 0 19 A.J. Granger 4-5 3-3 3-3 2 2 0 2 0 0 14 Team Totals 26-53 7-17 14-17 33 16 17 11 0 4 73
Halftime: UK 36, MSU 35, FG%: MSU 49.1, UK 43.3, 3FG%: MSU 41.2, UK 36.5, FT%: MSU 82.4, UK 75.0, Officials: Burr, Donato, Greenwood, Techs: None
1999-2000 Trends 5-1 When leading at halftime 0-0 When tied at halftime 0-3 When trailing at halftime 5-2 When UK scores first 0-2 When opponent scores first 5-0 When leading with 5 minutes to play 0-3 When trailing with 5 minutes to play 0-1 When score tied with 5 minutes to play 5-0 When leading with 2 minutes to play 0-4 When trailing with 2 minutes to play 0-0 When score tied with 2 minutes to play 1-1 In games decided by three points or less 1-2 In games decided by 4-10 points 0-0 When UK shoots 60% or better FG 5-0 When UK shoots 50% or better FG 4-4 When UK shoots less than 50% FG 1-2 When UK shoots less than 40% FG 2-1 When UK makes more 3FG 3-1 When opponent makes more 3FG 0-2 When 3FG made are the same 4-3 When UK outrebounds opponent 1-1 When opponent outrebounds UK 0-0 When rebounds are the same 4-4 When playing on national TV 0-0 When playing on regional TV 1-2 When playing on the weekend 4-2 When playing on a weekday 0-0 When starting after 10 p.m. ET 1-2 When starting after 9 p.m. ET 3-1 When game starts between 7-9 p.m. 1-1 With an afternoon start 0-0 In overtime games 3-2 In November 2-2 In December 0-0 In January 0-0 In February 0-0 In March 5-2 In home white uniforms 0-2 In away blue uniforms Wildcats vs. Conferences 0-1 vs. Atlantic 10 1-1 vs. Atlantic Coast 1-0 vs. Big South 0-1 vs. Big Ten 1-0 vs. Conference USA 1-0 vs. Ivy 1-0 vs. Mountain West 0-1 vs. Pac-10 Record vs. Lineup 4-3 Prince, Camara, Magloire, Smith, Allison 0-1 Prince, Knight, Magloire, Smith, Allison 1-0 Prince, Allison, Magloire, Smith, Bogans
America’s Team of the Century
The Wildcats own an unparalleled tradition of success. Since 1903, the University of Kentucky has fielded 97 basketball teams. The first national championship was an NIT title in 1946. The first NCAA Championship came in 1948 and the latest, No. 7, occurred in 1998. No other program can claim the unparalleled success that matches the Wildcats’ efforts throughout the century.
Highlights include: Seven NCAA titles (1948, '49, '51, '58, '78, '96, ?98), The all-time winningest team in college basketball. 1. Kentucky 1,753 2. North Carolina 1,741 3. Kansas 1,696 The highest all-time winning percentage in college basketball, 76.4% (1,753-542-1), Three NCAA runner-up trophies, 13 Final Four appearances, A national-record 40 NCAA tournament appearances, 39 SEC Championships, 22 SEC Tournament titles, 10 30-win seasons, 37 players chosen All-American 54 times, 86 Wildcats drafted by the NBA.
SEASON REVIEW
Preseason NIT Final Four Results
Kentucky earned wins over Penn, Utah and Maryland before losing in the championship of the Preseason NIT to Arizona. It was the ?western? Wildcats third straight win over UK, dating back to an overtime win in the 1997 NCAA Championship game. UK finished second in the 16-team tournament field that included Ohio State, Notre Dame and Tulane. The final four results from New York’s Madison Square Garden:
Nov. 24 Arizona 76, Notre Dame 60 Kentucky 61, Maryland 58 Nov. 26 Maryland 72, ND 67 Arizona 63, Kentucky 51
Prince Makes All-Tourney
Tayshaun Prince, UK’s leading scorer and rebounder, had a career-high 21 points and nine rebounds in the Cats’ win over Maryland in the semifinals and followed up with an 18-point, five-rebound performance against Arizona to earn All-Tournament team honors at the Preseason NIT.
Joining Prince on the All-Tournament team were Notre Dame’s Troy Murphy, Maryland’s Lonny Baxter and Arizona’s Jason Gardner and Richard Jefferson. The MVP was Arizona’s Gilbert Arenas.
