October 15, 2000; The Annual Season of Bright Promise.
As the Kentucky Wildcats joined scores of other college basketball teams on what they hoped would be a journey to the Roundball Holy Grail, those dreams of another NCAA banner hanging from the rafters of Rupp Arena were haunted by the images of the faltering finish of the last season. The Cats struggled down the stretch, fighting a demon that had taken possession of their offense, turning it into an excruciating thing to watch. They not only struggled to put points on the score board, but the team seemed to be wearing lead boots. At the end of the 2000 season the Cats’ offense had basically disappeared and it all culminated in a second round loss to Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament by the score of 52-50; the lowest point total for UK for the entire season. This ending had the future of Tubby Smith under a very dark cloud. The fact that each season had seen Kentucky’s quality of play slip a bit further was troubling, even for the most ardent supporters of the UK head coach. Adding to all of this the team suffered yet another in a string of embarrassing off-court incidents when Jules Camara was arrested for DUI during the summer. Now one of the potential starters and a player UK was counting on to help lead the team was lost for the season. But, as they say, hope springs eternal and by October 15th the UK fan, which envisions a national champion in each year’s squad was ready for the ball to be tossed up and the season started.

The Kentucky fan always begins each year looking for the reasons UK will be a national contender. This season their optimism was placed in the fact that the team would have seven new faces on the bench. Granted a couple of them, Matt Heissenbuttel and Cory Sears, would basically be walk-ons who weren’t expected to make much of a contribution to the team. The other five however were players who were expected to be productive and in some folks mind right away. It was no secret that the point guard position had been a real problem for the Cats since Wayne Turner graduated. Saul Smith had been manning the spot and had been taking a world of abuse for not living up to the standards UK fans were used to. Being the coach’s son was also causing some to question Tubby’s recruiting at the position, but a new comer was entering the lineup that many felt would solve this dilemma immediately. Cliff Hawkins was a talented freshman that many fans and media members were suggesting should be given the position of starting point guard right away. It would create a pressure situation for coach and players no matter how things worked out. Along with Hawkins Kentucky added Jason Parker a power forward/center who had originally chosen North Carolina, but was declared ineligible because of a mistake in calculating his high school academic records. The situation was confusing and when it was all said and done he was a Wildcat. Marquis Estill would start the season as a sophomore after having to sit out his freshman year. He was a smooth shooting forward, but had already developed a history of knee problems that still seemed to be affecting him. Gerald Fitch and Erik Daniels were two players that Kentucky seemed to take almost as an after thought. Neither was highly rated and some even went so far as to say UK had made a mistake in signing them suggesting they would never be much more than roll players at best. The Wildcats had their starting five back with the exception of Jamaal Magloire. Keith Bogans and Tayshaun Prince were expected to be the leaders of this team and with this many new players it would need that leadership in a big way.

Kentucky opened the season much earlier than usual with two games on November 9th and 10th in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic played at Madison Square Garden in New York, November 9th and 10th. After playing a slow deliberate half court game during the previous season Coach Tubby Smith had been telling fans and media alike that the Cats intended to pick up the pace this year. Not only that, but UK’s shooting had basically been atrocious and it was the most talked about aspect of Kentucky’s game. It was no secret that the Wildcats had to shoot better to entertain any chances of being a title contender. UK’s first opponent was St. Johns and after leading most of the way Kentucky saw the wheels fall off in the final 10 seconds. Ahead by four points, 61-57, Omar Cook dunked a missed field goal to cut the UK lead to two. Than came one of those plays that can sometimes be harkened back to throughout a season. As Kentucky attempted to put the ball in play, the in bound pass to Tayshaun Prince was tipped away from behind and out of bounds. After a second of hesitation the official standing behind the play gave the ball back to St. Johns. Television replays showed the ball had been knocked away from Prince by a St. Johns player and should have been given to Kentucky. Still leading by two the Cats should have been in good shape, but UK fans watched in disbelief as St. Johns ran a simple pick play for Anthony Glover who scored on an uncontested lay-up and was fouled by Jason Parker. What had only moments before appeared to be an ugly win, was now a 62-61 loss. Certainly UK could and did argue they were given a bad break on the official’s call at the end, but when one looked back at the over all game it was hard to argue about it too much. Kentucky should have never been in the position they were at the end. The most disturbing aspect to come out of this game was the fact that Kentucky appeared to be playing no better than they were in their NCAA loss to Syracuse at the end of last season. It didn’t take long to see how this one got away; 25 turn-overs, 42% field goal shooting, 13.3% on three pointers, 53.1% free throw shooting and just basic poor play all night. They looked like a carbon copy of last season’s team. It was not the kind of start that fans or the team had expected.

