December 31, 1998
Defending SEC Titleist Opens League Play
The Kentucky Wildcats, who won the SEC’s “Triple Crown” last season by capturing the Eastern Division title, the overall championship and the tournament trophy, will look to duplicate the effort when it opens Southeastern Conference play at home against Florida. The contest marks the midway point of a 30-game regular-season schedule for the Wildcats, and it’s the first of a 16-game league schedule which features each Eastern Division team twice — home and away — and each Western Division team once, which rotates home and away on an annual basis. 3FG shooters vs. 3FG defenders — the Florida Gators enter the contest with the SEC’s most potent offense, averaging 91.9 ppg and shooting 39.6 percent from three-point range, which ranks second in the league. UK owns the SEC’s best three-point field goal defense, allowing opponents only 26.6 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
FLORIDA GATORS (9-1, 0-0)
vs.
#7/6 KENTUCKY WILDCATS (11-3, 0-0)
January 2, 1999 – 4:08 p.m. ET
Rupp Arena (23,000) – Lexington, Ky.
RADIO
UK Radio Network — 3 p.m. ET
WVLK 590 AM & 92.9 FM (flagship stations)
Ralph Hacker (play-by-play), Sam Bowie (analyst),
Dave Baker (host), Tom Leach (scoreboard)
TELEVISION
UK Television Network — 8 p.m. ET
Tom Hammond (play-by-play), Larry Conley (analyst)
Probable Starters – Kentucky Wildcats (11-3, 0-0)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Ppg Rpg Hometown 34 Scott Padgett F 6-9 240 Sr. 11.6 6.6 Louisville, Ky. 14 Heshimu Evans F 6-6 215 Sr. 13.7 5.8 Bronx, N.Y. 33 Michael Bradley C 6-10 235 So. 11.8 5.9 Worcester, Mass. 5 Wayne Turner G 6-2 190 Sr. 10.9 *3.6 Boston, Mass. 21 Tayshaun Prince G 6-8 217 Fr. 6.6 4.6 Compton, Calif.
Key Cats Off The Bench
32 Desmond Allison G/F 6-5 206 Fr. 3.5 1.4 Tampa, Fla. 40 Jules Camara F/C 6-11 213 Fr. 5.3 3.9 Dakar, Senegal 22 Ryan Hogan G 6-3 185 So. 4.2 1.2 Deerfield, Ill. 42 Jamaal Magloire C 6-10 260 Jr. 4.8 3.8 Toronto, Ont. 11 Saul Smith G 6-2 175 So. 4.8 2.4 Athens, Ga.
Florida Gators (9-1, 1-1)
13 Mike Miller F 6-8 218 Fr. 15.4 6.3 Mitchell, S.D. 00 Brent Wright F 6-8 232 So. 8.4 6.3 Miami, Fla. 50 Udonis Haslem C 6-7 260 Fr. 14.2 6.8 Miami, Fla. 3 Eddie Shannon G 5-11 162 Sr. 7.5 *4.6 W. Palm Beach, Fla. 23 Ladarius Halton G 6-3 195 Fr. 9.6 1.4 N. Smyrna B., Fla.
* Assists per game
The contest matches former UK assistant coaches Tubby Smith and Billy Donovan. Smith served two seasons on Coach Rick Pitino’s staff (1989-91) before departing for his first head coaching job at Tulsa. Donovan worked five years at UK (1989-94) before leaving for Marshall. In 1990, Smith was assistant coach and Donovan was the graduate assistant. In 1991, Smith was promoted to associate coach when Ralph Willard left for Western Kentucky and Donovan was promoted to assistant coach.
Wayne Turner became the school’s all-time leader in steals when he recorded one vs. Tennessee State last Tuesday. He surpassed Tony Delk’s mark of 201 to move into first place on the career list. He needs just one assist to reach the 400-assists plateau in his career.
Heshimu Evans needs two rebounds to total 600 in his four-year career split between Manhattan College and Kentucky. He also has totaled 1,257 points during the span.
The contest is the second game of a Jefferson-Pilot Sports double-header. Georgia visits Alabama in the opener at 2 p.m. ET.
UK-Florida Series
This is the 95th meeting between the two teams and UK owns a decided 73-21 advantage over the Gators. Last season, the two teams split, with Florida defeating the Wildcats in Rupp Arena on Feb. 1, 86-78, UF’s first win in Rupp Arena since 1989. But UK returned the favor 17 days later, winning 79-54 in Gainesville on Feb. 18.
