Penn State Nittany Lions (1-0)
vs.
#22/#21 Kentucky Wildcats (1-2)
Game 4 – Nov. 25, 2000 – 8:08 p.m. ET
Rupp Arena (23,000) – Lexington, Ky.
RADIO
UK Radio Network — 90+ stations
Ralph Hacker, Sam Bowie and Dave Baker call the action.
TELEVISION
UKTV — Statewide in Kentucky
Rob Bromley, Martin Newton and Dick Gabriel with the call.
ESPN Regional — Statewide in Pa.; Nationally with FullCourt subscription. Jim Barber and Frank Gardenia serve as talent.
INTERNET
UKathletics.com — UK’s official website has up-to-date information on the 2001 Wildcats available as well as the live audio broadcast and live in-game statistics.
Probable StartersKENTUCKYNo. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Ppg Rpg Hometown21 Tayshaun Prince F 6-9 215 Jr. 13.0 5.7 Compton, Calif.24 Marvin Stone F 6-10 248 So. 10.7 6.3 Huntsville, Ala.42 Jason Parker C 6-8 255 Fr. 9.0 5.3 Charlotte, N.C.10 Keith Bogans G 6-5 205 So. 17.7 6.0 Alexandria, Va.11 Saul Smith G 6-2 175 Sr. 8.3 *5.7 Athens, Ga.
PENN STATE23 Gyasi Cline-Heard F 6-8 230 Sr. 14.0 3.0 Houston, Texas 33 Titus Ivory F 6-4 210 Sr. 16.0 7.0 Charlotte, N.C.35 Tyler Smith F 6-8 230 Jr. 8.0 6.0 Lake Forest, Ill.3 Joe Crispin G 6-0 185 Sr. 17.0 6.0 Pitman, N.J.5 Jon Crispin G 6-2 195 So. 6.0 2.0 Pitman, N.J.
* Assists per game
Wildcats Open Home Season
Kentucky looks to even its record when it opens its home season at Rupp Arena against Penn State. The Wildcats, who have won 20 straight games in Lexington, the nation’s sixth-longest active streak, will play their first regular season game in the 25-year-old building after breezing through two exhibition games there earlier this month.
Penn State, which opened its season on Wednesday with an 87-58 win over Loyola, Md., will play three straight road games in six days. The Nittany Lions will play at Yale on Monday before completing their travels at N.C. State next Wednesday. The UK-PSU game is a sellout.
TV Times Two
The game will be broadcast on two television networks. The UKTV Network will broadcast the game across the region. ESPN Regional will televise the game back to Pennsylvania while also providing the game nationwide to those who subscribe to ESPN’s FullCourt package.
The game was originally scheduled to be part of a double-header at Rupp Arena, the first Champs/Life Skills Classic. Scheduling difficulties prohibited the academic showcase from getting off the ground this year.
Series History
Kentucky is 2-0 against Penn State, both wins coming in the NCAA Tournament. The Cats posted an 82-54 first-round win in 1952 and then captured an 84-59 victory over the Nittany Lions in a 1955 East Region consolation game.
SEC/Big Ten Battle
Kentucky is 83-49 against Big Ten teams overall, and this is the first of three Big Ten opponents the Wildcats will play this season. UK was 1-1 against Big Ten teams a year ago.
Home Openers
Kentucky is 84-13 all-time in home openers. Nine of those losses occurred before Adolph Rupp began coaching in 1930. The Cats are 65-4 since 1930, losing the home opener in 1955 to Temple, 1962 to Va. Tech, 1972 to Iowa and 1988 to Northwestern State. UK has won 11 consecutive home openers and lost only one in the Rupp Arena era (1976-present).
Furs and Feathers
The Wildcats beat the Jacksonville State Gamecocks last Tuesday, 91-48, UK’s biggest margin of victory since its 45-point win over UNC Asheville last December.
Kentucky shot 60% from the field for the first time since March 12, 1999, when the Cats hit 61.2% of its shots in a NCAA Tournament first-round win over New Mexico State.
The Cats’ defense, a staple of a Tubby Smith-coached team, forced Jacksonville State into 33 turnovers, the most by an opponent in the Smith era. The last time the Cats forced 33 turnovers in a game was Feb. 5, 1995, a 77-71 win over Syracuse. The Rupp Arena record is 42 by UT-Martin earlier that same season (11/26/94). No all-time UK record was research-ed during the Thanksgiving holidays.
