Jan. 4, 2002
LEXINGTON, Ky. –
SECond Season Starts in Starkville
The Wildcats embark on the second phase of their schedule when they open their 69th season of Southeastern Conference basketball in Starkville. Kentucky is 53-15 all-time in SEC openers and has won its past 14 conference debuts. Its last loss in an SEC debut came Dec. 30, 1986, a 69-65 Georgia win.
Kentucky is coming off of a 101-67 victory over an outmanned Tulane squad coached by former UK assistant Shawn Finney, while MSU’s last game also was a win over the Green Wave a week ago, 77-66, in New Orleans.
UK has won the past five meetings between the two clubs and 10 of the last 12 contests. The Bulldogs finished the pre-conference slate with the best record in the SEC — 13-1.
Game Information
Jan. 5, 2002
2:08 p.m. ET
Humphrey Coliseum (10,500)
Starkville, Miss.
UK RADIO NETWORK
90+ stations: Tom Leach, Mike Pratt and Dave Baker.
TELEVISION
JP Sports (Live): Bob Neal and Joe Dean, Jr.
UKathletics.com
Official site carries live audio from the UK Radio Network for each game. Enhanced coverage includes live statistics for all home games. Also adds the latest on the 2001-02 Wildcats including season statistics, photos and records.
Series Records
Series Record: UK leads 78-16
In Lexington: UK leads 40-4
In Starkville: UK leads 28-10
At Neutral Sites: UK leads 10-2
Last Game: Feb. 10, 2001 – UK 76, MSU 57
Website: mstateathletics.com
Prince Named SEC Player of the Week
Late Wednesday, the Southeastern Conference named Kentucky senior Tayshaun Prince its Player of the Week. The award period covered the holidays — Dec. 17 to Jan. 1. During that time, the UK forward averaged nearly a double-double, 17.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, as the Wildcats earned wins over Indiana and Louisville and fell in overtime to top-ranked Duke.
The 6-9 senior was very consistent in late December, tallying 17 points and nine rebounds against the Blue Devils, 17 and 11 against the Hoosiers and 18 and nine against the Cardinals. The double-double against Indiana was his third this season and the 10th of his career.
Prince has led the Wildcats to a 9-2 start and a No. 6 national ranking in the AP poll. He leads the team in scoring (18.6 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg) and has climbed to 17th on UK’s all-time scoring list with 1,420 points.
This is his first SEC Player of the Week honor this season and the first by a Wildcat. Prince won the award once as a sophomore and twice last season.
Series History
* This is the 95th meeting between the Wildcats and Bulldogs. Kentucky has won the last five meetings in Starkville and leads the series there, 28-10.
* Last year the Wildcats held the Bulldogs to 26.9% shooting from the field to cruise to a 19-point win, 76-57. The Bulldogs failed to connect from the three-point line in 19 tries as UK used a 51.8% shooting performance to earn the victory. Tayshaun Prince led four Cats in double figures with 18 points.
* State’s last win in the series was March 10, 1996, when the Dogs upset UK in the SEC Tournament Championship game, 84-73. Both teams went on to advance to the Final Four that season, with the Cats winning the NCAA title.
* Kentucky native Rick Stansbury is in his fourth season coaching MSU, losing three games against the Wildcats. Stansbury was born in Louisville and graduated from Meade County High School in 1977. He played his college basketball at Campbellsville where he led the Tigers to the 1981 NAIA District 32 Championship.
* Coach Tubby Smith is 5-2 against the Bulldogs, including a 4-0 mark at UK.
It’s Tubby, Baby!
Following a highly publicized game with his former boss and mentor, Coach Tubby Smith was picked as the “Coach of the Week” by Dick Vitale on his website.
Smith became the first former-Pitino assistant to earn a win over the coach in a college game.
