Nov. 17, 2002
LEXINGTON, Ky. – No. 17/17 Kentucky Wildcats (0-0)vs.Team Nike (2-3)
EXHIBITION GAME #2
Rupp Arena
Nov. 18, 2002
7:30 p.m. ET
RADIO
UK Radio Network (90+ stations): Tom Leach, Mike Pratt, Dave Baker.
TELEVISION
UKTV (Delayed): SBS 6, Transponder 5, 11:35 p.m. ETRob Bromley, Martin Newton, Dick Gabriel
PROBABLE STARTERS
KentuckyNo. Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Cl. *Ppg *Rpg Hometown '03 Note10 Keith Bogans G 6-5 213 Sr. 11.6 4.3 Alexandria, Va. Clutch44 Chuck Hayes F 6-6 247 So. 5.9 4.5 Modesto, Calif. Warrior mentality50 Marquis Estill C 6-9 236 Sr. 8.9 4.3 Richmond, Ky. Loves the hook33 Antwain Barbour G/F 6-5 195 Jr. -- -- Elizabethtown, Ky. Slow start, then sparked win4 Gerald Fitch G 6-3 188 Jr. 8.9 5.4 Macon, Ga. Would've been a career high
Team Nike5 Jamaal Davis F 6-8 8.3 5.3 Cincinnati One of two Bearcats on roster12 David Graves F 6-5 14.3 3.7 Notre Dame Lexington native returns23 Bill Cunningham C 6-10 7.5 7.8 Temple Good test for Estill, Camara1 Cordell Henry G 5-10 14.0 3.3 Marquette Shortest on team3 Terrell Baker G 6-5 10.0 2.8 Florida State Relishes Nike’s win over ‘Noles*Cats’ averages from 2001-02; Nike averages from first four games
Did you know?
Did you know that Kentucky is 49-14 in the month of November?
Since the Wildcats began playing November games in 1946, UK has won 77.8% of its games. Adolph Rupp’s teams played three straight Novembers — 1946-48 — before playing its next November game in 1963. UK lost its first November game in 1979, an 82-76 overtime loss to Duke in the Tip-Off Classic in Springfield, Mass.
With an annual schedule that ranks among the nation’s most difficult, UK has lost a November game in eight of the past 11 seasons.
Final Exhibition
Before tipping off its 100th season in Maui in one week, the University of Kentucky will face Team Nike in the Wildcats’ final exhibition game. Senior swingman Keith Bogans drained an off-balance three-pointer at the buzzer one week ago to give the Cats an 83-82 victory over Athletes In Action.
Team Nike has had good success thus far. Atypical of most touring exhibition teams, this squad has won, beating two Atlantic Coast Conference teams back-to-back. Nike defeated North Carolina, 76-72, after earning a 87-84 win over Florida State.
The game should mark the first appearance of the season for senior Jules Camara. The 6-11 center missed the first three weeks of practice with a broken right hand then four days after returning, injured his hamstring which forced him to miss the AIA exhibition game.
100th Season
The Wildcats will officially begin their 100th season of basketball in one week when Kentucky plays in the Maui Invitational on Nov. 25 vs. Arizona State. The Cats have a number of events planned throughout the season, including fan balloting for the program’s greatest players, games and moments. The celebration will include replays of the top 10 games on radio, a 25-year celebration of the 1978 NCAA Champions, and four special-edition bobblehead dolls that fans can collect. The year-long celebration concludes with an all-letterman reunion on Feb. 23 at the Mississippi State game.
Kentucky celebrates unparalleled tradition, including seven NCAA titles, the most wins in college basketball, the best winning percentage in college hoops, the most consensus All-Americans, the most AP top-10 finishes, the most SEC Championships and tournament crowns and 15 national attendance titles.
Team Nike
The Team Nike roster has changed during its fall tour. The current roster is as follows:
1 Cordell Henry G, 6-5 M'quette2 Darren Kelly G, 6-3 Texas3 Terrell Baker G, 6-5 Fla. St.5 Jamaal Davis F, 6-8 Cincy10 Eric Dailey F, 6-7 TCU12 David Graves F, 6-5 UND23 W. Cunningham C, 6-11 Temple33 Donald Little C, 6-10 Cincy
Nike Schedule
Nov. 4 Duke L, 63-103Nov. 7 S. Carolina L, 64-80Nov. 10 Fla. State W, 87-84Nov. 13 North Carolina W, 76-72Nov. 15 Purdue L, 62-79Nov. 17 DaytonNov. 18 KentuckyNov. 19 Ga. Tech
Graves Returns
Former Lexingtonian and Notre Dame letterman David Graves is playing on the 2002 edition of Team Nike. Graves played at Lexington Catholic , which was ranked as one of the state’s top teams for much of his career. The first-team All-State selection posted good numbers against the Wildcats while at Notre Dame. In 2001 at Rupp Arena, he had 13 points and three rebounds as UND fell, 82-71. He had 12 points and four boards against the Cats last January in South Bend in a 72-65 UK victory.
