November 25, 1998

Caribbean Cat Tour

The Wildcats returned to Lexington at 12:30 a.m. Monday night aftertheir game against Wright State in Cincinnati. At 7 a.m. Tuesday morning,the team departed for the Louisville airport at for its trek to PuertoRico. UK flew to the Caribbean on a chartered 747 with 598 Big Blue fans.The squad and fans are staying at the Westin Rio Mar Beach & CountryClub resort, approximately one hour outside San Juan.

Puerto Rico II

This is Kentucky’s second basketball trip to Puerto Rico. While UK hasnever played in the Puerto Rico Shootout, in August 1951, it played anexhibition tour on the island, winning all six games. UK defeated the SanGerman Athletic Club, 86-38, the Ponce Lions, 83-43, San Turce, 93-40,the University of Puerto Rico, 91-44, the U.S. Navy, 52-23 and Puerto Rico,75-46. As a side note, the contest against the U.S. Navy was called athalftime due to rain, indicating the game was played outdoors. Coincidentally,the 1951 UK team was reigning NCAA Champions coached by Adolph Rupp.

Puerto Rico Shootout

Thursday

Friday

Colorado vs. Kentucky (ESPN2) Noon (P.R. Time)
Maryland vs. American-P.R. 2:30 p.m.
Xavier vs. Pittsburgh 5 p.m.
UCLA vs. San Francisco 7:30 p.m.

UC-UK winner vs. XU-Pitt winner (ESPN2) NoonMaryland-P.R. winner vs. UCLA-USF winner (ESPN2) 2:30 p.m.
UC-UK loser vs. XU-Pitt loser 5 p.m.
Maryland-P.R. loser vs. UCLA-USF loser 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Consolation game – 7th place Noon
Consolation game – 5th place 2:30 p.m.
Consolation game – 3rd place 5 p.m.
Championship game (ESPN) 9 p.m.

Note: The Xavier-Pitt game was moved to the third game of the firstround to accommodate Fox Sports Ohio and Fox Sports Pittsburgh,s televisedbroadcast of the game. UK radio crew members Ralph Hacker and Sam Bowiewill handle the television broadcast of that game. However, the Colorado-UKwinner will still meet the Xavier-Pitt winner in second-round play.

Probable Starters Kentucky Wildcats (2-0)

No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Ppg Rpg34 Scott Padgett F 6-9 240 Sr. 14.3 6.714 Heshimu Evans F 6-6 215 Sr. 14.7 6.333 Michael Bradley C 6-10 235 So. 13.0 6.75 Wayne Turner G 6-2 190 Sr. 12.3 *2.721 Tayshaun Prince G 6-8 206 Fr. 7.3 5.0

Key Cats Off The Bench

32 Desmond Allison G/F 6-5 206 Fr. 7.3 1.325 Myron Anthony F 6-7 225 So. 2.0 0.040 Jules Camara F/C 6-11 213 Fr. 11.0 8.722 Ryan Hogan G 6-3 185 So. 5.0 *1.042 Jamaal Magloire C 6-10 260 Jr. 4.0 3.011 Saul Smith G 6-2 175 So. 4.0 *4.7

Colorado Buffaloes (4-0)

23 Ernest Renfroe F 6-7 220 So. 7.0 3.010 Will Smith F/C 6-6 206 Jr. 8.0 4.03 Kenny Price G 6-4 190 Sr. 16.0 5.84 Jaquay Walls G 6-3 180 Jr. 7.5 *4.331 Dwight Jones G 5-11 190 Sr. 11.8 *2.8

* Assists per game

COACHING COMPARISONS

Orlando Tubby Smith (High Point OE73)Overall (8th year) 162-66 (71.1%)at UK (2nd year) 38-4 (90.5%)NCAA Appearances (5) 12-4 (75.0%)vs. Colorado 1-0Ricardo Patton (Belmont OE80)Overall (4th year) 43-33 (56.6%)at Colorado samevs. Kentucky 0-0

Team Comparisons

 UK UCRecord 3-0 4-0Scoring Off. 92.7 83.5Scoring Def. 63.3 64.3Scoring Margin +29.3 +19.2FG % 53.0 47.4Def. FG % 36.0 38.03FG % 27.6 43.0Def. 3FG % 33.3 29.5FT Pct. 55.7 71.1Reb. Avg. 45.7 40.3Opp. Reb. Avg. 36.7 35.3Rebound Margin +9.0 +5.0TO Avg. 16.0 14.3Opp. TO 24.3 18.0TO Margin +8.3 +3.7Blocks Avg. 7.0 3.3Steals Avg. 10.3 10.0

Sun, Surf, Turkey and Hoops

+/- Two unbeaten teams — Kentucky and Colorado — tip offthe 1998 Puerto Rico Shootout when they meet in first-round action. Thefourth-ranked Wildcats, the OE98 NCAA Champions, kept their record perfect(3-0) by defeating Wright State in Cincinnati on Monday, 97-75. With thevictory, UK extended its winning streak to 16 games, the 10th-longest winstreak in school history. Kentucky,s last defeat came against Ole Misson Feb. 14, 1998.