Power Polls
To start the new year, Kentucky is ranked among the top teams in the nation in two popular power polls. Strength of schedule ratings are listed in parenthesis:
SagarinCollegeRPI.comKentucky7th (33rd)5th (5th)Miss. State25th (197th)22nd (111th)
Did You Know?
Did you know that Kentucky set a school record when nine different Wildcats made a three-point field goal in UK’s win over Tulane on Wednesday? Since the three-point shot was implemented in 1987, no UK squad had ever had nine different Cats can a three in the same game. The nine different “lives” splashed in 16 total treys against the Green Wave, the most in a game in the Tubby Smith Era at Kentucky. It also marked the most since UK canned 16 against UNC Asheville in December 1996.
SEC Domination
* As stated, Kentucky begins its 69th season of Southeastern Conference play. A charter member, the Cats have been the most dominant team in the league through the years, recording a 770-206 mark (78.9%). No other team has won more than 635 games (Alabama) and no other team has a better winning percentage (No. 2 — Arkansas, 64.4%). UK has averaged 11.3 wins and 3.0 losses per season during its SEC tenure.
* The Wildcats have won 41 SEC titles and 23 SEC Tournament Championships, more titles than all the other teams combined in both categories.
* Kentucky has won eight of the last 10 SEC Tournament titles.
OTS in the SEC
* In the past four seasons, since Orlando “Tubby” Smith took the coaching reins at Kentucky, the Wildcats have won three SEC Championships and three SEC Tournament titles. While the SEC Tournament success continues a string of titles the past decade, UK’s success in winning the regular-season crown hasn’t been achieved since the Wildcats won three of the four titles between 1983-86.
* Smith is 49-15 (77.1%) in SEC regular season play since taking over at Kentucky.
* Smith has an amazing 13-3 (81.3%), record in the SEC Tourn-ament which includes his two seasons at Georgia.
* Last season, Smith’s Cats captured a share of the SEC Eastern Division crown, his third in the last four years and the second straight.
Milestones
* Tayshaun Prince needs one block to move past Walter McCarty (1994-96) and into sole possession of eighth place on the UK all-time list.
* Prince’s two three-pointers against Tulane moved him past John Pelphrey (1988-92) and into fourth place on UK’s all-time list of made 3FGs.
* Prince’s 22 points against the Green Wave moved him past Winston Bennett (1984-88) and Kyle Macy (1978-80) and into 17th on UK’s all-time scoring list with 1,420 points. He needs just 41 points to tie Johnny Cox (1957-59) for 16th.
* Keith Bogans ranks 39th on the all-time UK list with 1,141 points. He needs 10 more points to catch Wah Wah Jones (1946-49), 12 points to catch Vernon Hatton (1956-58) and 15 to reach Derrick Miller (1,156) at 36th on the list.
Bench Production
The Wildcats have utilized their deep bench this season and for good reason. The bench has contributed 29.7 ppg and 17.0 rpg and has recorded more than 19 points in every game but the Western Kentucky loss which saw the reserves score only eight points.
Cats in the SEC Stats
In the Southeastern Conference rankings, UK’s Tayshaun Prince is leading the league in scoring (18.6 ppg) while Cliff Hawkins ranks ninth in assists (4.1 apg) and Jules Camara ranks second in blocked shots (1.6 pg).
The Wildcats are first in scoring (86.8 ppg), rebounding (45.9 rpg), rebounding margin (12.1 rpg) and offensive rebounds (18.7 orpg).
Cats In The Stats
* Kentucky has increased production on the offensive end after a disappointing 52-point performance to open the season against Western Kentucky. The Cats are now averaging a league-leading 86.8 ppg this season, the most since the Cats averaged 91.4 ppg during the 1996 championship season.
* UK’s scoring margin is +20.0 ppg. The last time the Cats finished a season with a 20-point scoring margin was 1997 (+20.3).
