Jan. 21, 2000
Kentucky Wildcats (12-5, 3-1)
vs.
Vanderbilt Commodores (12-2, 3-1)
Jan. 22, 2000, 3:07 p.m. ET
Memorial Gym (14,168), Nashville, Tenn.
UK Radio Network — 1:30 p.m. ET
Tom Leach, Sam Bowie, Dave Baker
Jefferson-Pilot Sports
Paul Kennedy, Larry Conley
To follow the Wildcats in cyberspace, log onto www.ukathletics.com. Live stats, notes and information on this year’s team is available.
14 Days Later, Cats-‘Dores II
Tubby Smith will be looking for his 200th victory as a head coach when his 18th-ranked Wildcats visit No. 20 Vanderbilt for a January rematch. Two weeks ago, Kentucky opened Southeastern Conference play with a 20-point win over Vandy, 72-52, in Lexington. (See summary and box score, page 19.) Both teams enter the contest tied for second in the highly competitve SEC Eastern Division with 3-1 records.
Smith has a 199-80 record (71.3%) coaching nine years at three stops — Tulsa, Georgia and Kentucky. In his three seasons in the Bluegrass, Smith is 75-18 (80.6%), winning two SEC Tournament crowns, an SEC Championship and an NCAA title. Even with 13 regular-season games remaining, plus postseason play, Smith is currently averaging a remarkable 22.1 wins per year during his tenure as a college head coach.
Since the first meeting, Kentucky has lost at Auburn but won its last two games — at South Carolina and at home vs. Ole Miss on Wednesday. Vanderbilt has won at Tennessee and at home against LSU, but this past week, the ‘Dores had an “open date” and did not play.
The Wildcats “Road Tour 2000” resumes in the Music City. UK has played two of its last three games away from home and the Vanderbilt contest begins a three-game road stretch that continues at Georgia and Miami (Fla.) next week. UK is 1-2 on the road this season, losing at Maryland and Auburn before winning last Saturday at South Carolina.
In both RPI polls this week, UK owns the nation’s toughest basketball schedule. CollegeRPI.com and College Basketball News both list UK’s schedule No. 1. The Wildcats have played seven ranked opponents this season including three top-10 teams. Overall, CollegeRPI.com and CBN rank UK third and sixth, respectively.
Vandy is the eighth ranked opponent of the season for UK and the third on the road for the Cats. This is the Commodores’ fifth straight ranked opponent, all SEC teams.
Kentucky continued its climb up the national rankings ladder this week, moving two spots in the AP poll, and five positions in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. The Wildcats are ranked 18th in both polls. Vanderbilt reappears in the AP poll at No. 20, its first ranking since Jan. 10, 1994. In the Coaches’ poll, the Commodores are ranked 24th.
Kentucky is ranked 11th nationally in scoring defense, allowing 58.1 ppg. Eight opponents have been held to 53 points or less, including South Carolina last Saturday (48), and only three teams have scored more than 70 points against the Wildcats.
The Cats’ next contest will be at Georgia, Coach Smith’s first appearance back in Athens without having to coach against his eldest son G.G. The younger Smith completed his eligibility last season, graduated in December, and is now teaching at Lexington Catholic (Ky.) High School.
The Skinny on Vandy
The Commodores’ Dan Langhi is the catalyst behind their 12-2 record. Langhi, who played his high school basketball in Kentucky at Marshall County, is seventh in the nation in scoring, averaging 22.6 ppg. But he’s not a one-man show. Anthony Williams is seventh in the NCAA in free throw percentage (93.6%) and Atiba Prater is 18th in assists (6.6 apg).
Vanderbilt is trying to protect a 13-game home winning streak at Memorial Gym. The Commodores have not lost since Feb. 6, 1999 (Arkansas), winning all 10 games there this season.
When these two teams last met, UK was ranked 25th and Vanderbilt was unranked. Until this week, Vandy has not appeared in the AP poll since 1994. The ranking followed VU’s great start — winning 12 of its first 14 games and beating three ranked opponents in its last four outings. Their only loss? To No. 25 Kentucky, two weeks ago. In the ‘Dores’ wreckage lies No. 6 Florida, No. 12 Tennessee and No. 24 LSU.
Vanderbilt is one of three teams that has never missed a three-pointer since the rule was adopted in 1987. The ‘Dores’ streak stands at 426 games. UK hasn’t missed since Nov. 1988 — 391 games — the nation’s fourth longest streak.
