Jan. 14, 2002
LEXINGTON, Ky. –
Ole Miss Rebels (13-3, 2-1)
vs.
No. 12/12 Kentucky Wildcats (10-4, 1-2)
Game 15
Jan. 15, 2002
7:03 p.m. ET
Rupp Arena (23,000)
Lexington, Ky.
UK RADIO NETWORK
90+ stations: Tom Leach, Mike Pratt and Dave Baker.
TELEVISION
ESPN (Live): Brad Nessler and Larry Conley.
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 Info
Series Record: UK leads 87-11
In Lexington: UK leads 44-2
At Rupp Arena: UK leads 20-1
In Oxford: UK leads 22-8
At Neutral Sites: UK leads 21-1
Last Game: March 11, 2001 – UK 77, UM 55
Website: OleMissSports.com
Coaching Comparisons
Orlando “Tubby” Smith (High Point ’73)
Overall (11th) – 244-99 (71.1%)
at UK (5th) – 120-37 (76.4%)
SEC Tourney (6) – 13-3 (81.3%)
NCAA Tourney (8) – 18-7 (72.0%)
vs. Ole Miss – 5-3
Rod Barnes (Ole Miss ’88)
Overall (4th year) – 79-39 (66.9%)
at UM (4th year) – same
vs. Kentucky – 1-4
Team Comparisons
cats rebelsRecord 10-4 13-3Scoring Offense 82.8 76.2Scoring Defense 67.6 62.9Scoring Margin +15.1 +13.3FG % 47.4 47.5FG % Defense 39.7 40.73FG % 31.7 40.23FG % Defense 31.4 32.9Free Throw % 66.7 75.8Rebound Average 43.7 34.3Opponent Rebound Average 33.7 30.7Rebound Margin +10.0 +3.6TO Average 16.0 14.7Opponent TO 17.7 16.4TO Margin +1.7 +1.7Blocks Average 4.8 2.3Steals Average 8.4 7.1
Probable StartersWILDCATSNo. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Ppg Rpg Hometown Last Game21 Tayshaun Prince F 6-9 215 Sr. 17.6 6.9 Compton, Calif. 8 pts, 4 rebs40 Jules Camara F 6-11 225 Jr. 5.3 3.8 Dakar, Senegal 2 pts, 4 rebs4 Gerald Fitch G 6-3 185 So. 8.5 5.3 Macon, Ga. 11 pts, 4 rebs10 Keith Bogans G 6-5 205 Jr. 12.4 5.2 Alexandria, Va. 8 pts, 2 rebs1 Cliff Hawkins G 6-1 185 So. 8.0 *4.4 Dumfries, Va. 8 pts, 5 rebs
REBELSNo. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. Ppg Rpg Hometown Last Game23 Justin Reed F 6-8 225 So. 15.1 7.1 Jackson, Miss. 17 pts, 6 rebs40 Derrick Allen F 6-7 225 Jr. 10.4 6.6 Gadsden, Ala. 13 pts, 8 rebs5 Aaron Harper G-F 6-5 205 So. 11.1 3.8 Jackson, Miss. 9 pts, 4 rebs15 David Sanders G 6-3 185 Jr. 10.9 4.1 Jackson, Miss. 10 pts, 3 rebs11 Jason Harrison G 5-5 155 Sr. 11.2 *4.5 Little Rock, Ark. 12 pts, 3 assts*Assists
Wildcats Reach Midpoint, Face Ole Miss on Super Tuesday
Kentucky returns home after earning a hard-fought 51-50 win over host South Carolina Saturday as the Wildcats picked up their first Southeastern Conference victory. Now UK faces Ole Miss in a rematch of the 2001 SEC Tournament Championship game which the Cats won 77-55 in Nashville last March. The Rebels pulled the upset over No. 24 Mississippi State Saturday in Oxford, 66-59.
The Wildcats have taken three of the past four meetings between the teams. Ole Miss enters the game shooting a league-best 40.2% from three-point range and all five starters average double-figure scoring. Kentucky held USC to 32.1% FG shooting, which matches the season best by the UK defense, while the Gamecocks shot only 23.8% from outside the arc.
Kentucky has now reached the midway point of its 2002 season. Fourteen games remain over the next eight weeks prior to tournament play. The Cats find themselves two games back of division leaders Georgia and Florida in the SEC East. Ole Miss is currently in a three-way tie in the Western Division with Alabama and Arkansas.
This is the Wildcats’ second appearance on ESPN this season, their first on Super Tuesday, a weekly SEC/Big Ten double-header during conference play. Iowa plays at Illinois in the network’s second game. UK appears on national television 13 times during the regular season.
Series History
This is the 99th meeting between the two teams. The first game was played Jan. 9, 1925, a 26-23 UK victory. Ole Miss has beaten Kentucky 11 times, the last coming Jan. 20, 2001, a 65-55 win in Oxford. Kentucky bounced back and captured a share of the SEC regular-season crown before defeating the Rebels in the SEC title game.
