January 8, 1999
#6/5 KENTUCKY WILDCATS (13-3, 2-0)vs.
VANDERBILT COMMODORES (10-4, 1-1)
January 9, 1999 6:06 p.m. ET
Memorial Gymnasium (15,311) Nashville, Tenn.
RADIO
Radio Network — 6 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
Fox Sports South — 6 p.m. ET
Dave Neal (play-by-play)
Mike Pratt (analyst)
Probable Starters
Kentucky Wildcats (13-3, 2-0)
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Ppg Rpg Hometown34 Scott Padgett F 6-9 240 Sr. 12.6 6.6 Louisville, Ky.33 Michael Bradley F/C 6-10 235 So. 12.3 5.8 Worcester, Mass.42 Jamaal Magloire C 6-10 260 Jr. 5.6 4.1 Toronto, Ont.14 Heshimu Evans G/F 6-6 215 Sr. 12.8 5.6 Bronx, N.Y. 5 Wayne Turner G 6-2 190 Sr. 10.5 *3.7 Boston, Mass.
Key Cats Off The Bench
32 Desmond Allison G/F 6-5 206 Fr. 3.3 1.3 Tampa, Fla.40 Jules Camara F/C 6-11 213 Fr. 5.4 3.8 Dakar, Senegal22 Ryan Hogan G 6-3 185 So. 4.6 1.3 Deerfield, Ill.21 Tayshaun Prince G/F 6-8 217 Fr. 6.4 4.2 Compton, Calif.11 Saul Smith G 6-2 175 So. 4.4 2.2 Athens, Ga.
Vanderbilt Commodores (10-4, 1-1)
32 Anthony Williams F 6-7 235 So. 7.9 7.2 Waverly, Ala.13 James Strong F 6-3 195 Jr. 8.8 2.9 Huntsville, Ala.42 Dan Langhi C 6-11 215 Jr. 16.9 7.3 Benton, Ky.05 Atiba Prater G 6-1 180 Jr. 3.8 *3.8 Stone Mtn., Ga.20 Deandre Moore G 5-9 165 Fr. 4.7 *3.4 Norwalk, Calif.
* Assists per game
Cat Tour ’99: Music City Bound
Kentucky will play the 11th of its first 17 games away from Rupp Arenawhen the Wildcats head to Nashville to meet host Vanderbilt in an SECEastern Division battle televised across the region on Fox Sports South.Kentucky, winner of its last three games including its first two inSoutheastern Conference play, has not lost to Vanderbilt since Jan. 13,1993, a 101-86 defeat in Music City. In fact, the Cats have lost only threetimes to Vanderbilt since C.M. Newton left his head coaching post with theCommodores in 1989 to become UK athletics director.
Kentucky is 1-1 on the road this season, but the Cats have won 12straight road games in the SEC, dating back to an 84-79 overtime defeat toSouth Carolina on Feb. 4, 1997. Overall, the Wildcats have won 32 of theirlast 35 road games dating back to the 1995 season, including perfectrecords in 1996 (8-0) and ’98 (11-0). Two of UK’s next three games are onthe road.
Scott Padgett could become the school’s 45th addition to its prestigious1,000-point club. The 6-9 senior from Louisville needs 14 points to reachthe milestone, despite scoring only 28 points as a seldom-used freshmanduring the 1994-95 season. Teammate Wayne Turner also is approaching themark, having scored 950 points in his career.
The UK-Vanderbilt game is the Wildcats’ only contest on Fox Sports Souththis season. Analyst Mike Pratt is a former UK letterman (1968-70) whoranks 21st on UK’s 1,000-point chart. The Dayton, Ohio native teamed withfellow senior and UK legend Dan Issel to lead the Wildcats to a 26-2 recordand a No. 1 finish in the final AP and UPI polls in 1970. After UK, Pratt,a 6-4 forward, played in the ABA for the Kentucky Colonels and, mostrecently, served as head coach of the Charlotte Hornets.
UK has outrebounded every opponent this season.
UK-Vanderbilt Series
This will be the 152nd meeting between the two schools, thesecond-oldest rivalry on the UK docket. Only Tennessee has played moregames against the Wildcats than rival Vanderbilt. The Cats lead the Vandyseries, 116-35.
