July 12, 2001

University of Kentucky junior Tayshaun Prince and sophomore Keith Bogans were named the co-Most Valuable Players at the “Wildcats Appreciation Night” held at Memorial Coliseum on Thursday. Prince, the Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, and Bogans, who led UK in scoring, received the awards to chants of “one more year, one more year” from a crowd estimated at 1,000 fans. The pair has yet to announce their intentions regarding the upcoming NBA Draft in June. Prince led all Wildcats with five awards, earning the team’s Best Free Throw Shooter and Best Rebounder awards while sharing Most Improved and Leadership honors. He also picked up his SEC Player of the Year trophy while Bogans earned the team’s three-point award and his second-team All-SEC honor. UK’s lone senior, Saul Smith, picked up four team honors, earning Best Playmaker, Best Defensive Player, Mr. Deflection and the co-Leadership award. In addition, former UK All-American and 1948 Olympic gold-medal winner Ralph Beard presented Coach Smith with a diamond-studded ring from USA Basketball. Smith served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic team that captured the gold medal in Sydney last fall.

2001 Team AwardsCo-MVPs Tayshaun Prince, Keith BogansLeadership Saul Smith, Tayshaun PrinceBest FG Percentage Marquis EstillBest FT Shooter Tayshaun PrinceBest Rebounder Tayshaun PrinceBest Playmaker Saul SmithBest Defensive Player Saul SmithMost Charges Taken Marvin StoneThree-Point Keith BogansMost Improved Jason Parker, Tayshaun PrinceMr. Hustle Gerald FitchMost Courageous Erik DanielsStudent-Athlete J.P. BlevinsBest Individual Workout J.P. BlevinsMr. Deflection Saul Smith