+/- The victory at the Crown also kept UK,s unbeaten streak intact atneutral sites. The Cats have won 15 consecutive neutral site games, datingback to their loss to Arizona one year ago in the Maui Invitational.

+/- This is the third straight season UK has participated in a Novembertournament. The Wildcats won the Great Alaska Shootout in 1996 and finishedthird last season to Duke and Arizona in the Maui Invitational.

+/- This is Kentucky,s fourth game in 10 days. The Wildcats will playtheir first seven games of the season over a 15-day stretch.

Colorado Series Notes

+/- UK has never played Colorado on the hardwood.

+/- UK coach Tubby Smith owns one victory over the Buffaloes. He coachedGeorgia to a 62-52 victory over Coach Ricardo Patton and Colorado in DecemberOE96.

+/- All-time vs. Big 12 teams, UK is 49-6. Colorado is the only Big12 school that UK has never faced. The Wildcats have played Kansas morethan any other Big 12 school and they own a 17-3 advantage over the Jayhawks.

Shootout Notes

+/- Kentucky and Maryland, two teams that could meet duringthe three-game tournament this week, are scheduled to play a regular-seasongame at Rupp Arena on Dec. 12, 1998. That game will be broadcast on ESPNat 8:30 p.m. ET, immediately following the live Heisman Trophy Show.

+/- UK owns a 50-8 all-time record against teams in the 1998 PuertoRico Shootout. The Wildcats are 37-2 against Xavier, but they haven,t metthe Musketeers since 1968, even though the two teams are separated by 75miles. Against Maryland, the Wildcats are 5-3. The last time the two teamsmet was on Nov. 24, 1995, a 96-84 victory in the Tip-off Classic in Springfield,Mass. Kentucky is 4-2 vs. UCLA, which includes a 94-68 win against theBruins in the South Region semifinals last March. Kentucky and Pittsburghhave played five times with the Wildcats winning the first four. CoachesTubby Smith and Ralph Willard were assistants together at UK on Rick Pitino,sfirst staff (1989-90). Willard was associate coach and departed for thehead coaching job at Western Kentucky after one season. Smith was thenpromoted to associate coach, a position he retained for one season, beforetaking over the reins at Tulsa in 1991-92.

+/- In addition to Colorado, UK has never faced American-Puerto Ricoor San Francisco.

+/- While Tubby Smith is 1-0 against Colorado, he,s also 1-0 vs. Maryland,1-0 vs. Pittsburgh and 2-0 vs. UCLA.

Experimental Rules

The Puerto Rico Shootout was approved to use experimental rules thisseason. The new rules are:

1. Television timeouts will remain the same — 16, 12, 8 and4 of each half — but teams will be granted five 30-second timeouts, fourof which carry over to the second half. The first timeout to be calledby either team automatically becomes a full timeout.

2. On a free throw, the first lane space moves 10 inches farther awayfrom the basket.

3. A 45-second shot-clock will be used instead of the traditional 35-secondshot clock.

November To Remember

UK will play six games this November, the most regular-season gamesever played by a UK team during the month. Last season, the Wildcats playedfive games, and in 1989, they played four.

Turner Climbs Steals, Assists Lists

Wayne Turner continues to climb the steals and assists lists at UK.Note: Turner already holds the UK record for most steals in a season with79 as a sophomore.

UK's All-Time Steals List1. Tony Delk (1993-96) 2012. Ed Davender (1985-88) 1913. Jared Prickett (1993-97) 1874. Wayne Turner (1996-99) 1855. Anthony Epps (1994-97) 1846. John Pelphrey (1989-92) 173

UK,s All-Time Assists List1. Dirk Minniefield(1980-83)6462. Anthony Epps (1994-97) 5443. Roger Harden (1983-86) 4984. Sean Woods (1989-92) 4825. Kyle Macy (1978-80) 4706. Ed Davender (1985-88) 4367. Travis Ford (1992-94) 4288. Wayne Turner (1996-99) 354

Cat Streaks

The Wildcats are currently on a 16-game winning streak, the school,s10th best streak overall. Kentucky,s last defeat came on Feb. 14, 1998,a 73-64 loss to Ole Miss in Rupp Arena.