His father, Steve, is a member of the Wildcats’ Blue-White Fund and oversaw the construction of Memorial Coliseum’s administrative and men’s basketball offices, weight room and locker room that were added in 1991.
Experimental Rules
The Wildcats will use experimental rules in their final exhibition game against Team Nike. UK will use the rules next week at the Maui Invitational.
There are three changes from the regular rules that fans will see:1. A widened foul lane by two feet on each side, which is a repeat of an experimental rule.
2. Moving the three-point line nine inches behind the current line to create a new distance of 20 feet, six inches, instead of the normal distance of 19 feet, nine inches.
3. Relocating the FT lane block between the first space nearest the end line and the next space up on both sides.
Emphasis
Points of emphasis this season include, for the fourth straight year, eliminating rough play and illegal contact, particularly on rough play by the offensive player in the low post. Also, intentional fouls and fouls committed off the ball in end-of-game situations must be called.
Finally, officials will be clear that a player has possession of the ball before granting a timeout.
As far as new rules changes, very few occurred prior to the season. The most major was the adoption of a past experimental rule that states when the bonus is in effect, no FTs will be awarded to the offended team for a common foul committed by a member of the team in control of the ball or in possession of the ball during a throw-in, henceforth known as a team-control foul. The change makes the penalty the same for such fouls during the bonus the same as that for player-control fouls.
Tickets On Sale
Tickets are on sale to the Wildcats’ final exhibition game on Nov. 18 vs. Team Nike. In addition, seats are available for the Wildcats’ two regular-season home games – Dec. 3 vs. High Point and Dec. 30 vs. Tennessee State. The tickets were made available following student-ticket distribution.
The upper arena seats are $17 apiece and can be purchased at the Memorial Coliseum ticket office – 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday – online at ukathletics.com, by phone at 859-257-1818 or 800-928-CATS or at participating Ticketmaster locations statewide.
Last Week
The Wildcats found themselves down at the half, 44-37, to Athletes in Action in UK’s first exhibition game of the season.
AIA, which shot 58.5% from the field, extended its lead to 13, 52-39, early in the second half. But then the Cats rallied. Following three-pointers by Keith Bogans and Josh Carrier, Antwain Barbour finally got untracked and buried a three with 8:54 left to cut the lead to one, 61-60. Barbour then picked up a steal and fed Kelenna Azubuike to take a one-point lead. The Cats extended their lead to seven before AIA rallied.
With 2.9 seconds remaining, Reed Rawlings drained a running two pointer for an 82-80 lead. After a mid-court timeout left 2.6 seconds remaining, Bogans inbounded to Marquis Estill, who gave it back to Bogans who hit the off-balance three-pointer as time expired to give the Cats the win.
Gerald Fitch led all scorers with 25 points and Chuck Hayes added 13 points and 10 boards.
Tough Schedule
Kentucky is ranked 17th in both major preseason polls released last week — the AP and the ESPN/USA Today polls.
The Wildcats could face as many as seven teams ranked in the Top 25 this season, including three top-10 squads — Florida, Alabama and Michigan State.
The Wildcats are one of five Southeastern Conference teams ranked in the preseason Top 25, joining Florida, Alabama, Miss. State and Georgia in what should be the nation’s toughest conference for the second straight year.
Milestones
Keith Bogans is currently tied for 22nd on UK’s all-time scoring list with Mike Pratt with 1,359 points. Pratt, who’s now in his second season with the UK radio broadcast team, also tallied his career point total in three seasons.
Marquis Estill has shot 61.4% from the field during his two-year career. He stands to become the Wildcats’ all-time leader in field goal percentage. The record holder is Charles Hurt, who shot 59.3% from the field from 1980-83.
Jules Camara ranks ninth on the Wildcats’ all-time blocked-shots list, trailing current UK assistant coach Reggie Hanson by two.