Probable Starters
KENTUCKY
No. Name Pos.Ht. Wt. Cl. Ppg Rpg Hometown 21 Tayshaun Prince G/F 6-9 215 So. 14.2 5.9 Compton, Calif. 32 Desmond Allison G/F 6-5 214 So. 5.9 3.1 Tampa, Fla. 42 Jamaal Magloire C 6-10 260 Sr. 12.9 7.9 Toronto, Ontario 11 Saul Smith G 6-2 175 Jr. 6.3* 3.3 Athens, Ga. 10 Keith Bogans G 6-5 215 Fr. 9.3 2.8 Alexandria, Va.
Key Cats Off The Bench
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Ppg Rpg Hometown 3 J.P. Blevins G 6-2 181 So. 4.3 1.4 Edmonton, Ky. 40 Jules Camara F 6-11 223 So. 7.6 4.6 Dakar, Senegal 24 Marvin Stone F/C 6-10 256 Fr. 5.2 4.7 Huntsville, Ala.
VANDERBILT
No. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Ppg Rpg Hometown 32 Anthony Williams F 6-7 235 Jr. 9.4 6.6 Waverly, Ala. 42 Dan Langhi F 6-11 215 Sr. 22.6 5.6 Benton, Ky. 52 Greg LaPointe C 6-10 235 Jr. 5.2 3.2 Mt. Pleasant, Mich. 5 Atiba Prater G 6-1 180 Sr. 7.5 3.4 Stone Mtn., Ga. 13 James Strong G 6-3 195 Sr. 12.0 4.5 Huntsville, Ala.
* Assists per game
Series Facts
Overall Record: UK leads 119-35
In Lexington: UK leads 63-13
In Nashville: UK leads 50-19
At Neutral Sites: UK leads 6-3
This is the 155th meeting between the two teams. With its 72-52 win two weeks ago, UK has now won 14 straight games against Vanderbilt. The ‘Dores last win in the series was Jan .13, 1993 in Memorial Gym. VU temporarily halted UK’s drive to the Final Four that season with a convincing 101-86 victory over the top-ranked Cats.
In Memorial Gym, one of the toughest venues in college basketball, UK has won six straight games against Vanderbilt. The longest streak of consecutive wins by an opponent is seven games set by UK between 1981-87. Included in the current stretch was a last second shot by Nazr Mohammed to break a 61-61 tie and give the Wildcats the two-point win on Jan. 27, 1998. Also included was an 82-79 victory on Feb. 22, 1997, which featured the Cats rallying from a 22-point deficit (40-18) with 3:51 remaining in the first half. UK’s biggest win at Vandy was a 120-81 shellacking on Feb. 7, 1996.
Earlier this season, UK won its 25th straight game against Vanderbilt in Lexington while keeping the Commodores without a win in Rupp Arena in 23 tries. The 72-52 victory was highlighed by Jamaal Magloire’s 15 points and 10 rebounds and Tayshaun Prince’s 17 points and career-high five three-pointers made. Prince is only the second Vanderbilt opponent to score above his average against the ‘Dores defense this season.
Last season, the Wildcats swept VU with a 73-57 win in Nashville on Jan. 9, and an 88-63 win in Lexington on Feb. 24. For summaries and box scores, see page 103 and 107 in the 2000 UK Basketball Media Guide.
Tubby Smith is 7-2 against Vanderbilt during his career, including a 5-0 mark at Kentucky. Kevin Stallings is 0-1 against UK.
Double Trouble
When freshman Marvin Stone recorded the Cats’ first double-double of the season against UNC Asheville, it opened the double-double flood gates for the Wildcats. They now have totaled the feat nine times in the last 11 games, including Jamaal Magloire’s sixth double-double of the season in UK’s win over Ole Miss on Wednesday. Since Stone’s accomplishment, UK is 9-2 in the win-loss column.
D-E-F-E-N-S-E
Eight of the 17 teams UK has played this season have scored 53 points or less against the Wildcats.
UK is 10-0 when holding opponents under 60 points.
Tubby Smith’s “ball-line defense” has held nine opponents to less than 40 percent shooting this season, including a 27.1-percent effort by South Carolina, a season low for the Gamecocks. Only three teams have shot better than 45.0 percent from the field against the Wildcats — Auburn (47.5 %), Dayton (46.3%) and Indiana (54.7%).
The Cats have allowed 38.8 percent shooting from the field, the third straight year UK opponents have shot less than 39 percent from the field. The Wildcats have allowed 58.1 ppg this season, which ranks 11th nationally and second in the SEC behind Auburn.