The following evening two of the biggest names in college basketball history got together, UCLA and Kentucky. This time it was the Wildcats who made a late comeback, but after rallying from seven points down with 3:30 to play in regulation, the Cats lost in overtime 97-92. Even though UK did play better this time out, they had played so poorly in their opening contest that marked improvement could have been made and it would have still been considered a poor game. Kentucky had opened the season 0-2 for the first time since 1976. It was quickly pointed out that Duke had come away 0-2 from this same series last year and then went on to win 18 straight games. Considering the manner in which Kentucky performed in these first two contests, it was hard to imagine the Wildcats doing the same or anything close to it. One plus out of all of this was the fact that UK did not have another game for 11 days. They certainly had their work cut out for them.

Burnt to a Crispin!
It doesn’t take much to get the grumbling started and after two losses in New York in which the Wildcats looked much too similar to the offensive nightmare of a season ago, the natives were restless. It was only the second game of the season and they were played almost two weeks earlier than usual, but in Big Blue Country the fans and media don’t cut a UK team very much slack. It was much too early in the year to be overly critical, but the thing that struck many people was how the team looked on the floor. Like the end of last season they appeared lost and completely unsure of what they wanted to do. Kentucky needed something to lift the spirits or as Tubby Smith put it, “a feel good game”.

So the Cats had their prescription filled with a couple of easy victories. First there was a 94-84 exhibition win over an exhausted Athletes in Action team. Next came a 91-48 rout of Jacksonville State. While these games gave a boost to everyone’s confidence, the Cats had to temper that with the knowledge that one team was road weary and the other was just totally out of its league. There were a couple of surprises emerging on the roster in the persons of Gerald Fitch and Erik Daniels. Fitch was proving to have a nose for the ball, whenever it popped loose he always seemed to be around. Not only was he getting into almost every scrap on the floor, but he was displaying an amazing ability to snare rebounds. May be it was just a fluke and wouldn’t last, but it was just the kind thing UK basketball had needed for some time. Daniels on the other hand was shining in an area no one would have ever expected, at least not in his case. With the shooting woes the Wildcats had been enduring the past couple of years, fans are always looking for that gunslinger that can knock down those three pointers. Daniels made his debut as a Wildcat by hitting his first 10 shots from the field. Erik also led Kentucky in scoring with 19 points against Jacksonville State.

These two wins made the Cats officially 1-2 on the season and propped up the sagging egos of many a Wildcat fan. Penn State, a Big Ten football school, was next on the schedule and headed to Lexington for the season home opener. They were just the kind of team the Cats could use to fine-tune their game before taking on North Carolina at Chapel Hill….or so it seemed. Had it not been for Kentucky’s two unexpected losses in New York, one can imagine the conversations concerning basketball would have probably almost entirely centered around the impending showdown between the Tarheels and Wildcats. Now with their game seemingly back on track, the Wildcats were ready to go on with business as usual; which was knocking these non-basketball tradition schools around and sending them home with a big L in the loss column.