Kentucky has dominated the series in recent years, winning the last 11games and 16 of the 19 matchups during the ’90s.
The Wildcats are looking for their 50th win vs. Vanderbilt in MusicCity. Kentucky holds a 49-19 record in Nashville. The last Vandy victory inthe series was Jan. 13, 1993, when the host ‘Dores posted a 101-86 win.
Coach Jan van Breda Kolff is 0-10 against the Wildcats since he tookover the Vanderbilt program in 1993-94. UK coach Tubby Smith is 4-2 vs.Vandy, including a 2-0 mark at UK.
600 Weeks And Counting
This is the 600th week UK has appeared in The Associated Press weeklybasketball poll. The poll began in 1948-49.
The sixth-ranked Wildcats have appeared in the college basketball pollevery week since the second week of the 1990-91 season, a span of 150consecutive weeks.
For the past 85 weeks, UK has been ranked in the AP top 10, dating back toFeb. 14, 1994. UK has appeared in the AP top 10 in 119 of the last 120weeks, dating back to March 2, 1992.
Overall, the Wildcats have spent 87 weeks at No. 1 and have appeared atthe top of the final regular-season polls on seven occasions. The Cats alsolead the nation with 33 top-10 finishes in the AP rankings.
“Big Mike”
In this week’s listings, Michael Bradley is third in the nation and secondin the SEC in field goal percentage. When the NCAA stats were released onTuesday, Bradley was shooting 67.5 percent, which trailed SEC mates MarcusHicks of Ole Miss (71.2%) and Udonis Haslem of Florida (70.5%). In theupdated SEC stats including Wednesday’s games, Bradley was shooting 68.5percent from the field, which trailed only Hicks’ tally of 72.6%.
The 6-10 Bradley has not missed more than five shots in any game thisseason, and in the last two contests, he’s converted 13 of 15 attempts. Hisbest performance occurred when he canned all eight attempts from the floorin the Cats’ loss to Pitt.
SEC Dominant
UK has won 59 of its last 66 (89.4%) regular-season SEC games. UK was 14-2in 1995, tallied the league’s first perfect record in 40 years with a 16-0mark in 1996 and followed the unblemished effort with a 13-3 record in1997. Last season, the Cats were 14-2.
Currently, the Wildcats are on a nine-game win streak against SEC opponents.
Against SEC competition, the Wildcats are the winningest team in theleague with a 737-193 (79.2%) regular-season record in 66 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 Vanderbilt share one common opponent early in league play –Florida.
UK opened SEC play at home with a 93-58 victory over Florida one week ago.Vanderbilt suffered a 90-59 loss to the rebounding Gators in Gainesville onWednesday.
Comparison Stats
UK VURecord 13-3 13-3Scoring Off. 77.9 79.4Scoring Def. 62.1 70.3Scoring Margin +15.8 +9.1FG % 48.5 44.4Def. FG % 37.8 43.63FG % 29.0 36.5Def. 3FG % 28.2 31.8FT Pct. 63.0 69.4Reb. Avg. 42.3 39.0Opp. Reb. Avg. 33.5 33.6Rebound Margin +8.8 +5.4TO Avg. 15.0 17.3Opp. TO 16.9 17.9TO Margin +1.9 +0.6Blocks Avg. 5.3 2.4Steals Avg. 8.4 10.1
Coaching Comparisons
Orlando “Tubby” Smith (High Point ’73)
Overall (8th year) 172-69 (71.4%)at UK (2nd year) 48-7 (87.3%)NCAA Appearances (5) 12-4 (75.0%)vs. Vanderbilt 4-2
Jan van Breda Kolff (Vanderbilt ’74)
Overall (8th year) 123-99 (55.4%)at Vanderbilt (6th yr) 100-70 (58.8%)vs. Kentucky 0-10
Opponents’ Records
The 16 opponents that Kentucky has faced this season have a combined125-62 (66.8%) record in games other than those played against the Wildcats.
Bench Strength
Tubby Smith’s need to develop depth is even greater this season sinceeight of the 13 Wildcats are freshmen and sophomores. Currently, eight Catsare averaging at least 12 minutes per game, seven are tallying 5.4 pointsor more and five are pulling down at least four rebounds per game.