Magloire Madness
How important has the “Big Canadian,” Jamaal Magloire, been to the Wildcats? Crunch these numbers…
Six double-doubles in the last 10 games,
Scored in double figures in 14 of the 17 games this season,
Second on the team in scoring (12.9 ppg), first in boards (7.9 rpg) and first in blocks (1.8 bpg),
Vs. league competition, tops the SEC in FG percentage (60.5%), third in scoring (16.2 ppg), 10th in FT percentage (70.4%), fourth in rebounding (8.0 rpg) and 10th in blocks (1.0 bpg).
Super Sub
Jules Camara, who started the first seven games, has since found his role as one of the nation’s top sixth men. In the past five games, the sophomore from Dakar, Senegal has averaged 10.0 ppg and 7.0 rpg and blocked eight shots. He recorded his first double-double of the season, the second of his career, with 12 points and 10 rebounds at South Carolina.
Against SEC opponents only, Camara (pronounced ka-MAR-a) is tied for sixth in the league rebounding (7.5 rpg) and fourth in blocked shots (1.75 bpg).
Sub II
Off the bench and into the UK Radio Network play-by-play is Tom Leach, who’s subbing for the ailing Ralph Hacker. Hacker was placed on the “disabled list” earlier this week by Nashville doctors. He’s not expected to return to action until February because of swollen vocal chords.
Hacker is a 28-year veteran of the network and has spent the past nine years calling play-by-play. Leach serves as play-by-play man for UK football.
UK vs. Top 25
Kentucky is 3-4 against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 this season, and 1-2 vs. top-10 teams. UK owns wins over No. 16 Utah, No. 24 Maryland in the Preseason NIT, and No. 5 Michigan State. The Cats have lost to No. 8 Arizona and No. 23 Indiana, and on the road at No. 21 Maryland (Dec. 11) and No. 4 Auburn. AP rankings were current at the time of the game.
While Kentucky has played six non-conference teams ranked in the Top 25, all the other Southeastern Conference teams have combined to play 10. Auburn lost to No. 2 Stanford, Florida lost to No. 24 Purdue in Maui, Georgia fell to No. 8 Kansas and beat No. 25 Wake Forest, and South Carolina has lost to No. 5 Michigan State, No. 19 DePaul and No. 7 Syracuse. Arkansas lost to No. 23 Wake Forest, Mississippi State fell to No. 1 Stanford and LSU beat No.11 Oklahoma State. Alabama, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt did not face a ranked opponent prior to the league schedule. In the 10 games the SEC teams have played against ranked opponents, they have a combined record of 2-8.
Free Throw Improvement
Despite a 23-of-39 performance against Ole Miss Wednesday, Kentucky is shooting 70.5 percent from the foul line this season. Heading into the Ole Miss game, UK had hit 26 of its last 28 attempts the previous two games. Overall, it’s the best percentage in the Tubby Smith era.
Keith Bogans‘ saw his streak of consecutive made free throws end at 15 on Wednesday. Jamaal Magloire, a career 59.3 percent free throw shooter heading into the season, is shooting 68.5 percent this year.
SEC Stat Highlights
In key SEC stats, UK’s rankings are different in comparing all games vs. SEC games only. For instance, the Cats are 12th in field goal percentage for the season (42.0%) but sixth in league games (42.6%). Some of the disparity can be due to UK’s tough pre-conference schedule.
In the 10 categories listed below, UK has improved its ranking in five areas, remained unchanged in three and declined in two. Here’s the breakdown:
Category All Games SEC Only Scoring Off. 11th (67.6) 6th (68.2) Scoring Margin 6th (9.5) 2nd (9.5) Scoring Def. 2nd (58.1) 2nd (58.8) FG % 12th (.420) 6th (.426) 3FG% 12th (.265) 12th (.206) FT % 2nd (.705) 2nd (.726) FG% Def. 2nd (.388) 4th (.395) 3FG% Def. 7th (.332) 11th (.382) Rebounds 8th (39.1) 5th (37.2) A-TO Ratio 11th (0.79) 3rd (0.93)
SEC Marks
UK has won 57 of its last 68 (83.8%) regular-season SEC games. The Cats were 14-2 in 1995, tallied the league’s first perfect record in 40 years, 16-0, in 1996, and went 13-3 and 11-5 the last two seasons.
The Wildcats are playing their 67th season of SEC basketball. The league kingpin has won 39 SEC Championships and 22 SEC Tournament titles, more titles in each category than all the other league teams combined. Kentucky is 748-199 (.790) in regular-season conference play. Last season, the Cats finished second in the SEC Eastern Division with an 11-5 record, but rebounded to win their seventh SEC Tournament in the last eight years.