* Coach Tubby Smith has always made solid defense his top priority and this year is no different. In the first 11 games, teams have combined to shoot 39.1% from the field highlighted by Indiana’s 32.1% shooting, the best UK defensive effort of the season. No opponent has shot over 50% against the Cats since Southern Cal (52.8%) in the NCAA Tournament last season. This is the fourth of five Tubby Smith-coached UK teams to hold opponents to less than 40% FG shooting.
* As of Dec. 17, Kentucky led the nation in rebounding margin this season, outrebounding opponents by an average of 13.6 rpg, the greatest rebound margin at UK since 1956-57. That season, the Cats outrebounded opponents by 15.7 rpg. UK’s rebound margin is currently 12.1 rpg. NCAA stats have not been updated since Dec. 17.
* In those same NCAA statistics, the Wildcats ranked seventh in scoring (87.7 ppg) and eighth in scoring margin (22.1 ppg). The current respective marks are 86.8 ppg and +20.0 ppg.
Starting Switches
Tubby Smith has a deep roster this season which allows him multiple lineups. Eleven games into the season, the Wildcats have started four different combinations.
Only Tayshaun Prince, Gerald Fitch and Keith Bogans have started all 11 games. Cliff Hawkins has started eight games at the point while injured running mate J.P. Blevins has three starts. Marquis Estill (5), Jules Camara (4) and Marvin Stone (2) have all split time inside.
The lineup has remained the same since the Duke game when Camara got the starting nod at center.
Three Mania
Kentucky has hit a three-pointer in 452 consecutive games. UK trails UNLV, Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech, which all have similar streaks. UNLV, Vanderbilt and Princeton have hit a three-pointer in every game since the rule was adopted in 1987, but Princeton has yet to play 450 games.
The Wildcats’ last game without a three-pointer came 13 years ago against Seton Hall on Nov. 26, 1988, a “three-point” loss in the Great Alaska Shootout.
Vs. Ranked Opponents
No. 1 Duke was the first ranked opponent the Cats faced this season.
UK in January
The Wildcats hold a 505-173 all-time record in the month of January for a .745 winning percentage. Last season, UK went 7-2 in the year’s first month for a .777 mark.
Next Game
Kentucky returns to Rupp Arena to face Georgia on Wed. Jan. 9. The Bulldogs are off to an 11-2 start and play host to Vanderbilt to open SEC play.
Last Time Out
Kentucky posted a season-high 16 three-pointers, the most in the Tubby Smith Era, to overtake Tulane, 101-67. Former UK assistant Shawn Finney met the Cats for the first time as a head coach in a game that saw five Wildcats score in double figures.
Tayshaun Prince led all scorers with 22 points, while Gerald Fitch had 16 points and 11 rebounds for his second career double-double.
National Polls
UK began the season ranked fourth in both major polls.
After dropping in the rankings two consecutive weeks following its season-opening loss to Western Kentucky, the Cats have steadily climbed back into the top 10. They sit at sixth in the AP and eighth in the Coaches poll for the second week in a row.
Double-Doubles
Gerald Fitch had his first double-double of the year with 16 points and 10 rebounds against Tulane. It was the second double-double of his career.
Tayshaun Prince posted his third double-double of the season against the Hoosiers with 17 points and 11 rebounds. He had back-to-back double-doubles last month against VMI and North Carolina.
Jules Camara had his best effort of the season against Duke, scoring 10 points while grabbing 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and the fourth of his career.Current Wildcats who have recorded double-doubles in their career include:
CatCareer DoublesKeith Bogans2Jules Camara4Marquis Estill1Gerald Fitch2Jason Parker2Tayshaun Prince10
National Exposure
The Louisville game marked Kentucky’s fourth appearance on national television this season. Kentucky will appear six times on ESPN and seven times on CBS.
SEASON NOTES
Blevins Out
Point guard J.P. Blevins broke his right wrist against Indiana and will be out of action for 4-6 weeks. UK physicians successfully inserted a screw in his right wrist Dec. 27.
Blevins suffered the injury during a lay-up attempt in the first half against the Hoosiers.