The Wildcats own a 36-6 record against Florida in Lexington. In Rupp Arena, the Cats have a 19-4 lead in the series.
The Florida win last season broke a string of 10 consecutive UK victories over the Gators. The Cats have now won 11 of the last 12 in the series.
Billy Donovan is 1-5 vs. UK, including a 1-3 mark vs. the Wildcats at Florida. He was 0-2 against Kentucky while coaching Marshall. Tubby Smith owns a 5-1 mark against Florida lifetime, including a 4-0 mark against the Gators while coaching at Georgia.
Coach Smith was Co-SEC Coach of the Year last season in voting by AP members and after three seasons as a coach in the SEC, Smith is 33-15 (68.8%) against league competition during the regular season and 7-2 in the SEC Tournament.
SEC Dominant
UK has won 57 of its last 64 (88.9%) regular-season SEC games spanning the past four seasons. UK was 14-2 in 1995, tallied the league’s first perfect record in 40 years with a 16-0 mark in 1996 and followed the unblemished effort with a 13-3 record in 1997. Last season, the Cats were 14-2. Against SEC competition, the Wildcats are the winningest team in the league with a 735-193 (79.2%) regular-season record in 65 seasons. The Wildcats have won 39 SEC Championships and 21 SEC Tournament titles, more titles in both categories than all the other league schools combined.
Common Opponent
Kentucky and Florida have played one common opponent this season, Duke. The second-ranked Blue Devils rang up wins over both clubs, 116-86 over visiting Florida on Dec. 9, and 71-60 over UK on Dec. 22 at the Meadowlands.
Stat Comparisons
UK UFRecord 11-3 9-1Scoring Off. 77.5 91.9Scoring Def. 62.4 70.6Scoring Margin +15.1 +21.3FG % 47.9 50.7Def. FG % 37.8 40.83FG % 27.5 39.6Def. 3FG % 26.6 36.8FT Pct. 63.2 72.6Reb. Avg. 43.0 39.3Opp. Reb. Avg. 33.9 36.2Rebound Margin +9.1 +3.1TO Avg. 15.9 20.2Opp. TO 16.9 23.3TO Margin +1.1 +3.1Blocks Avg. 5.6 5.3Steals Avg. 8.6 11.3
Coaching Comparisons
Orlando “Tubby” Smith (High Point ’73) Overall (8th year) 170-69 (71.1%) at UK (2nd year) 46-7 (86.8%) NCAA Appearances (5) 12-4 (75.0%) vs. Florida 5-1Billy Donovan (Providence ’87) Overall (5th year) 71-53 (57.3%) at Florida (3rd year) 36-33 (52.2%) vs. Kentucky 1-5
Rupp Arena
UK, in its 23rd season at Rupp Arena, has a 296-34 (89.7%) record in the 23,000-seat, city-owned facility. The Wildcats need four victories to reach 300. They have recorded seven perfect home seasons and three seasons with only one loss. The building opened in 1976. The Wildcats, 4-0 at home, will play 13 games at Rupp Arena during the 1998-99 season.
Injury Report
Heshimu Evans and Tayshaun Prince both played against Tennessee State on Tuesday and are listed as probable for the Florida game. Freshman guard Todd Tackett is questionable after suffering a left thigh bruise during practice on Monday. He was the only Cat not see action against TSU.
Record Holder
Wayne Turner broke Tony Delk’s career record of 201 steals at Kentucky with his one steal against Tennessee State earlier this week. Turner already holds the school mark for steals in a season with 79 during his sophomore year. The senior has 21 steals through the first 14 games this season.
Turner also is poised to become the first Wildcat to ever top 1,000 points, 300 rebounds, 400 assists and 200 steals during a career. The Boston native, who hopes to break the NCAA record this season for games played in a college career, has 934 points, 320 rebounds, 399 assists and 202 steals. He has played in 128 games at UK, including three NCAA Championship games. The school record is 143 games played by Jared Prickett and the NCAA mark is 148 games played by Christian Laettner.