America’s Team of the Century Posts #1,750
Kentucky, the winningest college basketball team in the nation, became the first team to record 1,750 wins with its victory over Utah on Nov. 19. UK is in its 97th season of college basketball, and its record number of victories include seven NCAA Championships, two (postseason) NIT titles, a record 84 NCAA Tournament victories and 39 Southeastern Conference Championships, more than all the other league teams combined.
November Blues
For the fifth consecutive year, UK lost a game in the month of November. In 1995, UK lost to UMass in the Great Eight. In ?96, the Cats fell to Clemson in the BCA Classic. In ?97, Arizona knocked UK into the loser’s bracket of the Maui Invitational. Last season, Pittsburgh sent the Cats to the third-place game of the Puerto Rico Shootout. This November, Arizona earned a win over UK in the Preseason NIT final before the Cats fell to Dayton.
For the 11th time in the last 12 seasons, the Cats lost one of their first five games of the season. The dubious streak began in 1988-89 with a loss to Duke in the Tip-Off Classic.
Home In November
Since 1980, Kentucky has only lost two home games in November, establishing a mark of 18-1 during the past two decades, including its victories over Penn and Utah. The only defeat? To Pittsburgh in the second round of the Preseason NIT in Nov. 1991.
All-time in November, UK is 45-10, including a 28-1 mark at home, a 3-0 record on the road and a 14-9 slate at neutral sites.
Season Openers
After its Penn victory, Kentucky has now won 10 of its last 11 season openers. UK’s one defeat came at the hands of Clemson, a 79-71 overtime loss in the BCA Classic double-header at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis on Nov. 15, 1996.
UK has not lost a home opener since Northwestern State upset the Cats in 1988-89, a streak of 11 consecutive victories.
PRESEASON CAT SCRATCHES
Cats Short on Experience, Long on Talent
Seven of the 11 Wildcats on the ?99-2000 roster are freshmen or sophomores. UK lost its top four scorers, its top three rebounders and its top three assists men. The Cats’ leading returning scorer and rebounder is senior Jamaal Magloire, who averaged 7.0 ppg and 4.4 rpg, while the leading returning assist man is Saul Smith, who averaged 1.6 apg last season. The only returning starter is Desmond Allison.
Returning production includes: Points: 35.8% Rebounds: 38.9% Assists: 33.1% Blocks 63.8% Steals: 37.8%
The NBA Connection
Kentucky led all Southeastern Conference teams with 10 Wildcats on 1999-2000 opening day NBA rosters. No other SEC team had more than six former players in the league. For UK, the Cats had Derek Anderson (Clippers), Tony Delk (Kings), Rex Chapman (Suns), Jamal Mashburn (Heat), Ron Mercer (Nuggets), Nazr Mohammed (76ers), Walter McCarty, Antoine Walker and Wayne Turner (Celtics) and Scott Padgett (Jazz). Turner has since been waived.
Magloire Earns Preseason All-SEC Honor
In early November, media members at the Southeastern Conference Media Days in Birmingham picked the Wildcats to finish second in the Eastern Division behind Florida and selected Jamaal Magloire to the preseason All-SEC team. Auburn, which returns Chris Porter and Doc Robinson from last year’s Sweet 16 team, was chosen to win the regular-season crown.
SEC Media Day Predictions
Champion (Votes) Auburn 29 Florida 10 Kentucky 5 Eastern Division Western Division Florida (30) 227 Auburn (40) 240 Kentucky (3) 188 Arkansas 177 Tennessee (7) 181 Alabama 142 Vanderbilt 100 Miss. State 121 Georgia 85 LSU 67 South Carolina 56 Ole Miss 58 All-SEC G - Tony Harris, Tennessee 27 G - Doc Robinson, Auburn 41 F - Chris Porter, Auburn 49 F - Mike Miller, Florida 37 C - Jamaal Magloire, Kentucky 17 SEC Player of the Year Chris Porter, Auburn 45 Doc Robinson, Auburn 1 Mike Miller, Florida 1
Team of the Decade
Kentucky staked its claim for the title of “Team of the Decade” during the 1990s. Only two NCAA Division I schools can claim two national titles during the last 10 years, UK and Duke.