UK totaled 16 steals vs. JSU, the most since tallying 16 against Georgia Tech and Florida during the 1999 season.
Daniels’ Homecoming
Erik Daniels made a king’s return to the Queen City last Tuesday. The freshman from Princeton High School scored a career-high 19 points on 3-for-3 shooting from the field and 12-of-14 shooting from the foul line. He underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on Oct. 10, four days before practice began, and just began practicing with the team on Nov. 3. After not seeing action against St. John’s, he came in during the first half of the UCLA game to spark the Cats with eight points before halftime.
Exit Poll Declarations
In the five games the Wildcats have played this season — three regular-season games and two exhibition games — UK has averaged 87.2 ppg.
Since 1988, UK has shot better than 48% from the field for a season only three times — 1993, 1996 and 1998 — all three Final Four teams. In three regular-season games so far, the Cats have shot 48.3%.
In the three regular-season games, nine Wildcats are averaging more than 10 minutes per game.
Kentucky has had a different leading scorer in all three regular-season contests and twice the team-high scorer was a reserve.
Home for Turkey Day
For the first time in six seasons, UK was not on the road for Thanksgiving. In 95, the Cats played in Springfield, Mass. in the Tip Off Classic the day after Thanksgiving. In 96, UK traveled to Anchorage for the Great Alaska Shootout, then on to the Maui Invitational in 97, the Puerto Rico Shootout in 98 and the Preseason NIT in New York last season. The Cats are scheduled to be home again next November, playing hosts to the NABC Classic early in the month. (No teams have been announced.) UK is scheduled to return to Maui in 2002.
Coaching Comparisons
Orlando Tubby Smith (High Point 73)
Overall (10th year) 211-87 (70.8%)
at UK (4th year) 87-25 (77.7%)
SEC Tournament (5 yrs.) 10-3 (76.9%)
NCAA Tournament (7 yrs.) 16-6 (72.7%)
Jerry Dunn (George Mason 80)
Overall (6th year) 83-67 (55.3%)
at PSU (6th year) same
vs. Kentucky 0-0
November Losses
Annually, UK plays a demanding schedule thanks to invitations to play in numerous pre-conference tournaments, Kentucky has lost a game in the month of November in each of the past six seasons. The past five November records:
Nov. 95 1-1
Nov. 96 3-1
Nov. 97 4-1
Nov. 98 5-1
Nov. 99 3-2
Disabled List
Todd Tackett is still rehabilitating a knee that was scoped last spring. He began practicing light drills with the team last week. He may be a redshirt candidate.
Three Mania
Kentucky’s streak of hitting a three in consecutive games has reached 410 games. It’s the nation’s fourth-longest streak, trailing UNLV, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech, which have all hit a three-pointer in every game since the rule was adopted. The Wildcats’ last game without a three-pointer came against Seton Hall on Nov. 26, 1988, a three-point loss in the Great Alaska Shootout.
Rupp’s 25th
This is the 25th season that the University of Kentucky has played basketball in Rupp Arena. It was opened as the largest built-for-basketball arena in the nation and has since seen UK achieve a 317-35 record, a sterling 90.1 winning percentage.
The Wildcats have won 20 consecutive games in the city-owned arena named for Coach Adolph Rupp, including a perfect 14-0 home record last season.
Overall, UK has not had a losing season at home in 72 years, the longest streak in the nation. The winning seasons began in 1927-28 when the Cats were 6-2 at home.
The Wildcats have won 13 national attendance titles since the building opened, including the last five in a row.
Coaching Staff Changes
It was quite the coaching carousel for the Wildcats this past off-season. In July, assistant coach Shawn Finney was named the new head coach at Tulane. With the departure of administrative assistant Simeon Mars, Coach Tubby Smith hired David Hobbs as an assistant coach, promoted George Felton to associate head coach and brought in former UK star Reggie Hanson as the team’s administrative assistant. Hanson’s position was quickly upgraded to Director of Basketball Operations.
In October, Felton accepted a scout position with the Indiana Pacers the week before practice was set to begin at UK. Hanson was then promoted to assistant coach and will assume an off-campus recruiting role as well.