Non-Conference Muscle
Kentucky completed its non-conference schedule earlier this week that featured five ranked opponents and nine of the 14 games away from Rupp Arena, including neutral sites in San Juan, Chicago, Atlanta and East Rutherford, N.J. The Wildcats had but three home dates in December. The five ranked opponents were in the top 11 or higher of The Associated Press weekly polls, including two teams, Maryland and Duke, that were ranked second at the time of the contest. The result? UK was 4-1 vs. the ranked teams, 11-3 overall. The Cats own wins over No. 10 UCLA, No. 7 Kansas, No. 11 Indiana and No. 2 Maryland, before the loss to No. 2 Duke.
The Duke loss snapped UK’s streak of 11 consecutive wins over ranked opponents. The streak had begun Feb. 28, when UK beat No. 14 South Carolina, 69-57, in the regular-season finale. The Wildcats finished with a 12-2 slate against ranked opponents last season, 9-4 in 1997 and 10-2 in 1996.
Most Games Before New Year’s
How long was UK’s pre-conference schedule? The longest in school history. The Wildcats played their 14th game of the season when they suited up against Tennessee State. It’s the most games prior to Jan. 1 of any UK team, outdoing the 13 games played last season. The 1998-99 Wildcats equaled the most wins ever recorded prior to New Year’s Day by a UK team. UK also won 11 on four other occassions — 1946-47 (11-1), 1979-80 (11-1), 1996-97 (11-1) and 1997-98 (11-2).
Great ’98
Along with winning the 1998 NCAA Championship, UK finished the 1998 calendar year with a 35-5 record. The superb mark comes on the heels of a 35-7 record during calendar year ’97 and a 36-2 mark in ’96.
Last Game
Every Wildcat that played scored as Kentucky snapped its two-game losing streak with a 97-47 victory over Tennessee State. The game completed UK’s non-conference schedule as the Cats improved to 11-3 heading into Southeastern Conference play.
Heshimu Evans and Tayshaun Prince missed starting assignments because of bouts with a stomach virus. In their place, Ryan Hogan got his first start of his career at guard and Jamaal Magloire got the nod on the front line for the first time this season. But even with the revamped lineup, Tennessee State was no match for the Cats. UK used a 15-0 run in the first half to pull ahead by 21, 41-20 at halftime. Magloire led all scorers with 15 points and eight rebounds. Evans and Prince both played 13 minutes. Evans finished with eight points and four assists and Prince had seven points and two assists. Hogan scored in double figures for the third time in four games, finishing with 12 points. Todd Tackett did not see action due to a bruised left thigh.
Sagarin’s Rankings
Duke still leads the power rankings, according to Jeff Sagarin’s ratings dated Dec. 30. The Blue Devils have a 98.53 rating, followed by Auburn at 96.61. Kentucky is eighth with a 91.18 rating and Florida is rated 15th with a 86.92 mark. Surprisingly, UK’s schedule was rated the 23rd toughest in the nation, according to Sagarin, while the Gators’ schedule was ranked 304th.
Next Game
UK plays its first 9:30 p.m. SEC game on Tuesday when the Wildcats take on host South Carolina in Columbia. The Cats swept the Gamecocks in three outings last season. The contest will be broadcast by ESPN.
Cats in the SEC Stats
INDIVIDUAL (12-31-98)All Games Scoring Heshimu Evans 13th (13.7 ppg)Field Goal Percentage Michael Bradley 3rd (66.1%)Rebounding Scott Padgett 15th (6.6 rpg)Blocks Jamaal Magloire 3rd (2.3 bpg)Offensive Rebounds Heshimu Evans 10th (2.9 orpg)
TEAMAll GamesScoring 6th (77.5 ppg)Scoring Defense 7th (62.4 pg)Scoring Margin 4th (15.1 ppg)FG % 3rd (47.9%)Opponents’ FG % 5th (37.8%)3FG % 12th (27.5%)Opponents’ 3FG% 1st (26.6%)FT % 8th (63.2%)Rebounds 3rd (43.0 rpg)Opp. Rebounds 6th (33. rpg)Rebound Margin 4th (9.1 rpg)Blocks 2nd (5.6 bpg)Assists 2nd (17.5 apg)Steals 7th (8.6 spg)Turnover Margin 7th (1.1 tpg)Assist/Turnover Ratio 3rd (1.1)Offensive Rebounds 2nd (16.3 rpg)Defensive Rebounds 4th (26.7 rpg)Threes made per game 11th (5.0 mpg)
UK Trivia
When was the last time a UK opponent was held without a three-point field goal? Answer on page 9 of the notes.