But it is the Cats’ contributions off the bench that have been mostnoticeable. UK’s pine is averaging 24.6 points (394) and 12.8 rebounds(205) per game.
New Lineup
Coach Tubby Smith has used five different starting lineups this season.The most recent starting five — 6-9 Scott Padgett and 6-10 Michael Bradleyas the forwards, 6-10 Jamaal Magloire at center, and 6-6 Heshimu Evans and6-2 Wayne Turner out front — is easily the most intimidating by size.Padgett’s first start at small forward came against Tennessee State andEvans made his first start at shooting guard against Florida.
Against South Carolina, the UK starting front line accounted for 45 pointsand 25 rebounds.
Smith used a lineup of Padgett, Evans, Bradley, Turner and freshmanTayshaun Prince in 10 games, and the Cats compiled a 7-3 record. However,sickness to Evans and Prince prior to the Tennessee State game necessitateda lineup change.
Padgett and Bradley are the only two Wildcats who have started every gamethis season.
CATS IN THE NCAA/SEC STATS
All Games
INDIVIDUAL
NCAA — Jan. 5, 1999
Field Goal Percentage
Michael Bradley 3rd (67.5%)
SEC — Jan. 7, 1999
Field Goal Percentage
Michael Bradley 2nd (68.5%)
Rebounding
Scott Padgett 14th (6.6 rpg)
Assists
Wayne Turner 9th (3.7 apg)
Blocks
Jamaal Magloire 3rd (2.1 bpg)
Offensive Rebounds
Heshimu Evans 9th (2.9 orpg)
TEAM
NCAA — Jan. 5, 1999
Scoring Margin
12th (16.4 ppg)
FG %
t24th (48.4%)
FG % Defense
t18th (37.8%)
Rebound Margin
15th (8.7 rpg)
SEC — Jan. 7, 1999
Scoring
6th (77.9 ppg)
Scoring Defense
6th (62.1 pg)
Scoring Margin
4rd (15.8 ppg)
FG %
3rd (48.2%)
Opponents’ FG %
4th (37.8%)
3FG %
12th (29.0%)
Opponents’ 3FG%
1st (28.2%)
FT %
8th (63.0%)
Rebounds
3rd (42.3 rpg)
Opp. Rebounds
T4th (33.5 rpg)
Rebound Margin
4th (8.8 rpg)
Blocks
2nd (5.3 bpg)
Assists
2nd (17.6 apg)
Steals
7th (8.4 spg)
Turnover Margin
5th (1.9 tpg)
Assist/Turnover Ratio
2nd (1.2)
Offensive Rebounds
2nd (15.9 rpg)
Defensive Rebounds
4th (26.4 rpg)
Threes made per game
11th (5.3 mpg)
Non-Conference Strength
Kentucky completed in December its non-conference schedule that featuredfive 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 during December.
The five ranked opponents were in the top 11 or higher of The AssociatedPress weekly polls, including two teams, Maryland and Duke, that wereranked second at the time of the contest. The result? UK was 4-1 vs. theranked teams, 11-3 overall. The Cats defeated 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 rankedopponents. The streak had begun Feb. 28, when UK beat No. 14 SouthCarolina, 69-57, in the regular-season finale.
The Wildcats finished with a 12-2 slate against ranked opponents lastseason, 9-4 in 1997 and 10-2 in 1996.
Sagarin’s Rankings
Duke still leads the power rankings, according to Jeff Sagarin’s ratingsdated Jan. 7. The Blue Devils have a 101.40 rating followed by Auburn at97.96. Kentucky is seventh with a 91.74 rating and Vanderbilt is rated 51stwith a 82.05 mark. UK’s schedule was rated 13th in the nation, according toSagarin.
Last Game
It was a tale of two halves when the Cats escaped Columbia with a 68-61victory last Tuesday.
UK held host South Carolina to a cold 23.1 percent shooting in the firsthalf, while preseason league MVP BJ McKie tallied but eight points. Afterbuilding a 39-20 lead at the half, the Gamecocks went on a 20-8 run to cutthe margin to seven. But a Scott Padgett three-pointer sparked a 13-5 UK run.