Tubby’s Time… Busy
In late October, Coach Smith spent a day in Chicago as a member of an NCAA Committee to study basketball issues. Smith is one of several active coaches on the committee, that includes Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and Oregon’s Ernie Kent. The committee is studying a number of different issues, including summer recruiting and the 5/8s rule, which allows schools to sign eight student-athletes over a two-year period but no more than five in one season.
In June, Smith spoke before members of Congress on the issue of sports gambling. He teamed with South Carolina’s Lou Holtz and U.S. presidential hopeful John McCain on eliminating legal wagering on college sporting events.
This past summer, he was an assistant coach for the US Olympic Basketball Team which captured the gold medal at the summer games in Sydney, Australia. Unfortunately, coaches are not given a gold medal, but as WHAS radio personality Terry Meiners said, “Smith came home with a freezer full of kangaroo meat.”
Basketball Rules Changes
The following major changes have been made to the official rules for college basketball this season:
Timeout format – Each team will be allowed to call four 30-second timeouts and one 60-second timeout during the course of the game. The first 30-second timeout called by either team will be a full media-length timeout. Only three of the four 30-second timeouts can be carried over to the second half. The 60-second timeout can be used at any time. Any unused 30-second timeouts may be carried over to an extra period. In addition, both teams will each receive an additional 30-second timeout per extra period. The first 30-second timeout called in the extra period will be a full media timeout. As usual, the media timeouts will occur after the 16-, 12-, eight- and four-minute marks of each half.
At the end of the second half or at the end of an extra period, officials shall use replay equipment or a television monitor that is located on a designated court-side table to ascertain whether a try or field goal that will determine the outcome of a game (win, lose or tie) and is attempted at or near the expiration of the game clock, was released before the sounding of the period-ending horn.
A maximum of six players are allowed on the free throw lane during an attempt – four opponents of the shooter and two of the shooter’s teammates. All others must remain beyond the free throw line extended and outside the three-point arc.
The penalty for indirect technical fouls is one free throw and will not count toward the player’s five personal fouls or as a team foul. If a double indirect technical foul occurs, no free throws are awarded. Examples of indirect technical fouls are delay of the game, changing the starting lineup, playing with more than five players, excessive timeouts, substitution infraction, noisemakers/laser pointers, debris thrown on the court, grasping a basket, dunking during a dead ball, etc.
Officiating Point of Emphasis for 2001
The point of emphasis for men’s college basketball officiating this season is rough physical play and illegal contact.
SEASON HIGHLIGHTS
Coaches vs. Cancer IKON Classic
Thursday — Nov. 9
Kansas 99, UCLA 98
St. John’s 62, Kentucky 61
Friday — Nov. 10
UCLA 97, Kentucky 92 – OT
Kansas 82, St. John’s 74
Season Openers
The loss to St. John’s was the first loss in a season opener since the Cats fell to Clemson on Nov. 15, 1996, the earliest start to a season prior to this year. Kentucky is now 81-17 overall in season openers.
BIG BLUE MANIA
Keightley Begins 40th Season
Kentucky equipment manager Bill Keightley is in his 40th season on the UK sidelines. The beloved Mr. Wildcat has served UK since 1961-62, watching the Cats roll to a 920-282 record during that era.
Keightley, who has a jersey retired in the rafters of Rupp Arena, has worked under five different head coaches at UK — Rupp, Hall, Sutton, Pitino and Smith.
Wiggins Keeps on Coming
Big Blue fan Bob Wiggins continues his amazing streak of following the basketball Cats. Wiggins, who is retired and lives in Falmouth, Ky., saw 615 consecutive games — home and away — from 1977 until he suffered a heart attack just before the 1996 Great Alaska Shootout. The illness forced him to miss four games, but he has since returned to see every contest in person.
Meanwhile, his home court streak is still intact. Wiggins has not missed a home game in 40 years, a streak spanning 563 games. During that period, which dates back to 1960-61, UK has a home record of 501-62.
In all, he’s in his 48th season following UK. He currently has seen 147 straight games and 1,160 overall.
Spotted Around the Globe
Former Wildcat Wayne Turner, who played last season for the Cincinnati Stuff of the IBL, is currently touring with the Harlem Globetrotters.
Unfortunately, Turner and the squad lost for the first time in 1,270 games, falling by four to Michigan State. It’s the first year NCAA rules permitted the Globetrotters, the world’s most popular basketball team, to participate in exhibition games against college teams.