The most consecutive wins in UK history is 32, dating from 1953-55.The Wildcats have also:

* won 14 straight road games. The last team to defeat UK on the roadwas South Carolina (Feb. 4, 1997);

* won 15 consecutive neutral site games, dating back to the Arizonaloss in Maui in November 1997;

* played in the last three Final Fours;

* played in the last four regional championship games; * won six ofthe last seven SEC Tournament titles, including the last two;

* have hit three-pointers in 337 consecutive games.

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 117 games duringhis career, has a chance to break the mark of 148 games held by Duke,sChristian Laettner. The Wildcats have a 30-game regular-season scheduleand Turner must play in 35 games to claim the record. The Boston nativehas missed only one game during his UK career — the 1996 NCAA Championshipgame against Syracuse, when Anthony Epps played the entire 40 minutes atpoint guard.

Early Season Highlights

* Wayne Turner and Heshimu Evans both missed a starting assignmentagainst Wright State when they violated team curfew. In their stead, freshmanTayshaun Prince and junior walk-on Steve Masiello made their first collegiatestarts. With a 40-32 halftime lead, UK used a 21-6 run at the start ofthe second half to put the game away. Evans finished with 18 points, sevenrebounds and four assists in 23 minutes to lead the Wildcats to their thirdstraight win. * Scott Padgett recorded his seventh career double-doublewith 21 points and 12 rebounds in the season-opener against Eastern Kentucky.Padgett had five double-doubles last season and one as a sophomore. Hebroke the 800-point plateau with a 21-point effort against the Colonels.Meanwhile, freshman Jules Camara tallied his first double-double with 10points and 11 rebounds in 23 minutes in the opener. He followed up theeffort 15-points and eight rebounds against Mercer. Center Michael Bradleymade his first career start a memorable one. The 6-10 sophomore had careerhighs vs. EKU in points (13), rebounds (7), field goals (6), field goalattempts (11), assists (4) and steals (4). He surpassed some of those marksagainst Wright State earlier this week, finishing with 14 points and eightrebounds. * Myron Anthony, Ryan Hogan and Jamaal Magloire each returnedto action on Monday against Wright State after missing the first two regular-seasongames and the two exhibition games for violating team rules. Magloire equaledhis personal best in blocks against the Raiders, tallying six.

1,000-Point Chase

Seniors Scott Padgett and Wayne Turner hope to become the 45th and 46thplayers to join the prestigious 1,000-point club at UK. Padgett has scored828 points in his career and Turner has posted 819 career points.

TUBBY BALL

Coach Tubby Smith wasted no time implementing his style of play at Kentucky.Several characteristics define his coaching philosophy:

Ball-Line Defense: Smith keeps his off-the-ball defenders betweenthe ball and their respective opponent. In OE98, UK,s defense allowed only38.4 percent FG shooting, the lowest mark by a UK opponent in 36 years.Rebounding: A fundamental approach to boxing led the Cats to finish secondnationally last season in rebound margin (8.2 rpg). Assists: Smith alwaysemphasizes his team to ,make the extra pass,0/00 and in OE98, UK recordedthe third-most assists in school history. Even Keel: Smith preaches to,never get too high and never get too low.0/00 That composure helped UKturn 12 halftime deficits into 10 victories in OE98. Tight Game Victories:UK was 2-0 in overtime games en route to its OE98 title, including an 86-85win over Stanford in the Final Four. In games decided by three points orless, UK was 7-1 last year. Deep Bench: Last season, nine different Catsearned a start, while nine players also averaged 10 minutes or more pergame. In addition, six Cats averaged between 13.7 and 8.8 ppg.

AP Trivia

The Kentucky Wildcats have been ranked in The Associated Press collegebasketball poll every week since the second week of the 1990-91 season.UK has been ranked in the Top 10 by the AP in the last 78 weekly polls,dating back to Feb. 21, 1994.

Rupp Arena

UK is in its 23rd season at Rupp Arena and needs just seven victoriesto reach 300 in the 23,000-seat, city-owned facility. The Wildcats are293-34 (89.6%) overall in Rupp. They have recorded seven perfect home seasonsand three seasons with only one loss. The building opened in 1976. TheWildcats will play 13 games at Rupp Arena during the 1998-99 season.
Teams of the Decade Despite starting the decade with a 14-14 record,UK is second in wins in the 1990s with 257, trailing only Kansas. Kentuckyand Kansas play one another at the Great Eight in Chicago on Dec. 1. Considerthis: In the last three years, UK has averaged 34.7 wins per season. TeamWins (OE99) 1. Kansas 266 (3-0) 2. Kentucky 257 (3-0) 3. North Carolina251 (3-0) 4. Arkansas 241 (4-1) For the past eight seasons, UK has beenthe winningest basketball team in the nation. Team Wins (OE99) 1. Kentucky230 (3-0) 2. Kansas 208 (3-0) 3. North Carolina 200 (3-0)