Returning Production
UK lost just one starter off its 2002 Sweet 16 team (Tayshaun Prince), but only returns 67.1% of its scoring from a year ago. Here’s the complete breakdown, which includes Cliff Hawkins, who’s expected to return during the Christmas holidays:Points – 67.1%Rebounds – 76.6%Assists – 81.7%Blocks – 67.3%Steals – 77.4%
Camara Returns
Jules Camara suffered a broken hand in early October during individual instruction and missed the first three weeks of practice, including all those 6 a.m. sessions. The fifth-year senior returned to practice Nov. 4, but pulled a hamstring four days laster and missed the AIA exhibition game. He’s listed as probable for the Team Nike exhibition game.
Rupp Arena
Kentucky begins its 27th season at Rupp Arena, where the Wildcats own a 340-39 (89.7%) record.
The Cats have won the national attendance title the past seven seasons. Overall, the Wildcats have won 15 national attendance titles in the building.
Once again this season, the arena will debut new upgrades, including a new concourse, a standing-room only “eRUPPtion Zone” for the student body and a media press box, all totaling $5.1 million. The new purple concourse is two levels, replacing the old one-level boxed concession stand. It features greater concession stand access and more restrooms.
The ‘eRUPPtion Zone” moved 400 season ticket holders to other seats in lower arena and moves the band and nearly 700 students into the end zone nearest UK’s bench. It also gives students access to floor-level seating, er, standing. Shockingly, a UK junior from Lincolnton, N.C., Andy Acker, named the area in a contest among the student body. His entry was picked from nearly 200 submissions.
Continued Security Measures
Officials at Lexington Center Corporation, which operates Rupp Arena, announced plans to continue strict security measures adopted last season in the wake of the Sept. 11 tragedy.
Items that cannot be brought into the arena include weapons, backpacks, bags, flag poles, containers made of glass, aluminum, plastic and/or paper, food, ice chests, video cameras, alcoholic beverages, artificial noisemakers, or any object considered dangerous to patrons in Rupp Arena.
Fans are permitted to bring in cell phones, pagers, still cameras, small purses, binoculars, small radios, diaper bags and seat cushions. All items brought into the arena are subject to search.
Once again, the UK Basketball Museum, located in the adjacent Civic Center, will check coats and bags for $2.
Three Mania
Kentucky ranks third nationally in consecutive games with a made three-pointer. The Wildcats have hit a three-pointer in 473 consecutive games, which trails UNLV (507) and Vanderbilt (504).
The Wildcats’ last game without a three-pointer came 14 seasons ago against Seton Hall on Nov. 26, 1988, a “three-point” loss in the Great Alaska Shootout.
National Predictions
Kentucky has been ranked in various preseason polls, anywhere from No. 7 to No. 22. In the coaches poll, the ESPN/USA Today poll, the Cats were the preseason No. 17 selection. Here’s the rundown of other various rankings for the Cats:
Street & Smiths - 17 Basketball News - 9Sporting News - 22 Lindy's - 14USBWA - 13 Collegeinsider.com - 20ESPN.com - 8 CBS Sportsline - 15Blue Ribbon - 14 Slam - 7BK Time in Tenn. - 7 ACC Handbook - 8ESPN Bracketology - 9 College BK News - 19
National Exposure
The Cats will appear on national TV 16 times during the 2002-03 regular season. The Cats are slated to appear on ESPN 10 times, including three games at the Maui Invitational in November, and six times on CBS.
SEC Poll
The Wildcats were picked to finish third in the SEC Eastern Division in a preseason poll of media members. UK, which has not finished lower than second since the league split into divisions in 1992, was also predicted to finish fourth in the race for the SEC regular-season crown.
Keith Bogans was the only Wildcat picked to either the first- or second-team preseason All-SEC poll. The first team included Erwin Dudley (Alabama), Mario Austin (Miss. State), Jarvis Hayes (Georgia), Maurice Williams (Alabama), and Brett Nelson (Florida). The second team included Bogans, Ronald Dupree (LSU), Matt Bonner (Florida), Ezra Williams (Georgia) and Derrick Zimmerman (Miss. State).
SEC Domination
UK will play its 70th season of SEC action in 2003. A charter member, the Cats have been the most dominant team in the league through the years, recording a 780-212 mark (78.6%). No other team has won more than 647 regular-season games (Alabama) and no other team has a better winning percentage. UK has averaged 11.3 wins and 3.1 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 11 SEC Tournament titles.
BIG BLUE MANIA
Keightley’s Seen Half of UK’s Games
Unbelievable.
Bill Keightley begins his 42nd season as equipment manager of the UK basketball team. The beloved “Mr. Wildcat” has served on the staff since the 1961-62 season and has witnessed 1,264 games during his career, owning a 966-298 record during that era.