PRESEASON CAT SCRATCHES
UK Men Sign Three
Josh Carrier of Bowling Green, Ky., Chuck Hayes of Modesto, Calif., and Rashaad Carruth of College Park, Ga., signed national letters of intent during the November signing period to play basketball at Kentucky.
Carrier, a 6-5 guard at Bowling Green High School, is the son of former ABA star and Western Kentucky All-American Darel Carrier. The younger Carrier made the Street & Smith High Honorable Mention All-America list this fall after earning first-team All-State honors last spring from the Louisville Courier-Journal and the Lexington Herald-Leader.
In 29 games last season, he averaged 23.8 points per game, while shooting 45 percent from the field and 41 percent from three-point range. In leading Coach Ernie Simpson’s team to a 4th Region semifinal berth, Carrier was named the region’s MVP.
“Everyone knows of Josh’s outstanding career at Bowling Green High School,” Smith said. “He has great bloodlines for the game of basketball since his dad, Darel Carrier, was an All-American at Western. Josh knows the game, he understands UK basketball since he’s grown up here in the state and he’ll provide needed depth on our perimeter.”
Hayes, a 6-7, 235-pound forward at Modesto Christian, is a four-year varsity letterman who led his squad to a 35-2 record last season. He averaged 26 points, 19 rebounds and seven assists per game to earn All-District, All-League and All-State honors. In the 2000 Northern California finals, he grabbed 31 rebounds, a California High School record for all divisions.
Hayes, who was an All-State football player as a sophomore, benches 295 pounds, squats 450 pounds, runs the 40-yard dash in 4.8 seconds and carries a 3.0 GPA, according to his coach, Gary Porter.
“Chuck brings that physical presence to our team. He’s versatile and can play either the small or power forward positions,” Smith said. “He’s had a great scholastic career and he’s an amazing athlete who will have an immediate impact on our team.”
Hayes has been named the District Player of the Year the last two seasons and averaged 19 points and 16 rebounds as a sophomore.
Carruth, a 6-3 guard from Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va., will join two former Oak Hill stars already on the Kentucky roster – Jules Camara and former teammate Cliff Hawkins. Carruth is known as one of the top shooters in the senior class and is ranked by most analysts as one of the top 25 players in the nation.
He transferred to Oak Hill midway through his sophomore season and last year led Coach Steve Smith’s Warriors in scoring, averaging 17.3 ppg. He shot 50.2 percent from the field, 43.8 percent from three-point range and 81.9 percent from the foul line in leading Oak Hill to a 30-2 record and a final No. 2 ranking by USA Today. This year, Oak Hill is ranked No. 1 in the national preseason poll.
“We’re excited about Rashaad joining our team,” Smith said. “He is one of the most talented shooting guards in the nation and he’s very versatile. He fits our up-tempo style of play and he’s another fine addition from Oak Hill Academy and Steve Smith’s program.”
Prince, Bogans Make All-SEC; Cats Picked 2nd in Eastern Division
University of Kentucky junior Tayshaun Prince was picked a first-team All-Southeastern Conference performer and teammate Keith Bogans was named to the second team in a vote by the media at the conclusion of the annual SEC Basketball Media Days on Nov. 2.
Prince, the Wildcats’ leading returning scorer and rebounder, was a second-team selection at the end of last season. Arkansas’ Joe Johnson was named the SEC’s Preseason Player of the Year. Joining Johnson and Prince on the first team were Tennessee’s Tony Harris and Vincent Yarbrough and Florida’s Udonis Haslem.
Bogans, who made the All-SEC Freshman team last season, joined D.A. Layne of Georgia, Rod Grizzard of Alabama, Chuck Eidson of South Carolina and Greg LaPointe of Vanderbilt on the preseason second team.
Tennessee was picked to win the SEC Championship. Kentucky was tabbed to finish second in the Eastern Division followed by Florida, South Carolina, Georgia and Vanderbilt. Arkansas was picked to win the Western Division followed by Alabama, Miss. State, Auburn, LSU and Ole Miss.
Experience Factor
Kentucky has three upperclassmen (juniors and seniors) at its disposal. Nine of the 12 eligible and healthy Wildcats are freshmen or sophomores.