NCAA Championships 2 Final Four Appearances 4 NCAA Runner-up 1 NCAA Tourney Record (App.) 31-6 (8) NCAA Tourney Winning % 83.8% Decade Wins (Pct.) 282 (81.7%) 30-Win Seasons 4 Losing Seasons 0 AP Top-10 Finishes 9 All-Americans 3 NBA Draft Picks (1st Rd.) 10 (8) SEC Championships 3 SEC Tournament Titles 7
News from the Summer Drought
The 1999-2000 schedule includes 17 teams that played in the 1999 NCAA Tournament, including Final-Four qualifier Michigan State. There will be 14 home dates during the regular season since Kentucky advanced in the Preseason NIT. The Cats will appear on national TV 18 times, including 12 times on ESPN or espn2 and five games on CBS. SEC games televised on “Super Tuesdays” by ESPN will begin at 9 p.m. instead of 9:30 p.m.
Tubby Smith spent nearly all of July as an assistant coach for the 1999 USA Senior National Team. After winning the Tournament of the Americas in Puerto Rico, the squad qualified for the 2000 Olympics next September in Sydney, Australia. Smith will continue to serve on that staff as well, coaching such NBA greats as Tim Hardaway, Kevin Garnett, Steve Smith and Gary Peyton.
Point guard Saul Smith competed for the SEC All-Stars, which toured Japan in August. Smith helped the team to a 4-1 record against the Japan National Team.
Steve Masiello was awarded a scholarship for his senior season. The former walk-on from White Plains, N.Y. has been a member of UK’s ?97 NCAA runner-up squad, its ?98 NCAA Championship team and the Elite-Eight qualifier last season.
Jamaal Magloire declared his intentions for the NBA Draft in May, but withdrew one week before the event and decided to return to UK for his senior season.
Scott Padgett became the seventh Wildcat in the last four years to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft when he was taken 28th by the Utah Jazz. Padgett was one of 11 Wildcats on NBA rosters as of opening day. In addition, seven other Cats are playing professionally, including Heshimu Evans, who is participating in a French league this winter. (See pages 154-157 of the 2000 UK Media Guide.)
Fall Signees
Cliff Hawkins, a 6-1, 180-pound guard at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., and Michael Southall, a 6-10, 225-pound forward/center from West Salem, Wis., have both signed national letters-of-intent during the fall signing period to play their college basketball at the University of Kentucky.
Hawkins, a native of Dumfries, Va., helped the Warriors to a perfect 32-0 record last season and a final No. 1 ranking by USA Today, ESPN and The Associated Press, earning the crown of national champions.
“Cliff is a tough and tenacious defender who’s been an important part of a championship program,” Coach Smith said. “He understands what teamwork is all about and works to make others better. He’s not interested in padding his own stats, which was one of the first things that attracted us to him. He’s a point guard that knows how to push the ball up the court and he’s been well-schooled in the game.”
As a junior, Hawkins averaged 11.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game last season while starting every contest. The southpaw, who his coach called the “best on-the-ball defender he’s ever coached,? also led the team in steals, averaging 3.9 per game. He shot 50.0 percent from the field, 62.5 percent from the foul line and 30.0 percent from three-point range during the ’99 season.
Hawkins played his sophomore season at Potomac High School, leading the squad to a state runner-up finish. In the state semifinals, he held Ronald Curry, the 1998 National Player of the Year, to six points, while tallying 31 in the winning effort. He earned first-team Class AAA All-State honors before transferring to Oak Hill.
Hawkins, who chose UK over New Mexico, played on the 1998 DC Team Assault summer AAU squad with current Wildcat Keith Bogans.
Southall, who plays at West Salem High School, was the Coulee Conference and Region Player of the Year last season, averaging 20.7 points and 13.0 rebounds per game. He was named the team’s Most Valuable Player and earned third team All-State honors from the Lacrosse Tribune after leading his squad to a 14-8 record. He shot 65.0 percent from the field, 66.0 percent from the foul line and recorded 146 blocked shots (6.7 bpg) last season.
“Michael is a player that exemplifies the student-athlete we want in our program,” Coach Smith said. “He has set high goals and ambitions and has a great work ethic. With the loss of Jamaal Magloire to graduation next season, he’ll make an immediate impact. He’s a player that possesses excellent hands and agility and will obviously keep a shot-blocking presence on our front line.”
Southall also was named team MVP during his sophomore year, averaging 13.7 points and 12.0 rebounds a game while leading West Salem to the sectional final.
He chose UK over Utah, Georgia Tech, Michigan and Ohio State.