Rebounding Kings
Kentucky has outrebounded every opponent this season. UK, which finished second to Utah last season in rebound margin (8.2 rpg), is outrebounding opponents by 9.1 rpg this year. The Cats’ most dominant performance in a game this season came at the expense of Georgia Tech, where the Cats held a 53-32 advantage.
Rare Feats
The Wildcats’ offensive attack has been a strength for the Cats this season. UK has four players averaging double figures in scoring and seven Cats are averaging 3.0 rebounds per game or more. The last time a UK squad had at least four players average double figures in scoring was 1990-91 — the last team Tubby Smith served as a UK assistant coach. That season, five UK players accomplished the feat — John Pelphrey (14.4 ppg), Reggie Hanson (14.4 ppg), Jamal Mashburn (12.9 ppg), Deron Feldhaus (10.8 ppg) and Richie Farmer (10.1 ppg). This year, Heshimu Evans (13.7 ppg), Scott Padgett (11.6 ppg), Michael Bradley (11.8 ppg) and Wayne Turner (10.9 ppg) have a chance for the distinction. Note: Only twice this season has the same player led UK in scoring in back-to-back games.
Neutral Sites
Eight of the 14 UK games this season have been played at neutral sites. After defeating Ga. Tech in the Georgia Dome on Dec. 19, UK is 10-0 all-time in the Dome. With the loss to Duke at the Meadowlands, UK dropped to 3-1 in the Continental Airlines Arena.
Tops Thru 50
Through the first 50 games of his UK tenure, Tubby Smith was the winningest Wildcat coach, sporting a 45-5 (90.0%) record. Rupp was 43-7 in his first 50 games at UK, Joe B. Hall began with a 32-18 slate, Eddie Sutton had a 41-9 mark and Rick Pitino started with a 31-19 record.
1,000-Point Race
Seniors Scott Padgett and Wayne Turner hope to join the prestigious 44-member 1,000-point club at UK. Padgett has scored 948 points in his career and Turner has posted 934 career points.
Cats Chase Kansas In Decade Wins
As of Dec. 31, the Wildcats had picked up three wins on Kansas in the chase for the most wins in the 1990s. UK now trails the Jayhawks by six victories.
Team Wins ('99) 1. Kansas 271 (8-3) 2. Kentucky 265 (11-3) 3. North Carolina 258 (12-3) 4. Arkansas 247 (10-2) 5. Duke 246 (12-1)
For the past eight seasons, UK has been the winningest basketball team in the nation.
Team Wins ('99) 1. Kentucky 238 (11-3) 2. Kansas 213 (8-3) 3. North Carolina 209 (12-3)
Consider this: In the last three years — 1996, ’97, ’98 — UK has averaged 34.7 wins per season.
Turner Chases NCAA Record
Senior guard Wayne Turner has a chance to play in more college basketball games than anyone on record. Turner, who has logged time in 128 games during his career, has a chance to break the mark of 148 games held by Duke’s Christian Laettner.
The Wildcats have a 30-game regular-season schedule and Turner must play in 35 games to claim the record. The Boston native has missed only one game during his UK career — the 1996 NCAA Championship game against Syracuse, when Anthony Epps played the entire 40 minutes at point guard — a streak of 93 consecutive games.
In addition, Turner hopes to become the first non-Duke player to play in four Final Fours. Bryan Davis (1989-92), Greg Koubek (1988-91) and Christian Laettner (1989-92) all participated in four Final Fours.
Double-Doubles
Scott Padgett tallied his ninth career double-double and his third of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds vs. Duke. He registered 25 points and 13 rebounds vs. Maryland and tallied his first double-double of the season with 21 points and 12 rebounds in the opener against EKU. Padgett had five double-doubles last season and one as a sophomore.
Heshimu Evans recorded his first double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds (eight offensive) against seventh-ranked Kansas in the Great Eight. Evans has four double-doubles at UK and two at Manhattan.
Freshman Jules Camara registered his first double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds in 23 minutes in the opener. He followed up the effort with 15-points and eight rebounds against Mercer.
Consecutive Threes
The Cats have hit three-pointers in 348 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.