Ole Miss has won only two games in Lexington, the last coming on Feb. 14, 1998. The Rebels pulled the shocker, 73-64, handing the Wildcats their final loss before UK rolled to the 1998 National Championship.
Tubby Smith is 5-3 against Ole Miss, including a 1-1 mark against the Johnny Rebs while coaching at Georgia. Rod Barnes is 1-4 against the Wildcats as a head coach and 1-9 against UK as a UM player.
Mississippi State is the only common opponent between the two squads this season. MSU handed UK an 88-84 overtime loss in Starkville to open league play on Jan. 5, while Ole Miss’ most recent win came over the Bulldogs, 66-59, in Oxford last Saturday.
Eight in a Row
Kentucky continued its dominance at the UCA Cheerleading Championships on Saturday when the Wildcats took the title for the eighth consecutive year. It was the 12th title overall for the team. The UK squad is coached by Saleem Habash with advisor T. Lynn Williamson.
Central Florida finished second in the event which was held at MGM Grand Studios in Orlando, Fla.
Kentucky has won the event in 1985, ’87, ’88, ’92, ’95, ’96, ’97, ’98, ’99, 2000, ’01 and ’02.
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:
Sagarin CollegeRPI.comKentucky 17th (15th) 16th (4th)Ole Miss 49th (271st) 56th (146th)
The Southeastern Conference is rated as the nation’s toughest conference by CollegeRPI.com and Sagarin. All but one team has a winning record.1. SEC
2. Pac-10
3. ACC
Milestones
Tayshaun Prince’s eight points against South Carolina tied him with Johnny Cox (1957-59) at 16th on UK’s all-time scoring list. He needs just three points to catch Pat Riley and 14 to tie Cliff Hagan for 14th. Prince currently has 1,461 points.
Keith Bogans ranks 36th on the all-time UK list with 1,162 points. He needs five points to tie Reggie Hanson for 35th place and eight to reach Wayne Turner.
Prince and Bogans are high on UK’s list of all-time 3FG attempts. Prince ranks third with 508, while Bogans ranks fourth with 440 attempts. Bogans needs just one more made three-pointer to tie Richie Farmer (1988-92) for 10th place on UK’s all-time made 3FG list with 144. Prince ranks fourth on the list with 166.
Bogans Due
Keith Bogans has had just two 20-point games this season, the last coming on Nov. 24 against Morehead State. Last season, he reached 20 points or more 13 times and never went more than five games without reaching the mark. This year, his sub-20-point streak has reached 11 games.
While he’s shot 40.3% from the field and 31.0% from 3FG range, he hit 2-of-3 three-pointers against USC on Saturday. He’s averaging 12.4 ppg, which ranks second on the team. Last year ,when he earned second-team All-SEC honors, he shot 47.3% from the field and 36.1% from three-point range in leading the Cats in scoring at 17.0 ppg.
SouleyQuis
Jules Camara and Marquis Estill have become a solid tandem down low for UK.
In the three SEC games, the pair has shot 22-of-33 from the field (66.7%), 5-for-6 from the foul line and blocked 13 shots. They’re both tied for the SEC lead in blocked shots, averaging 2.3 pg in league play.
Camara scored a career-high 16 points against Georgia with three swats. He had 12 points vs. Miss. State in the Cats’ league opener.
Estill has hit 13-of-19 from the field over the last five games. He had 11 points, six boards and six blocks against Miss. State last week. For the season, he continues to lead the team in FG percentage, hitting 66.7%, which would lead the SEC if he met the minimum of five FG attempts per game.
Bench Production
The Wildcats have utilized their deep bench this season and for good reason. The bench has contributed 27.8 ppg and 15.9 rpg.
In the low-scoring game against South Carolina Saturday, the reserves totaled 14 points and 15 rebounds.
Big Draw
This season, the Cats have played in front of four of the top five crowds in the nation, including three at home. Statistics courtesty of the NCAA:
Game (Site) Attendance1. UK-Indiana (N) 29,3792. UK-Louisville (H) 24,3303. UK-North Carolina (H) 23,1534. Missouri-Illinois (N) 22,1535. UK-Western Ky. (H) 21,104
The list was released before last Wednesday’s game with Georgia, which saw UK draw 21,707 fans. Kentucky’s matchup with Duke in the Meadowlands was eighth this season after drawing 20,029 fans.
Cats in the NCAA
In the NCAA statistics released Jan. 7, the Wildcats ranked fifth in scoring (85.3 ppg) and eighth in scoring margin (+17.9 ppg). UK was seventh in the nation in rebounding margin, outrebounding opponents by an average of 10.5 rpg.
Cats in the SEC
In the Southeastern Conference rankings, UK’s Tayshaun Prince is third in the league in scoring (17.6 ppg) while Cliff Hawkins ranks ninth in assists (4.4 apg). Jules Camara ranks second in blocked shots (1.7 pg) while Marquis Estill ranks third (1.5 pg).
The Wildcats are second in scoring (82.8 ppg), rebounding (43.7 rpg), rebounding margin (10.1 rpg) and offensive rebounds (17.4 orpg).