If no one had heard of Joe Crispin or his brother Jon outside of the Big Ten conference, they had after Penn State and UK had at it in the Wildcat’s home opening contest. Past history says that Kentucky schedules these types of games to give the crowd a good time for the season opener. The Nittany Lions appeared to be just what the doctor ordered; a team rich in football tradition, but in basketball they weren’t even close to the Wildcats. Well, someone in the Kentucky Athletic Department needs to find another doctor. What appeared to be a pesky squad of undermanned, over-matched guys just hoping to make a respectable showing, turned into to something else entirely before the first half ended. Kentucky was doing all right inside, but that old misery was plaguing them again. The Wildcats could not get anything to fall from more than six to eight feet from the basket. Meanwhile the two Crispin brothers were putting on a clinic. It’s hard to say how something like it starts. After hitting a few average shots from behind the arc, both Joe and Jon Crispin began to make shots that even they termed “ridiculous”. A harbinger of things to come was how the first half ended. Penn State battled back from a 30-20 deficit to trail 39-33 with 30 seconds to play. Joe Crispin made two free throws, then as Gerald Fitch attempted to bring the ball up court he was stripped by Titus Ivory who fed Jon for a lay-up at the buzzer. It was a major confidence builder for Penn State and instead of making the Cats mad, it seemed to demoralize them.

The second half began with a 12-2 Penn State blitz that Kentucky never really recovered from. It was the kind of thing UK fans had become accustomed to seeing during the ‘90’s, they just weren’t used to seeing the opponent doing it to the Wildcats. Even though this was an extreme example, in reality this was not the first time an opposing team had used the “Kentucky style” of run ‘n gun basketball to beat UK. As the Crispin boy’s shots continued to fall, it seemed Kentucky’s shooting got worse. After Penn State ran it’s lead out to 49-41, UK somehow fought back to tie it at 58-58; then again at 61-61. But the Nittany Lions shot their way back to a 67-61 margin. It finally came down to one last shot for Kentucky. With the score 71-68 and 0:27 seconds showing on the clock, the Cats had a chance to do what Penn State had been doing all night; hit a three pointer to tie the score. But as had seemed to be the case in almost all of these types of situations during the last two seasons, the Wildcats simply didn’t execute. Keith Bogans rushed a 25 footer with 0:12 seconds still on the clock and it never touched iron. Penn State added a couple of free throws and celebrated their 73-68 win. It was a devastating loss for the Wildcats. There was the poor start, then the hope that may be they had gotten over it enough to get going in the right direction and now a crushing loss at the hands of basically two players. Joe Crispin lit up Kentucky for 31 points, Jon had 26 and the rest of their teammates had 16. On the UK side their two leaders, Prince and Bogans, combined for a whopping 10 points. The Cats were led by a couple of freshmen again, Jason Parker had 15 and Daniels had 16. “Honestly, and this is not arrogant in any way, but a couple of the shots I hit and Jon hit were pretty ridiculous.” Joe Crispin said. Prince had another opinion on that thought. “For us to let two guys score 60 points, that’s ridiculous.”

It was now apparent that the shooting problems Kentucky had been experiencing over the last year and a half were more serious then many had been willing to believe. What made the problem even more exasperating was the fact that the UK defense was giving opponents far too many open looks from outside. The Cats not only couldn’t make a three pointer, but they couldn’t seem to prevent anyone else from making one either. Here was a major problem that had existed for more then a season now and it didn’t appear to be getting any better. “That was our No. 1 priority coming back from last year,” Tubby Smith said of his team's long-standing shooting woes. “But based on this, it hasn't happened.” With the meat of a very tough pre-conference schedule upon them, the specter of a grim season appeared to lie on the horizon for the Wildcats.