Y2UK Trends
Only one team in 12 has come back to win against Kentucky this season when the Cats entered the final five minutes of the contest with the lead — Auburn. In addition, UK is 10-1 when leading at halftime.
Since Tubby Smith made a lineup change against Louisville — inserting Keith Bogans at guard — UK has won eight of its last nine games. Eleven opponents have hit more threes than UK, but the Cats have won all but two of those meetings.
The one glitch has been offensively, where UK has shot better than 50 percent >from the field only twice this season — 59.6% vs. Louisville and 51.0% vs. South Carolina.
Back in the Top 25
The Wildcats are 18th in both major polls this week.
In the AP poll, UK has been ranked in eight of the 11 polls. On Dec. 13, 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 current streak of 172, North Carolina’s previous streak of 171 weeks (1972-82) and Marquette’s mark of 166 weeks (1969-79).
Rupp Arena
The Kentucky Wildcats, in their 24th season of basketball at Rupp Arena, are 311-35 (89.9%) 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 an 8-0 record at Rupp this season, the Wildcats have won 14 straight games in the facility. Kentucky’s next home game is Tennessee on Feb. 1.
With Kentucky’s win over Alaska-Anchorage, the Cats finished the ’90s with a 54-2 record at home against non-conference opponents.
Lineup Changes
Three times this season Coach Tubby Smith has altered the starting lineup. Against Louisville, he went small, inserting 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 move paid off with six straight victories.
Against Indiana on Dec. 4, Nate Knight earned the start at power forward and J.P. Blevins got his first start against Missouri. Both moves were in response to disciplinary measures.
Youthful Contributions
Sophomore Tayshaun Prince is the Wildcats’ leading scorer, averaging 14.2 ppg. If Prince finishes the season as the top scorer, he’ll become the fourth UK sophomore in the last decade to accomplish that feat, joining Jamal Mashburn, Tony Delk and Ron Mercer. He’s led UK in scoring in seven games and on three occasions tallied at least 20 points this season.
Freshman Keith Bogans is third on the team in scoring averaging 9.3 ppg. The 6-2 guard could become the first frosh since Jamal Mashburn to finish in the top three in scoring at UK. 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 391 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.
SEASON REVIEW
Three UK Jerseys Retired
The jerseys of Bill Spivey, Pat Riley and Jamal Mashburn were retired in pregame ceremonies on Wednesday, Jan. 19, prior to UK’s win over Ole Miss.
Spivey, who died in 1995, was college basketball’s Player of the Year in 1951, leading the Wildcats to their third NCAA Championship in four seasons. The All-American center nicknamed “Grits,” “The Georgia Pine” and “Mr. Poison Ivy” hailed from Macon, Ga., stood 7-foot tall, 230 pounds and was widely considered the first “big man” who could run the floor. In two seasons, he scored 1,213 points, becoming only the seventh college player to top 1,000 points in his sophomore and junior years. Old No. 77 set SEC scoring records with 578 points in 1950 and 635 points the following season. In rebounding, he grabbed a league record 567 in 1951 and his 34 rebounds against Xavier still tops the UK single-game list.
Riley, a 6-4 forward from Schenectady, N.Y., was a member of UK’s famed Rupp’s Runts team of 1966. That season was his best, earning All-SEC and All-American honors while leading the Cats on a 23-game win streak and a berth in the national championship game against Texas Western. Legendary coach Adolph Rupp called Riley one of the most complete athletes he had ever coached. Riley averaged 22.0 ppg as a junior in ’66 and 17.4 ppg as a senior the following year, finishing his three-year career with 1,464 points, which still ranks 15th all-time at UK. Riley, who wore No. 42, is the current head coach of the Miami Heat, and is in his 18th season coaching in the NBA. He was named “Coach of the Decade” for the 1980s, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to four World Championships. As an NBA player, he was a member of the Lakers’ 1972 championship squad.
Mashburn, who wore No. 24, has been credited for accelerating Coach Rick Pitino’s rebuilding effort of the UK basketball program in the 1990s. The 6-8 forward from New York City started every game of his three-year career (1991-93) and was a three-time All-SEC selection and a consensus All-American in 1993. He became the 15th sophomore in SEC history to score 1,000 points and ended his career with 1,843 points, fourth most in UK history at the time. Blessed with an accurate perimeter game, Mashburn shot 51.6 percent from the field during his career, and 37.6 percent from three-point range. In 1992, he averaged 21.3 ppg, and shot a school-record 43.9 percent outside the arc, to lead UK to an exciting Southeast Regional final against Duke. The following year, he led the Cats to the 1993 Final Four, the team’s first Final Four appearance in nine seasons. “The Monster Mash” entered the NBA Draft after his junior season and was selected fourth overall by the Dallas Mavericks.