The Wildcats, who are celebrating their 100th season of basketball, have played 2,386 games, meaning Keightley has witnessed 53.0% of the games.
The Lawrenceburg, Ky., native, 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. The current cats have a modern nickname for the 75-year-old Keightley — “Smooth.”
Wiggins Starts 50th Season
Big Blue fan Bob Wiggins continued his amazing streak of following the basketball Cats. He’s starting his 50th season watching Kentucky play in person and through his own record-keeping, has attended 1,222 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 208 games.
Meanwhile, his home court streak is still intact. Wiggins has not missed a home game in 41 years, a streak spanning 589 games. During that period, which dates back to 1960-61, UK has a home record of 523-66.
UK’s NBA Players
To start the 2002-03 NBA season, the following Wildcats were active:
Derek Anderson Portland Tony Delk Boston Jamaal Magloire New Orleans Jamal Mashburn New Orleans Walter McCarty Boston Ron Mercer Indiana Nazr Mohammed Atlanta Scott Padgett Utah Mark Pope New York Tayshaun Prince Detroit 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.
Other Wildcats participating in professional basketball include Heshimu Evans, Jared Prickett, Andre Riddick and Wayne Turner, who are all playing overseas, and Saul Smith, who plays for Columbus of the NBDL.
Hoops Heaven
TV Guide called its “Hoops Heaven.” And back by popular demand, KET will air an encore presentation of television’s most comprehensive look at the game of basketball in Kentucky. “Basketball in Kentucky — Great Balls of Fire” airs Dec. 4-5 at 8 p.m. ET on KET and KET2. The four-part documentary series moves through more than a centurey of the people, places and moments that have defined the game, exploring what basketball has meant to the state both as a sport and as a vital part of our cultural fabric.
UKathletics com 100-Year Catalog and On-line Store
UK Athletics has released an official catalog and on-line store with products celebrating the 100 years of UK hoops. The product line includes memorabilia, Tubby Smith autographed items, videos, DVDs and the full-line of Nike apparel. The catalog is a special 100-year basketball that inludes UK’s national champs, All-Americans, great coaches and 100-year logo. Fans may call 888-234-9350 or log on to ukauthentic.com to purchase items.
Head Coach Tubby Smith Quotes
On playing Team Nike…
“As we prepare for this Nike Team, which is an outstanding three-point shooting team, something we need to improve on from our last game against Athletes in Action is defending the three. So, we’ve been working very hard to improve in that area and we’ll see tomorrow night against Nike how much we’ve improved.”
On improving the defense…
“We can always improve. We could never pitch a shutout, but we’re going to keep working at it. No one has shot that well against us in a long time and we played the worst defense we’ve played in a long time. So I expect to improve on defense, and with the type of athletes we have, we should be a better defensive team, and that’s what we’re going to expect tomorrow.”
On the health of Jules Camara…
“He’s ready to go. I think he’s pretty healthy. He’s been practicing for the last few days, and he’s looked pretty good.”
On Chuck Hayes…
“He’s a guy I’ve said all along we cannot do without. His energy, effort, all those intangibles, his toughness, his heart, he brings all of that to our team, and we need that type of leadership from him continuously. Then when he knocks down the outside shot, that just adds to everything else he does for us.”
Player Quotes
Josh Carrier, G
On practicing at Rupp Arena this week…
“We practiced over there once this week. Coach Smith’s biggest point over there was getting shots up. He said, `You don’t get many opportunities to come over here,’ so we shot a whole lot that day. We opened up practice and shot 10 or 15 minutes on our own, and then we opened up practice and we did shooting drills for another 10 or 15 minutes.”
On the differences in practicing at Rupp Arena and Memorial Coliseum…
“It’s totally different in Rupp Arena. Last year, people would say we had the `Memorial Coliseum jump shot’ because over here (Memorial Coliseum) we shoot well, and then we go over there (Rupp Arena) and we don’t shoot so well.”
Kelenna Azubuike, G/F
On the chance of getting more playing time…
“That’s up to Coach Smith. I’m just going to work hard and earn as many minutes as I can and do the things Coach Smith wants me to do to get better on offense and defense. And just improve my game as a whole and I think that it will all work out.”
On the win over Athletes in Action…
“We were excited that we won that game because we didn’t want to lose that game. We take every game as a very important game, and that’s why we were so happy at the end of the last game. Each game is a building block where we can take the mistakes and learn from them. Hopefully, we’ll be more prepared for Nike.”