After a McKie three-pointer with 30.5 seconds left, USC had cut the leadto six, 67-61, but would get no closer. Padgett led UK with 19 points,including 12 in the first half. Jamaal Magloire, playing a career-high 32minutes, added his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 11rebounds. McKie led all scorers with 31.
Next Game
Kentucky returns home where it sports a 6-0 record this season to faceTennessee next Tuesday, Jan. 12 at 9:3 p.m. The game will be broadcastnationally by ESPN as Brad Nessler and Dick Vitale call the action.
Rebounding Kings
Kentucky has outrebounded every opponent this season. The Wildcats, whofinished second to Utah last season in rebound margin (8.2 rpg), isoutrebounding opponents by 8.8 rpg this year.
The Cats’ most dominant performance in a game this season came at theexpense of Georgia Tech, where the Cats held a 53-32 advantage.
Compelling Coach
Coach Tubby Smith was voted 22nd in USA Today’s “The Top 98 of 1998,” acompilation of “the most compelling people, stories and issues” of the year.
Smith followed Yankees pitcher David Wells and was just before tennisphenom Lindsey Davenport. Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals was votedthe most compelling story.
Rupp Arena
UK, in its 23rd season at Rupp Arena, has a 297-34 (89.7%) record in the23,000-seat, city-owned facility. The Wildcats need three victories toreach 300. They have recorded seven perfect home seasons and three seasonswith only one loss. The building opened in 1976. The Wildcats, 6-0 at home,will play 13 games at Rupp Arena during the 1998-99 season. Their next homegame is Tennessee next Tuesday night.
Record Holder
Wayne Turner broke Tony Delk’s career record of 201 steals at Kentuckyagainst Tennessee State. Turner already holds the school mark for steals ina season with 79 during his sophomore year. The senior has 23 stealsthrough the first 16 games this season.
Turner also is poised to become the first Wildcat to ever top 1,000points, 300 rebounds, 400 assists and 200 steals during a career. TheBoston native, who hopes to break the NCAA record this season for gamesplayed in a college career, has 950 points, 326 rebounds, 408 assists and204 steals. He has played in 130 games at UK, including three Final Fours.The school record is 143 games played by Jared Prickett and the NCAA markis 148 games played by Christian Laettner.
Four In Double Figures
The Wildcats’ offensive attack has been a strength for the Cats thisseason. UK has four players averaging double figures in scoring and fiveCats are averaging at least four rebounds per game.
The last time a UK squad had at least four players average double figuresin scoring was 1990-91 — the last season that Tubby Smith served as a UKassistant coach. That season, five UK players accomplished the feat — JohnPelphrey (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, HeshimuEvans (12.8 ppg), Scott Padgett (12.6 ppg), Michael Bradley (12.3 ppg) andWayne Turner (10.5 ppg) have a chance for the distinction.
Note: Only three times this season has the same player led UK in scoringin back-to-back games.
Tops Thru 55
Coach Tubby Smith has the most wins of any UK coach through his first 55games at the helm of the tradition-rich program. Smith has a 48-7 recordmidway through his second season. Adolph Rupp won 47 of his first 55 gamesat UK, Joe B. Hall began with a 34-21 slate, Eddie Sutton had a 45-10 markand Rick Pitino started with a 35-20 record.
Cats Chase Kansas In Decade Wins
As of Jan. 7, the Wildcats had picked up three wins on Kansas in the chasefor the most wins in the 1990s. UK now trails the Jayhawks by six victories.
Team Wins ('99)1. Kansas 273 (10-3)2. Kentucky 267 (13-3)3. North Carolina 260 (14-3)4. Arkansas 248 (11-3)4. Duke 248 (14-1)
For the past eight seasons, UK has been the winningest basketball team inthe nation.
Team Wins ('99)1. Kentucky 240 (13-3)2. Kansas 215 (10-3)3. North Carolina 211 (14-3)
Consider this: In the last three years — 1996, ’97, ’98 — UK has averaged34.7 wins per season.
Turner Chases NCAA Record
Senior guard Wayne Turner has a chance to play in more college basketballgames than anyone on record. Turner, who has logged time in 130 gamesduring his career, has a chance to break the mark of 148 games held byDuke’s Christian Laettner.
