Jan. 8, 2002
LEXINGTON, Ky. –
Press Conference Quotes
Georgia Bulldogs (12-2, 1-0)
vs.
No. 8/9 Kentucky Wildcats (9-3, 0-1)
Game Information
Jan. 9, 2002
7:06 p.m. ET
Rupp Arena (23,000)
Lexington, Ky.
UK RADIO NETWORK
90+ stations: Tom Leach, Mike Pratt and Dave Baker.
TELEVISION
Fox Sports South: Dave Neal and Barry Booker.
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.
Cats Looking for First Conference Win
After losing a 20-point first-half lead en route to a 74-69 overtime loss to Mississippi State, Kentucky looks for its first Southeastern Conference win against the visiting Bulldogs. Georgia opened league play with a 82-69 home win over Vanderbilt. The loss broke a 14-game win streak in SEC openers for Kentucky and marked only the second time all season that UK was outrebounded by an opponent.
While the Cats are 6-1 in Rupp Arena this season, they own a 22-game home winning streak against SEC teams. The last time a league team recorded a win against the host Cats was Jan. 12, 1999, a 47-46 victory by Tennessee.
Series Records
Series Record: UK leads 99-17
In Lexington: UK leads 50-2
In Athens: UK leads 32-12
At Neutral Sites: UK leads 17-3
Last Game: Jan. 31, 2001 – UK 85, UGA 70
Website: georgiadogs.com
Series History
* This is the 117th meeting between the two teams. Kentucky has won 16 in a row and 23 of the last 24. Georgia’s last win in the series occurred in Athens, a 94-90 overtime win on Jan. 8, 1994.
* Kentucky will be looking for its 100th win in the series against Georgia. The Wildcats hold a 99-17 record against the Bulldogs. As the all-time winningest team in SEC history, UK currently owns 100+ wins over Tennessee (129) and Vanderbilt (122).
* The Cats own an impressive 50-2 record against Georgia in Lexington, and have won the last 15 games in Rupp Arena. The Bulldogs’ last win in Rupp Arena came on Feb. 24, 1985 by a narrow 79-77 margin.
* When Coach Tubby Smith coached the Bulldogs from 1995-97, he was highly successful, earning a 45-19 record in two years. In ’96, he took the Dogs to the Sweet 16 where they lost on a buzzer-beater to eventual runner-up Syracuse. In ’97, after losing eight lettermen including all five starters, UGA won a school-record 24 games. It marked the first time at Georgia that the team had back-to-back 20-win seasons.
* Smith is not the Cats’ only connection to the university. Also on his staff both years was UK assistant Mike Sutton. Former Georgia point guard and eldest son G.G. is now at UK earning his master’s degree in sports management while serving as a manager for the UK basketball team.
* Kentucky has two Georgia natives on this year’s squad. Sophomore starter Gerald Fitch was the Class 4A Player of the Year in 2000 at Macon Westside. He played with Georgia’s Chris Daniels in an all-star competition as a senior and was a high school teammate of Johnathan Goss, a redshirt freshman on the UGA squad.
Freshman guard Rashaad Carruth hails from Atlanta but played high school hoops at Virginia’s Oak Hill Academy.
* Coach Smith is 8-0 against Georgia since making the move from Athens to Lexington. Jim Harrick, who led UCLA to the ’95 NCAA title, is 1-5 against UK during his 21-year coaching career. Harrick, who is 0-4 against the Cats at Georgia, also coached Pepperdine in the 1985 UKIT where his Waves were defeated by UK, 88-56. In 1994, his Bruins grabbed an 84-81 win over the Cats in the Wooden Classic.
* Head-to-head, Smith has never lost to a Harrick-coached team. Outside of the last four UK-UGA meetings, the two national championship coaches met in the first round of the 1994 NCAA Tournament. Smith’s Tulsa squad upset Harrick’s Bruins, 112-102.
* The teams have played no common opponents this season.
Tight Games
Four of the last six games between UK and UGA have been decided by eight points or less, including an overtime win by the Cats. The margin of victory during those four games is 6.0 ppg. The two exceptions were the Cats’ 92-71 win in Lexington three seasons ago and an 85-70 win by the Cats in Athens last year that saw UK trail by 10 early in the second half.
DateResultMargin1-26-99UK 91-83 OT82-17-99UK 92-71211-26-00UK 75-6962-19-00UK 70-6461-6-01UK 67-6341-31-01UK 85-7015
Block Party
The Cats tallied 10 blocks in the loss to Mississippi State, just one shy of their season high against Duke. Marquis Estill led the “swat team” with a career-high six blocks. Twice previously he had blocked four shots.
Estill leads the team in blocks with 1.7 bpg which ranks second in the SEC. Jules Camara is third in the league with 1.6 bpg. As a team, UK ranks third in the league with 5.0 bpg.
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.comKentucky10th (19th)5th (5th)Georgia29th (90th)12th (8th)
The Southeastern Conference is rated as the nation’s toughest conference by CollegeRPI.com and Sagarin. Every team has a .500 record or better.