He has played in seven games this season with three starts, averaging 2.7 points and 1.4 assists per game. He missed the first two games of the season – the NABC Classic – with a severely sprained right ankle that he injured in the Athletes in Action game (exh.) on Nov. 11.
Stone Dismissed
Marvin Stone was dismissed from the Kentucky men’s basketball team on Dec. 27. The 6-10 junior failed to return from the holiday break and became the first player to be dismissed from the Wildcats’ basketball team in Smith’s five seasons.
Stone averaged 5.3 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He saw action in all nine contests, starting the first two, and averaged 13.9 minutes per game.
The Huntsville, Ala., native totaled 397 points and 314 rebounds in his career after playing in 75 games with 11 starts.
Prince Remains On Wooden List
Tayshaun Prince was among the Top 30 candidates for the Wooden Award in its midseason poll released Dec. 28. Prince was a Wooden All-American last year. This year’s honors will be announced March 26 and include the 10-member All-America team and college basketball’s Most Outstanding Player.
Cawood’s Court
The new floor at Rupp Arena was named “Cawood’s Court” in ceremonies before the Louisville game. The tribute honors Cawood Ledford, who was the beloved “Voice of the Wildcats” for 39 years (1953-92). Ledford passed away in early September following a long battle with cancer.
The ceremony included the unveiling of a logo courtside not far from where he called all the action and a donation by two area businesses to the Cawood Ledford Scholarship Fund at UK. The fund was established in 1992 to assist former student-athletes in completing their degrees.
Hawk’s Shooting Eye
Cliff Hawkins recorded back-to-back career highs in December.
The sophomore tallied 15 points against Duke including nine of the Cats’ first 11 in overtime. He then returned to score 17 points against Indiana four days later. For the week, he averaged 16 ppg and 4.0 apg.
Within the Borders
Kentucky’s 20-point win over Louisville closed out a four-game schedule this season with Kentucky schools. UK finished with a 3-1 record in those games. It was the most games with instate schools since the 1920-21 season.
The Cats fell to Western Kentucky and defeated Morehead State, Kentucky State and Louisville. They faced Kentucky Wesleyan, Cumberland, Georgetown and Centre during the ’21 season, posting a 5-1 record in the meetings.
Carruth Burned Devils
Rashaad Carruth broke out against Duke, taking control of the offensive end during the first half to total 14 points in the period after scoring 12 all season.
He finished the game with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting and set or tied career highs in every category.
Carruth missed the first month of the season with a high ankle sprain and played in only three games prior to the Duke contest.
Cats vs. No. 1 Teams
After falling to top-ranked Duke, 95-92, in overtime on Dec. 18, Kentucky fell to 4-9 against No.1-ranked teams in the AP poll since 1949.
The Wildcats played Duke two other times when the Blue Devils were ranked No. 1 in the country. Duke won both games, 80-55 on Nov. 19, 1988 and 104-103 in overtime on March 28, 1992.
Kentucky’s last win over a top-ranked team was an 81-74 victory against UMass at the Meadowlands in the NCAA Semifinals on March 30, 1996.
December to Remember
Kentucky kicked off a highly anticipated December schedule of great rivalries on Dec. 8 with a 79-59 rout of North Carolina. After 118-63 win over Kentucky State, the Wildcats lost a thrilling overtime game to No. 1 Duke, 95-92, in the Jimmy V Classic. After holding Indiana to 32.1% shooting in a 66-52 win in the RCA Dome, the Cats will finish off a tough 12-day stretch against archrival Louisville.
TREY-Shaun’s Game
Tayshaun Prince’s effort vs. UNC won’t soon be forgotten. Along with his three-point shooting display, Prince totaled 31 points, 11 rebounds and four steals. He matched his career scoring and steals totals. It was his second consecutive double-double, the ninth of his career.