AP Trivia
The Kentucky Wildcats have been ranked in The Associated Press college basketball poll every week since the second week of the 1990-91 season, a span of 149 consecutive weeks.
UK has been ranked in the Top 10 by the AP in the last 80 weekly polls, dating back to Feb. 21, 1994, when the Wildcats fell to 11th after 34 straight weeks in the top 10 that began in 1992. P<>
“D” it Up
The Wildcats held opponents to 38.4 percent shooting last season, the lowest field goal percentage for UK opponents in 36 years, dating back to 1962.
This season, UK is off to a similar start defensively. Through the first 14 games, opponents have converted just 37.8 percent of their shot attempts. The Wildcats have held three teams under 30 percent shooting for the game — Colorado (27.4%), Kansas (29.4%) and Georgia Tech (24.2%).
Smith’s Overtime Success
After the 70-61 win over Indiana, Kentucky is 3-0 in overtime games since Tubby Smith took over as coach. Last season, 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 three-game win streak. Overall, UK is 40-33 in overtime games, dating back to Feb. 12, 1907. Tubby Smith is 11-3 in overtime games during his eight-year coaching career. He’s 3-0 at Kentucky, 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.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
SEC Player of the Week II
Senior Heshimu Evans won his first SEC Player of the Week award for Dec. 7-13 when he matched his UK career high with 22 points and nine rebounds against Indiana, propelling the Wildcats to an overtime win. He followed the effort with a new personal-high 31 points and six boards in UK’s upset of second-ranked Maryland. For the week, he averaged 26.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists. It was a rare two-week sweep of the league honor for the Cats. Teammate Wayne Turner grabbed the honor the week before after leading UK to wins over Kansas and Miami (Fla.).
SEC Player I
Kentucky’s Wayne Turner earned SEC Player of the Week recognition for Nov. 30 – Dec. 6. The senior point guard from Boston led UK to a 63-45 upset of No. 7 Kansas with a team-high 14 points. He followed up with 13 points and five assists against Miami. In the 51 minutes he played during the two games, Turner had seven assists and only one turnover.
Cat Streak Ended
The UK loss to Pittsburgh last month ended the Wildcats’ 17-game winning streak, the school’s 10th best streak overall. Kentucky’s streak began with a 79-54 win over Florida on Feb. 18, 1998. The loss to the Panthers also ended UK’s 16-game win streak at neutral sites.
The Wildcats’ loss at Louisville ended UK’s 14-game road win streak.
Long November
UK played more games in November than ever before, finishing with a 5-1 record. The ’99 Wildcats also were the first UK team to win five games during the month. Last season, the Wildcats played five games, and in 1989, they played four.
For the third consecutive year, UK lost a game in November when Pittsburgh defeated the Wildcats, 68-56, in the P.R. Shootout. And for the 10th time in 11 seasons, the Wildcats lost one of their first five games of the season.
Caribbean Cats
While the Wildcats finished the Puerto Rico Shootout with a 2-1 record and a third-place trophy, the trip proved to be an adventure. First, the Wildcats returned to Lexington from its Wright State game in Cincinnati at 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 23. Six-and-one-half hours later (7 a.m. that day), the team departed for the Louisville airport and its trek to the Caribbean.
UK caught a chartered 747 with 598 Big Blue fans, the same plane (American Airlines) and the same pilot used in the filming of the movie Air Force One.
Upon arrival, the Wildcats headed to American University for practice. After sitting nearly 90 minutes in San Juan traffic, Coach Tubby Smith turned the bus around and headed for the team hotel, another one hour drive, while canceling practice in the process. Oh, and one more thing… the team hotel was located nearly 90 minutes from the Puerto Rico Shootout headquarters.
Puerto Rico Shootout Results
First Round Kentucky def. Colorado 64-52 Maryland def. American-P.R. 82-32 Pittsburgh def. Xavier 94-76 UCLA def. San Francisco 69-62Second Round Pittsburgh def. Kentucky 68-56 Xavier def. Colorado 74-61 Maryland def. UCLA 70-54 USF def. American U. 82-69Final Round Colorado def. American U. (7th) 101-56 USF def. Xavier (5th) 82-69 Kentucky def. UCLA (3rd) 66-62 Maryland def. Pittsburgh (1st) 87-52
Season Openers
With its win over Eastern Kentucky, UK has won nine of its last 10 season openers. The one loss was a 79-71 overtime defeat to Clemson on Nov. 15, 1996 at the BCA Classic in Indianapolis.