UK Signs Four

Kentucky received four national letters of intent during the early signingperiod which began Nov. 11. Keith Bogans of Hyattsville, Md., Marquis Estillof 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 seasonat DeMatha Catholic, is rated as one of the top guards in the nation bynearly every recruiting expert. He was a second-team All-American by ParadeMagazine last season while leading DeMatha to a 34-1 record and a No. 3ranking nationwide. He picked Kentucky over Connecticut, Michigan and NorthCarolina. Estill, a 6-9, 265-pound forward/center at Madison Central, playedonly 10 games last season due to an injured left knee, but averaged 16.8points and 11.7 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, he led the state inshooting, canning 76.9 percent of his shots. He tallied 14.0 ppg and 7.7rpg as the Indians advanced to the regionals with a 21-9 record. He choseUK over Louisville. Stewart, a 7-0, 285-pound center from Lawrence NorthHigh School, averaged 15.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks per gamelast season. He earned All-County honors and played on the Junior All-Starteam last summer in Indiana. Stone, a 6-9, 244-pound power forward, averaged19.1 points, 12.7 rebounds, 4.5 blocks and 3.0 assists last year in leadingGrissom High to a 25-5 record. He was named Class 6A Player of the Yearin Alabama and a third-team Parade Magazine All-American. He chose theCats over Alabama and Auburn.

White House Tour

The 1998 NCAA Champion Kentucky Wildcats toured the White House andmet President Clinton on Mon., Nov. 9. Clinton honored the Wildcats andthe Tennessee Lady Vols on their respective 1998 titles in an East Roomceremony which was broadcast live on radio and TV across Kentucky. SeniorsCameron Mills and Jeff Sheppard presented Clinton with a No. 1 Kentuckyjersey, just like the OE96 UK champs had done two years prior. ,We gaveyou one of these back in 1996, and I never recall you wearing it,0/00 saidMills during the ceremony. ,But I,m going to give you another one in goodfaith that you,ll wear it.0/00 ,Cameron,0/00 Clinton responded, ,for allyou know, I slept in it.0/00 The ceremony concluded a day that began withlunch at Grevey,s, a popular restaurant in Falls Church, Va., that,s ownedby former UK All-American Kevin Grevey. From there, the Wildcats touredthe Supreme Court before their trip to the White House.

Youth Movement

Kentucky returns nine lettermen from the OE98 squad known as the ,ComebackCats,0/00 including two starters. But nine of the 14 Wildcats are freshmenor sophomores. Only 11 teams in Division I college basketball have morefreshmen and sophomores on their rosters than UK. UK,s returning productionincludes — points: 52.1%; rebounds: 62.8%; assists: 59.8%; blocks: 60.5%;steals: 59.5%. The Wildcats, roster includes three seniors, two juniors,four sophomores and five freshmen.

Multiple Season Victories

The Kentucky Wildcats continue to set NCAA records for wins in multipleseasons. In 1997 and OE98, UK tied its own NCAA record with 70 victories(six defeats), a mark it set originally in 1947 and OE48. During a three-yearspan from 1996-98, UK tallied 104 victories (11 losses) and during a four-yearperiod from 1995-98, the Wildcats have 132 wins (16 losses), all nationalrecords.

Season Openers

* With its win over Eastern Kentucky, UK has won nine of itslast 10 season openers. The one loss was a 79-71 overtime defeat to Clemsonon Nov. 15, 1996 at the BCA Classic in Indianapolis.

* This is UK,s second earliest start to the season in school history.The Clemson-UK game on Nov. 15, 1996 was the school,s earliest tip-off.The Cats also played Duke on Nov. 17, 1979, an 82-76 overtime loss in theTip-Off Classic in Springfield, Mass.

SEC Media Picks

UK was the favored squad to repeat as Southeastern Conference Championand Scott Padgett was selected to the five-man All-SEC team when votingwas conducted at SEC Media Days in early November. The Cats received 17of the 21 votes to repeat as league champion with Tennessee earning threevotes and Arkansas getting one. Padgett was the Cats, lone member of theAll-SEC team. Wayne Turner received one vote for preseason MVP, but wasleft 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

Tough Schedule

Kentucky could face 14 teams that played in last season,s NCAA Tournament,including top seeds Kansas and Duke. The Wildcats also could face 19 teamsthat participated in NCAA or NIT play in 1998.

Just Like Big Brother

Two Wildcats this season are younger brothers of other college basketballplayers. Michael Bradley,s older brother David is a senior forward at CharlestonSouthern. Tayshaun Prince,s older brother Tommie is a senior forward atPepperdine.