The Wildcats have a 30-game regular-season schedule and Turner must playin 35 games to claim the record. The Boston native has missed only one gameduring his UK career — the 1996 NCAA Championship game against Syracuse,when Anthony Epps played the entire 40 minutes at point guard — a streakof 95 consecutive games.
In addition, Turner hopes to become the first non-Duke player to play infour Final Fours. Bryan Davis (1989-92), Greg Koubek (1988-91) andChristian Laettner (1989-92) all participated in four Final Fours.
Double-Doubles Jamaal Magloire had his first double-double of the season with 12 pointsand 11 rebounds in 32 minutes at South Carolina this season. Magloire hasone double-double in each of his three seasons at UK.
Scott Padgett tallied his ninth career double-double and his third ofthe season with 13 points and 10 rebounds vs. Duke. He registered 25 pointsand 13 rebounds vs. Maryland and tallied his first double-double of theseason with 21 points and 12 rebounds in the opener against EKU. Padgetthad five double-doubles last season and one as a sophomore.
Heshimu Evans recorded his first double-double of the season with 11points and 11 rebounds (eight offensive) against seventh-ranked Kansas inthe Great Eight. Evans has four double-doubles at UK and two at Manhattan.
Freshman Jules Camara registered his first double-double with 10 pointsand 11 rebounds in 23 minutes in the opener. He followed up the effort with15-points and eight rebounds against Mercer.
Consecutive Threes
The Cats have hit three-pointers in 350 consecutive games. The last timeUK 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’scurrent streak ranks fourth nationally. UNLV, Vanderbilt and Princeton havehad a three-pointer in every game since the rule was implemented in 1986-87.
“D” it Up
The Wildcats held opponents to 38.4 percent shooting last season, thelowest field goal percentage for UK opponents in 36 years, dating back to1962.
This season, UK is off to a similar start defensively. Through the first16 games, opponents have converted just 37.8 percent of their shotattempts. The Wildcats have held three teams under 30 percent shooting forthe 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 sinceTubby Smith took over as coach. Last season, the Wildcats earned overtimevictories over Arkansas, 80-77, and Stanford, 86-85. The Cats had lostseven 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 coachingcareer. He’s 3-0 at Kentucky, 2-1 at Georgia and 6-2 at Tulsa, whichincludes a 2-1 mark in double overtime. His one overtime loss at Georgiawas an 83-81 defeat to Syracuse in the 1996 NCAA Tournament and one of hisOT defeats at Tulsa came at the hands of top-ranked Arkansas in 1994.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Neutral Sites
Eight of the first 12 UK games this season were played at neutral sites.After defeating Ga. Tech in the Georgia Dome on Dec. 19, UK is 10-0all-time in the Dome. With the loss to Duke at the Meadowlands, UK droppedto 3-1 in the Continental Airlines Arena.
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 upagainst Tennessee State. It’s the most games prior to Jan. 1 of any UKteam, outdoing the 13 games played last season.
The 1998-99 Wildcats equaled the most wins ever recorded prior to NewYear’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 1998calendar year with a 35-5 record. The superb mark comes on the heels of a35-7 record during calendar year ’97 and a 36-2 mark in ’96.
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 reboundsagainst Indiana, propelling the Wildcats to an overtime win. He followedthe effort with a new personal-high 31 points and six boards in UK’s upsetof second-ranked Maryland. For the week, he averaged 26.5 points, 7.5rebounds and 3.0 assists. It was a rare two-week sweep of the league honorfor the Cats. Teammate Wayne Turner grabbed the honor the week before afterleading 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 ofNo. 7 Kansas with a team-high 14 points. He followed up with 13 points andfive assists against Miami. In the 51 minutes he played during the twogames, Turner had seven assists and only one turnover.
Cat Streak Ended
UK’s November loss to Pittsburgh ended the Wildcats’ 17-game winningstreak, the school’s 10th best streak overall. Kentucky’s streak began witha 79-54 win over Florida on Feb. 18, 1998. The loss to the Panthers alsoended UK’s 16-game win streak at neutral sites.
The UK loss at Louisville ended the Cats’ 14-game road win streak.