Prince’s streak of five three-pointers on five straight possessions to start the North Carolina game were the first of seven for the game, all coming in the opening half. His fifth, just a few inches inside the “U” at center court, measured nearly 30′.
His seven 3FGs in a half tied Derrick Miller for the most threes scored in a half at Kentucky. Miller also drained seven to start the Kansas game on Dec. 9, 1989 before finishing with eight threes in the game.
Prince’s seven, however, were the most treys recorded by a Wildcat in Rupp Arena as Miller’s came in the Jayhawks’ storied Allen Field House.
Walk-on Wonder
After relinquishing his scholarship in June to keep the Cats compliant with the NCAA limit of 13 scholarships, Marquis Estill grabbed national attention.
Once he moved into the starting role at power forward for five games early in the season, Estill again earned notice. Of the school’s listed in the AP Top 25 at the time, he was the ONLY walk-on starter.
Queen City Mark
In November, Kentucky played its fifth consecutive season at the Firstar Center in Cincinnati, defeating Kent State, 82-68. The Wildcats are now 6-1 all-time in the arena.
Season Openers
Kentucky is 81-18 in season openers after its loss to Western Kentucky in the NABC Classic. Last season, the Cats were upset in New York by St. John’s, 62-61. Tubby Smith is 8-3 in season openers during his head coaching career.
Home Openers
Kentucky is 84-15 all-time in home openers after the loss to WKU. Nine of those losses occurred before Adolph Rupp began coaching in 1930. The Cats are 65-6 since 1930, losing the home opener in 1955 to Temple, 1962 to Va. Tech, 1972 to Iowa, 1988 to Northwestern State, 2000 to Penn State and this season to Western Kentucky.
UK now stands at 23-3 in home openers at Rupp Arena.
PRESEASON NOTES
AP Names Prince All-American
Forward Tayshaun Prince added yet another honor to his resume in November as he was named to the The Associated Press Preseason All-America team, the only senior on the list.
Prince joined Duke’s Jason Williams, Stanford’s Casey Jacobsen, Missouri’s Kareem Rush and Illinois’ Frank Williams.
Prince is just the second Wildcat to earn the preseason honor from the AP since the national news organization began naming a preseason team in 1985. Jamal Mashburn was a preseason All-American prior to the 1992-93 season.
Prince also was named first-team Preseason All-America by collegeinsider.com, Athlon Sports, Blue Ribbon Basketball, The Sporting News and Basketball News.
He was a second-team selection by AP at the end of last season.
Conference Supremacy
Kentucky was picked to finish first in the SEC by a media vote at the conference’s annual media day on Nov. 1.
Tayshaun Prince also was predicted to repeat as SEC Player of the Year, while he and Bogans both were named first-team Preseason All-SEC.
Men’s Basketball PredictionsChampion – Kentucky (20), Florida (3).
Eastern Division1. Kentucky (20)262. Florida (3)433. Tennessee764. South Carolina985. Georgia1056. Vanderbilt123Western Division1. Alabama (15)332. Arkansas (5)603. Ole Miss (2)664. Auburn (1)785. LSU1216. Mississippi State125All-SEC First TeamG - Brett Nelson, Florida17G - Keith Bogans, Kentucky15C - Udonis Haslem, Florida22F - Tayshaun Prince, Kentucky22G/F - Rod Grizzard, Alabama11
Prince, Bogans on Wooden List
Tayshaun Prince and Keith Bogans were both named to the preseason Wooden Award Candidate list for 2001-02.
Only 50 college basketball players make the prestigious list, which culminates in the presentation of the Wooden Award for the nation’s best collegiate basketball player each April.
The award was started in 1976 and has seen past winners that include Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Tim Duncan. No Kentucky Wildcat has ever claimed the honor.
Parker Injury
Jason Parker underwent his second ACL surgery on his right knee in four months when he had a patella tendon autograft performed by team physicians Darren Johnson and Scott Mair on Nov. 1. Parker injured the knee June 24 in a pickup basketball game and had his initial surgery July 2. He retore the ligament prior to introductions for Big Blue Madness on Oct. 12.