UK has now retired 39 jerseys of former Wildcat players, coaches and contributors.
Cheerleader Champions VI
The University of Kentucky cheerleaders make their first appearance in Rupp Arena since winning their sixth consecutive national championship 10 days ago in Orlando, Fla. Overall, its the group’s 10th UCA title in the last 16 seasons.
Squad members Brooke Davis and Tim Passalalqua also won the partner competition. The team has won titles in 1985 ,’86, ’88, ’92 and 1995-2000.
The cheerleaders are led by fourth-year coach Saleem Habash. The event will be televised by ESPN next month.
Prince Named Player of the Week
UK forward Tayshaun Prince won his first SEC Player of the Week award after leading the streaking Cats to wins over Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt. It was the second time in two weeks a UK player won the honor. Jamaal Magloire captured the award the previous week.
Prince recorded his first double-double — 21 points and 10 rebounds — against Georgia Tech while shooting 3-of-6 from three-point range. He followed up with a career-high five three-pointers and 17 points against Vanderbilt, becoming only the second leading scorer from an opponent to top his season average against the Commodores. For the week, the 6-9 sophomore averaged 19.0 ppg and 7.5 rpg and shot a blistering 61.5 percent from three-point range (8-13).
Magloire Earns First League Honor of 2000
University of Kentucky center Jamaal Magloire was named the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week on Jan. 3 after leading the Wildcats to wins over Louisville, then-No. 5-ranked Michigan State, Alaska-Anchorage and Missouri.
Magloire averaged 15.3 points, 9.3 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game over the holidays, tallying four double-doubles in five games and becoming the first Wildcat since 1990 to string together three double-doubles in a row. The Toronto native had 12 points and 10 rebounds vs. U of L, 18 points and 11 boards against Michigan State, 10 points and three rebounds vs. Alaska-Anchorage and a career-high 21 points and 13 rebounds against Missouri. He shot 52.5 percent from the field and 86.4 percent from the foul line while becoming the school’s all-time leader in blocked shots.
It was Magloire’s first SEC Player of the Week honor and UK’s first since Wayne Turner and Heshimu Evans won back-to-back awards in December ’98.
Cats in the ’90s
While Kentucky completed the decade with 282 wins (NCAA recognizes 1989-90 thru 1998-99), the Wildcats were 285-62 (82.1%) between Jan. 1, 1990 and Dec. 31, 1999.
Knight Leaves UK Program
University of Kentucky junior Nate Knight left the Wildcats’ basketball program on Jan. 4.
Knight, a 6-9 forward from Sandy, Utah, had transferred to Kentucky last summer >from Utah Valley State (Junior) College after a one-year Mormon mission and one season at Oregon State.
For the Cats, Knight appeared in nine games, averaging 8.8 minutes per game. He scored 15 points (1.7 ppg) and grabbed 20 rebounds (2.2 rpg).
According to reports, he recently enrolled at BYU for the spring semester. He’ll sit out until next January and have one semester of eligibility remaining.
Three Straight Doubles
Jamaal Magloire’s three consecutive double-doubles in December was a rarity. Not since Reggie Hanson accomplished the feat 10 years ago has another Wildcat had at least three straight in a season. Hanson had 24 points and 14 rebounds vs. Ohio, 13 and 11 vs. Indiana, 19 and 10 against Mississippi State and 18 and 10 against Tennessee Tech to start the 1989-90 season, reeling off four consecutive double-doubles.
Magloire followed up with a 21-point, 13-rebound performance vs. Missouri in the Sugar Bowl Classic to run his streak of double-doubles to four in five games.
“Show Me” Magloire
After UK beat Missouri on Dec. 30, Jamaal Magloire said, “Maybe they should join the SEC.” The senior had just tallied a career-high 21 points and 13 rebounds in UK’s 17-point victory. Two years ago, at the start of his sophomore season, Magloire tallied a then career-high 18 points and 17 rebounds against the Tigers in Maui. His two-game Missouri averages: 19.5 ppg and 15.0 rpg.
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 Wins #1,750
The Wildcats became the first team to record 1,750 wins with their 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 lost only one home game 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.
December Results
At home in December, the Wildcats were 4-0 this season and 271-37 all-time, a winning percentage of 88.0 percent. Overall — home, away and neutral — UK is 418-98 (81.0%) in December.
Season Openers
With the Penn win, 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
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- up1 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 ’99-2000 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.
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.
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.