Long November
UK played more games in November than ever before, finishing with a 5-1record. The ’99 Wildcats also were the first UK team to win five gamesduring 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 whenPittsburgh defeated the Wildcats, 68-56, in the P.R. Shootout. And for the10th time in 11 seasons, the Wildcats lost one of their first five games ofthe season.
Caribbean Cats
While the Wildcats finished the Puerto Rico Shootout with a 2-1 record anda third-place trophy, the trip proved to be an adventure.
First, the Wildcats returned to Lexington from its Wright State game inCincinnati 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 itstrek to the Caribbean.
UK caught a chartered 747 with 598 Big Blue fans, the same plane (AmericanAirlines) 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 Smithturned the bus around and headed for the team hotel, another one hourdrive, while canceling practice in the process. Oh, and one more thing…the team hotel was located nearly 90 minutes from the Puerto Rico Shootoutheadquarters.
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 69-62
Second Round
Pittsburgh def. Kentucky 68-56
Xavier def. Colorado 74-61
Maryland def. UCLA 70-54
USF def. American U. 82-69
Final 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 10season 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. TheCats also played Duke on Nov. 17, 1979, an 82-76 overtime loss in theTip-Off Classic in Springfield, Mass.
Anthony Leaves Team
Sophomore Myron Anthony quit the UK team on Dec. 3. The 6-7 forward fromJacksonville, Fla., had seen action in three games this season. He’sexpected to transfer for the upcoming semester.
PRESEASON NOTES
UK Signs Four
Kentucky received four national letters of intent during the Novembersigning period. Keith Bogans of Hyattsville, Md., Marquis Estill ofRichmond, 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 gamelast season at DeMatha Catholic, is rated as one of the top guards in thenation by nearly every recruiting expert. He was a second-team All-Americanby Parade Magazine last season while leading DeMatha to a 34-1 record and aNo. 3 ranking nationwide. He picked Kentucky over Connecticut, Michigan andNorth Carolina.
Estill, a 6-9, 265-pound forward/center at Madison Central, played only 10games last season due to an injured left knee, but averaged 16.8 points and11.7 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 theIndians advanced to the regionals with a 21-9 record. He chose UK overLouisville.
Stewart, a 7-0, 285-pound center from Lawrence North High School, averaged15.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per game last season. He earnedAll-County honors and played on the Junior All-Star team last summer inIndiana.
Stone, a 6-9, 244-pound power forward, averaged 19.1 points, 12.7rebounds, 4.5 blocks and 3.0 assists last year in leading Grissom High to a25-5 record. He was named Class 6A Player of the Year in Alabama and athird-team Parade Magazine All-American. He chose the Cats over Alabama andAuburn.
White House Tour
The 1998 NCAA Champion Kentucky Wildcats toured the White House and metPresident Clinton on Mon., Nov. 9. Clinton honored the Wildcats and theTennessee Lady Vols on their respective 1998 titles in an East Roomceremony which was broadcast live on radio and TV across Kentucky.
Seniors Cameron Mills and Jeff Sheppard presented Clinton with a No. 1Kentucky jersey. “We gave you one of these back in 1996, and I never recallyou wearing it,” Mills said during the ceremony. “But I’m going to give youanother 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 popularrestaurant in Falls Church, Va., that’s owned by former UK All-AmericanKevin Grevey. From there, the Wildcats toured the Supreme Court beforetheir trip to the White House.
SEC Media Picks
UK was the favored squad to repeat as Southeastern Conference Champion andScott Padgett was selected to the five-man All-SEC team when voting wasconducted at SEC Media Days in early November.
The Cats received 17 of the 21 votes to repeat as league champion withTennessee earning three votes and Arkansas getting one.
Padgett was the Cats’ lone member of the All-SEC team. Wayne Turnerreceived 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-SEC
G - BJ McKie, South Carolina 27G - Tony Harris, Tennessee 12F - Jumaine Jones, Georgia 23F - Scott Padgett, Kentucky 21C - Tyrone Washington, Miss. State 16
MVP
BJ McKie, South Carolina 16Jumaine Jones, Georgia 3Wayne Turner, Kentucky 1Tony Harris, Tennessee 1