1. SEC2. Pac-103. ACC
Overtime Trials
The Wildcats have played two overtime games already this season, losing to Duke 95-92 and Miss. State 74-69.
Kentucky has now played 80 overtime games in 99 seasons, and owns a 44-36 record in those contests.
In the Tubby Smith era, the Cats won their first seven overtime games but have lost their last three.
The most OT games UK has ever played in one season was five — 1978-79.
Did You Know?
Did you know that in the last six games, Cliff Hawkins has totaled 36 assists to average 6.0 apg?
Meanwhile, Gerald Fitch has grabbed 18 rebounds in the last two games to average 9.0 rpg.
Milestones
* Tayshaun Prince’s two blocks against Mississippi State moved him past Walter McCarty (1994-96) and into sole possesion of eighth place on UK’s all-time block list. He needs just nine more blocks to catch current UK assistant coach Reggie Hanson (1988-91) in seventh place.
* Prince and Keith Bogans are high on UK’s list of all-time 3FG attempts. Prince ranks third with 500, while Bogans’ four tries against MSU pushed him past John Pelphrey (1989-92) and into fourth on the list.
* Prince needs 23 points to tie Johnny Cox (1957-59) for 16th place on the UK all-time scoring list. He currently has 1,438 points.
* Bogans ranks 39th on the all-time UK list with 1,148 points. He needs three more points to catch Wah Wah Jones (1946-49), five points to catch Vernon Hatton (1956-58) and eight to reach Derrick Miller (1,156) at 36th on the list.
SEC Domination
* Kentucky is in its 69th season of SEC play. A charter member, the Cats have been the most dominant team in the league through the years, recording a 770-207 mark (78.8%). No other team has won more than 636 games (Alabama) and no other team has a better winning percentage. 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 the other teams combined.
* 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 49-16 (75.4%) 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.
Bench Production
The Wildcats have utilized their deep bench this season and for good reason. The bench has contributed 28.9 ppg and 16.2 rpg.
Cats in the SEC Stats
In the Southeastern Conference rankings, UK’s Tayshaun Prince is second in the league in scoring (18.6 ppg) while Cliff Hawkins ranks eighth in assists (4.6 apg). Marquis Estill ranks second in blocked shots (1.7 pg) while Jules Camara ranks third (1.6 pg).
The Wildcats are first in scoring (85.3 ppg), rebounding (45.0 rpg), rebounding margin (10.4 rpg) and offensive rebounds (18.3 orpg).
Through one game, Hawkins leads the league in assists during conference play, averaging 10.0 pg, and steals (5.0 pg). Estill’s six blocks against MSU places him first in SEC games.
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 85.3 ppg this season, the most since the Cats averaged 91.4 ppg during the 1996 championship season.
* Coach Tubby Smith has always made solid defense his top priority and this year is no different. In the first 12 games, teams have combined to shoot 39.0% 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. UK’s rebound margin is currently 10.4 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 85.3 ppg and +17.9 ppg.
Starting Switches
Tubby Smith has a deep roster this season which allows him multiple lineups. Twelve games into the season, the Wildcats have started four different combinations.
Only Tayshaun Prince, Gerald Fitch and Keith Bogans have started all 12 games. Cliff Hawkins has started nine games at the point while injured running mate J.P. Blevins has three starts. Marquis Estill (5), Jules Camara (5) 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 453 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 505-174 all-time record in the month of January for a .744 winning percentage. Last season, UK went 7-2 in the year’s first month for a .777 mark.
Next Game
The Wildcats look for their first SEC road win on Saturday when they head to Columbia to take on South Carolina. The Wildcats have won the last 10 meetings between the teams and own a 10-3 advantage against the Gamecocks in Columbia. It starts a stretch of three out of four games on the road for the Wildcats.
Last Time Out
Kentucky owned leads of 21-2 and 30-10 in the first half, but was held to 25 second-half points as Miss. State rallied. The Cats appeared to be in control until big man Mario Austin canned his first collegiate three-pointer with five seconds remaining to tie the game at 64. He then hit five-of-six free throws in the extra period to hand the Cats a 74-69 upset, UK’s second overtime loss of the season.
National Polls
UK began the season ranked fourth in both major polls.
After losing its season opener, UK droped to 13th in the AP poll and 14th in the Coaches poll. But the Cats have steadily climbed back into the top 10. They sit at eighth in the AP and ninth in the Coaches poll despite their loss to upstart Mississippi State last Saturday.
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
Three-Point Show
Kentucky set a school record when nine different Wildcats made a three-point field goal in UK’s win over Tulane on Jan. 2. 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.
Prince Named SEC Player of the Week
The Southeastern Conference named Kentucky senior Tayshaun Prince its Player of the Week for Dec. 24-Jan. 1.
The 6-9 senior was very consistent in late December, tallying 17 points and nine rebounds against Duke, 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.
It was 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.
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 for the week of Dec. 23-30.
Smith became the first former-Pitino assistant to earn a win over the coach in a college game.
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 State125
All-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 953-292 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 1,203 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 189 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 —