In SEC games only, Hawkins is second in the league in assists (5.7 pg) and tied with Gerald Fitch for fourth in steals (2.7 pg). Estill and Camara are tied for the league lead in swats with 2.3 pg.
Defense to Offense
Coach Tubby Smith has always made solid defense his top priority and this year is no different. In the first 14 games, teams have combined to shoot 39.7% from the field highlighted by strong efforts against Indiana and South Carolina, as both teams shot 32.1% from the field. Georgia (54.1%) is the only team to shoot better than 50% against the Cats since Southern Cal (52.8%, 3-22-01) upset the Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament last year.
Despite scoring just 52 points against Western and 51 against South Carolina, the Cats are averaging a league-leading 82.8 ppg this season, the most since the Cats averaged 83.1 ppg during the 1997 NCAA runner-up season.
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 771-208 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.
TUB-BEE, TUB-BEE!
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 50-17 (74.6%) in SEC regular season play since taking over at Kentucky.
Smith has an amazing 13-3 (81.3%), record in the SEC Tournament 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.
Depth
Tubby Smith has a deep roster this season which allows him multiple lineups. Fourteen games into the season, the Wildcats have started four different combinations, but have used the same lineup the last seven games.
Only Tayshaun Prince, Gerald Fitch and Keith Bogans have started all 14 games. Cliff Hawkins has started 11 games at the point while injured running mate J.P. Blevins has three starts. Jules Camara (7), Marquis Estill (5) and former Cat 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 455 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 506-175 all-time record in the month of January for a .743 winning percentage. Last season, UK went 7-2 in the year’s first month for a .777 mark.
Next Game
Kentucky will play its final regular-season non-conference game when it travels to Notre Dame to face the Fighting Irish on Saturday. It’s UK’s first trip to battle its old rival in South Bend since 1995.
Last Time Out
South Carolina forced 20 Kentucky turnovers and never trailed in the second half until Cliff Hawkins hit a jumper in the lane with 3.4 seconds remaining to give UK the 51-50 win in Columbia. It was a season-low point total for the Wildcats.
National Polls
UK began the season ranked fourth in both major polls.
After losing its season opener, UK dropped to 13th in the AP poll and 14th in the Coaches poll. After climbing back into the top 10 for most of this season, the Cats sit at eighth in last week’s AP and 12th in the Coaches poll.
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:
Cat Career Doubles Keith Bogans 2 Jules Camara 4 Marquis Estill 1 Gerald Fitch 2 Jason Parker 2 Tayshaun Prince 10
National Exposure
The Ole Miss game marks Kentucky’s fifth appearance on national television this season. Kentucky will appear six times on ESPN and seven times on CBS.
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.
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.
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.
He transferred to Louisville.
Prince 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 finished off the Rick Pitino-coached Louisville Cards, 82-62.
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.
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 Predictions
Champion – Kentucky (20), Florida (3).
Eastern Division 1. Kentucky (20) 26 2. Florida (3) 43 3. Tennessee 76 4. South Carolina 98 5. Georgia 105 6. Vanderbilt 123
Western Division 1. Alabama (15) 33 2. Arkansas (5) 60 3. Ole Miss (2) 66 4. Auburn (1) 78 5. LSU 121 6. Mississippi State 125
All-SEC First Team G – Brett Nelson, Florida 17 G – Keith Bogans, Kentucky 15 C – Udonis Haslem, Florida 22 F – Tayshaun Prince, Kentucky 22 G/F – Rod Grizzard, Alabama 11
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:
Points 80.6% Rebounds 82.4% Assists 71.4% Blocks 83.4% Steals 72.1%
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
Back In Town
Several former Wildcats have appeared back in the Bluegrass in recent weeks. Jeff Sheppard, the 1998 Final Four MVP, is back from his professional playing career in Italy. He was spotted updating his resume in CATS a few weeks ago. He’s living in London, Ky., with his wife Stacey, a former star of the women’s team, and their daughter Madison.
Allen Edwards, a teammate of Sheppard’s, is back in school on the Cawood Ledford Scholarship fund. He’s one of three Wildcats taking advantage of the fund, which allows former student-athletes to return to school after their eligibility has expired to complete their degree requirments. Also enrolled is Derrick Miller (’90) and Dale Brown (’93).
Jared Prickett (’97) returned from his professional career in Argentina due to the South America country’s severe recession. He’s hoping to return to Europe later this season.
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 954-293 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 1,205 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 191 games.
Meanwhile, his home court streak is still intact. Wiggins has not missed a home game in 41 years, a streak spanning 583 games. During that period, which dates back to 1960-61, UK has a home record of 518-65.
UK’s NBA Players
To start the 2001-02 NBA season, the following Wildcats were active:
Derek Anderson Portland Tony Delk Phoenix Walter McCarty Boston Jamaal Magloire Charlotte Jamal Mashburn Charlotte Ron Mercer Chicago Nazr Mohammed Atlanta Scott Padgett Utah Mark Pope Milwaukee Antoine Walker Boston
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 —