Three of the Wildcats’ starters from last season’s 23-10 team return. Tayshaun Prince, the starting power forward last year, will be used primarily at his more natural position of small forward this season. The Cats return both starting guards – Smith and two-guard Keith Bogans. UK lost three of its top five scorers from last year – Jamaal Magloire (13.2 ppg), Desmond Allison (7.8 ppg) and Jules Camara (7.2 ppg). Returning production includes:
Points 59.9%
Rebounds 44.6%
Assists 69.5%
Blocks 36.8%
Steals 70.6%
ESP — Estill, Stone and Parker
Marquis Estill, Marvin Stone and Jason Parker combined for 44 points and 31 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to a powerful 98-82 win over the EA Sports/California All-Stars in the first exhibition game. The true freshman Parker, making his first appearance in a UK uniform, scored a team-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Estill, who missed last season as a partial qualifer, came off the bench to score 11 points and grab 10 rebounds. Stone, playing with two healthy thumbs for the first time since last January, also tallied a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards. In New York, the trio combined for 24 points and 22 rebounds against St. John’s and 35 points and 20 boards against UCLA.
Preseason Rankings
Among the many preseason polls, UK is picked by the “experts” to finish anywhere from 10th to 16th. Kentucky finished 19th in the AP poll last season, 22nd in the coaches poll. Keep in mind, in some of these same preseason polls, Ralph Nader was predicted to win the endless presidential election
Lindy's/CBS Sportsline Vitale/ESPN Mag.1. Arizona 1. Duke2. Duke 2. Arizona3. Maryland 3. North Carolina4. Michigan State 4. Kansas5. Tennessee 5. Stanford6. Kansas 6. Maryland7. Stanford 7. Illinois8. North Carolina 8. Seton Hall9. Illinois 9. Mich. State10. Seton Hall 10. Tennessee11. Kentucky 11. Wake Forest 12. Connecticut 13. DePaul 14. Florida 15. Notre Dame 16. Kentucky
FoxSports.com Basketball News1. Duke 1. Arizona2. Arizona 2. Duke3. Seton Hall 3. Kansas4. Illinois 4. Maryland5. Tennessee 5. Illinois6. Maryland 6. North Carolina7. North Carolina 7. Michigan State8. Kansas 8. Tennessee9. Stanford 9. Stanford10. Michigan 10. Seton Hall11. Wisconsin 11. Kentucky12. Kentucky
The Sporting News HoopsTV.com1. Duke 1. Duke2. Arizona 2. Arizona3. Michigan State 3. Illinois4. Stanford 4. Maryland5. Maryland 5. Michigan State6. Tennessee 6. North Carolina7. Kansas 7. Kansas8. Illinois 8. Seton Hall9. Seton Hall 9. Tennessee10. Kentucky 10. Kentucky
2000-01 Trends 1-1 When leading at halftime 0-0 When tied at halftime 0-1 When trailing at halftime 1-1 When UK scores first 0-1 When opponent scores first 1-1 When leading with 5 minutes to play 0-1 When trailing with 5 minutes to play 0-0 When score tied with 5 minutes to play 1-1 When leading with 2 minutes to play 0-1 When trailing with 2 minutes to play 0-0 When score tied with 2 minutes to play 0-1 In games decided by three points or less 0-1 In games decided by 4-10 points 1-0 When UK shoots 60% or better FG 0-0 When UK shoots 50% or better FG 0-2 When UK shoots less than 50% FG 0-0 When UK shoots less than 40% FG 0-1 When UK makes more 3FG 0-1 When opponent makes more 3FG 1-0 When 3FG made are the same 0-2 When UK outrebounds opponent 1-0 When opponent outrebounds UK 0-0 When rebounds are the same 0-2 When playing on national TV 0-0 When playing on regional TV 0-0 When playing on the weekend 1-2 When playing on a weekday 0-0 When starting after 10 p.m. ET 0-1 When starting after 9 p.m. ET 1-0 When game starts between 7-9 p.m. 0-1 With an afternoon start 0-1 In overtime games 1-2 In November 0-0 In December 0-0 In January 0-0 In February 0-0 In March 1-1 In home white uniforms 0-1 In away blue uniforms
Wildcats vs. Conferences 0-0 vs. Atlantic Coast 0-1 vs. Big East 0-0 vs. Big South 0-0 vs. Big Ten 0-0 vs. Conference USA 0-0 vs. Ohio Valley 0-1 vs. Pac-10 0-0 vs. SEC 1-0 vs. Trans America
Record vs. Lineup 1-2 vs. Prince, Stone, Parker, Smith, Bogans