UK began the season with its second earliest start in school history. The Clemson-UK game on Nov. 15, 1996 was the school’s earliest tipoff. The Cats also played Duke on Nov. 17, 1979, an 82-76 overtime loss in the Tip-Off Classic in Springfield, Mass.
Anthony Leaves Team
Sophomore Myron Anthony quit the UK team on Dec. 3. The 6-7 forward from Jacksonville, Fla., had seen action in three games this season. He’s expected to transfer following the end of the semester.
PRESEASON NOTES
UK Signs Four
Kentucky received four national letters of intent during the November signing period. Keith Bogans of Hyattsville, Md., Marquis Estill of Richmond, Ky., John Stewart of Indianapolis and Marvin Stone of Huntsville, Ala., all signed to play basketball for the Wildcats in 1999-2000. Bogans, a 6-4 guard who averaged 19.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game last season at DeMatha Catholic, is rated as one of the top guards in the nation by nearly every recruiting expert. He was a second-team All-American by Parade Magazine last season while leading DeMatha to a 34-1 record and a No. 3 ranking nationwide. He picked Kentucky over Connecticut, Michigan and North Carolina.
Estill, a 6-9, 265-pound forward/center at Madison Central, played only 10 games last season due to an injured left knee, but averaged 16.8 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, he led the state in shooting, canning 76.9 percent of his shots. He tallied 14.0 ppg and 7.7 rpg as the Indians advanced to the regionals with a 21-9 record. He chose UK over Louisville.
Stewart, a 7-0, 285-pound center from Lawrence North High School, averaged 15.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game last season. He earned All-County honors and played on the Junior All-Star team last summer in Indiana.
Stone, a 6-9, 244-pound power forward, averaged 19.1 points, 12.7 rebounds, 4.5 blocks and 3.0 assists last year in leading Grissom High to a 25-5 record. He was named Class 6A Player of the Year in Alabama and a third-team Parade Magazine All-American. He chose the Cats over Alabama and Auburn.
White House Tour
The 1998 NCAA Champion Kentucky Wildcats toured the White House and met President Clinton on Mon., Nov. 9. Clinton honored the Wildcats and the Tennessee Lady Vols on their respective 1998 titles in an East Room ceremony which was broadcast live on radio and TV across Kentucky. Seniors Cameron Mills and Jeff Sheppard presented Clinton with a No. 1 Kentucky jersey. “We gave you one of these back in 1996, and I never recall you wearing it,” Mills said during the ceremony. “But I’m going to give you another one in good faith that you’ll wear it.” “Cameron, Clinton responded, “for all you know, I slept in it.” The ceremony concluded a day that began with lunch at Grevey’s, a popular restaurant in Falls Church, Va., that’s owned by former UK All-American Kevin Grevey. From there, the Wildcats toured the Supreme Court before their trip to the White House.
SEC Media Picks
UK was the favored squad to repeat as Southeastern Conference Champion and Scott Padgett was selected to the five-man All-SEC team when voting was conducted at SEC Media Days in early November. The Cats received 17 of the 21 votes to repeat as league champion with Tennessee earning three votes and Arkansas getting one. Padgett was the Cats’ lone member of the All-SEC team. Wayne Turner received one vote for preseason MVP, but was left off the All-SEC squad.
SEC Media Day Predictions
ChampionKentucky 17Tennessee 3Arkansas 1
Eastern Division Western DivisionKentucky (24) 159 Arkansas (25) 160Tennessee (3) 129 Auburn (1) 114South Carolina 96 Ole Miss (1) 108Georgia 92 Mississippi St. 69Florida 67 Alabama 63Vanderbilt 33 LSU 38
All-SECG – BJ McKie, South Carolina 27G – Tony Harris, Tennessee 12F – Jumaine Jones, Georgia 23F – Scott Padgett, Kentucky 21C – Tyrone Washington, Miss. State 16
MVPBJ McKie, South Carolina 16Jumaine Jones, Georgia 3Wayne Turner, Kentucky 1Tony Harris, Tennessee 1
UK Trivia Answer
The last time UK held an opponent without a three-point field goal was Feb. 9, 1997, when Villanova finished 0-3 from beyond the arc in a 93-56 UK win at Lexington.