Parker will miss the 2001-02 season as a redshirt. He will have three years of eligibility remaining.
Production Return
Kentucky lost one senior from last year, returning 12 lettermen and four starters from a team that finished as co-champions of the Southeastern Conference and won the league tournament. With the loss of Jason Parker for the season, the numbers change to three returning starters. The statistics below reflect the returning production, excluding Parker:
Points80.6%Rebounds82.4%Assists71.4%Blocks83.4%Steals72.1%
Their Old Kentucky Home
This season’s roster boasts six products from the Bluegrass State, the most since the 1991 season.
J.P. Blevins (Edmonton), Marquis Estill (Richmond), Cory Sears (Corbin), Matt Heissenbuttel (Lexington), Josh Carrier (Bowling Green) and Adam Chiles (Louisville) all hail from within the state’s borders.
In ’91, Reggie Hanson, Richie Farmer, John Pelphrey, Deron Feldhaus, Michael Parks and Todd Bearup all came from Kentucky. Much like Sears and Heissenbuttel, Parks and Bearup were both walk-ons 11 seasons ago.
Face Lift
Fans attending UK home games will recognize changes at floor level. In addition to the new floor that was purchased last summer, courtside fan seating has been added as well. Currently, 20 new “scholarship seats” have displaced some traditional media seating and been installed on press row. The 20 seats were sold for $313,000 a pair and the revenue generated will go to endow all 13 men’s basketball scholarships. There are still four pairs remaining to be sold.
Kentucky celebrated its 25th season in the first built-for-basketball arena last year, playing for a quarter of a century on the original floor. Pieces of the original floor were auctioned off prior to the charity game, “A Night of True Champions,” on Aug. 11, raising more than $38,000. The money was split between the UK Basketball Museum, the KHSAA and the Lexington Civic Center for the purchase of the new floor.
The new floor was designed by UK in conjunction with Lexington Civic Center officials. It was constructed by Robbins, Inc., in Cincinnati, Ohio at a cost of $125,000.
BIG BLUE MANIA
Chapman Makes Dunk List
Former Wildcat Rex Chapman made the list of Slam Magazine’s top-50 dunkers of all-time. Chapman, who played two seasons (1987-88) before becoming a first-round draft pick of the Charlotte Hornets, was No. 35 on the list.
The top five were Vince Carter, Michael Jordan, Dominique Wilkins, Julius Erving and Jackie Jackson. Not on the list was former Cat Kenny Walker, who won the NBA’s slam dunk contest in 1993.
Keightley In 41st Season
Kentucky equipment manager Bill Keightley is in his 41st season in the UK program. The beloved Mr. Wildcat has served UK since 1961-62, watching the Cats roll to a 953-291 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 Passes 1,200
Big Blue fan Bob Wiggins continues his amazing streak of following the basketball Cats. In all, he’s in his 49th season watching Kentucky play in person and through his own record keeping, has attended 1,202 UK games.
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. It’s the second-longest streak on record at UK.
The illness forced him to miss four games, but he has since returned to see every contest in person, a streak of 188 games.
Meanwhile, his home court streak is still intact. Wiggins has not missed a home game in 41 years, a streak spanning 582 games. During that period, which dates back to 1960-61, UK has a home record of 518-64.
UK’s NBA Players
To start the 2001-02 NBA season, the following Wildcats were active:
Derek AndersonPortlandTony Delk PhoenixWalter McCartyBostonJamaal MagloireCharlotteJamal MashburnCharlotteRon MercerChicagoNazr MohammedAtlantaScott PadgettUtahMark Pope MilwaukeeAntoine WalkerBoston
In addition, former UK assistant coach Jim O’Brien is the head coach of the Boston Celtics while former UK All-American Pat Riley coaches the Miami Heat.
— Go Cats —