The Fork in Tobacco Road
North Carolina and Kentucky are the two winningest programs in college basketball. UK has a slight lead over the Tar Heels and at this point in the season the two teams were headed in opposite directions. Carolina was playing well, ranked sixth in the nation at 3-1. Kentucky on the other hand had yet to play a “good” game and at 1-3 seemed destined for a fourth loss that could cause the season to spiral down the drain. To even the most optimistic UK fan it appeared the Tar Heels had the advantage in every department. The only place the Cats might have a bit of an edge was at forward and that was so slight it was almost non-existent. It looked as though Joe Forte, a former high school teammate of Keith Bogans, and the inside players of Carolina would be way too much for Kentucky to overcome. Forte, just a sophomore, was leading his team and with players like Kris Lang and Brendan Haywood on the inside, the hill looked too steep to climb.

During the early minutes of the contest that gloomy prediction appeared to be coming to fruition. North Carolina scored the first seven points and did so with ease. The Heels dominated the opening 10 minutes of the game, which led to a 21-11 lead with just under nine minutes to go in the half. Then a frustrated Tubby Smith pulled Tayshaun Prince and Saul Smith, inserting Marquis Estill and Cliff Hawkins in their places. Tubby was particularly angry with Prince who had allowed himself to be picked off on screens two times in a row, both times leading to Carolina baskets. Tubby shouted some angry words at his forward as Prince sat down and Prince shouted back. It isn’t the type of thing a fan likes to see on his team’s sidelines, but in the end, it was the turning point in the ball game.

Hawkins was the catalyst of an 18-4 run during the next 5:30. Displaying shades of Wayne Turner, his dribble penetration broke down the Carolina defense, allowing the Cats to connect on their shots and gain the momentum going to the break. Hawkins, who scored nine points and dished out three assists in the first half, along with Estill’s 14 points, led the Wildcats to the intermission and a 38-35 lead. Though it was only a three point margin, for Kentucky it must have felt like a double digit cushion. After starting the game so slowly, this turn around had not only boosted the UK players confidence, it had the Tar Heels back…well, on their heels.

While the freshmen had led the Cats to a first half led, the upper classmen took things in hand in the second period. After North Carolina regained the lead early in the second half, Bogans and Prince began to take charge. As the game wore on the Wildcats discovered they had an unexpected advantage in foot speed. On top of that the UK bench was out producing the Heels’ bench. A deeper bench combined with players getting beat on the dribble, eventually wore down the Tar Heels both physically and mentally. When the final horn sounded Kentucky had surprised everyone, including themselves, with a 17 point blowout 93-76. In the first half two freshmen combined for 23 points and in the second two veterans teamed up for 26. The win couldn’t have provided a bigger boost in confidence, nor could it have come at a better time for the Wildcats. It was the first win over Carolina since December 1974 and halted a six game winning streak over the Cats.

Considering UK’s state before this game, if you had not been able to watch or listen and someone came to you and said the final ended up being a 17 point rout, I believe anyone would have thought, “Kentucky must have played terrible.” UK had proven that it could beat a good team. Now the problem would be to make sure they used this victory as a catalyst for a strong drive toward the conference season.

The hoped for boost from UK’s unexpected victory over Carolina really never materialized, Kentucky simply continued to be inconsistent. The Cats followed the Tar Heel victory with a sloppy 94-79 win over Eastern Kentucky. Then came two last second losses on the road, the first one to Georgia Tech, 86-84. The Wildcats had actually made a remarkable comeback late in the game, only to see the Yellow Jackets steal the win on a simple in bounds catch and shoot play just before the buzzer. Tech was another in an ever growing group of teams that were now playing what had just a few short years ago been termed the Kentucky style of play; pressing, fast breaking and plenty of three point shooting. The Wildcats next game came against defending National Champions Michigan State in Lansing. Kentucky actually gave a good account of themselves in a low scoring defensive battle. But, once again the Cats could not close the deal at the end. After Keith Bogans put UK ahead 45-44 in the final minute of play, Kentucky couldn’t stop the Spartans from regaining the lead. Bogans had another opportunity to win it for UK, but missed a five footer with five seconds remaining. Kentucky was giving themselves chances to win, but as had been the pattern now for basically two years the Cats could not put a team away and keep them there, nor could they seem to win the ones that went down to the wire.

Kentucky did finish their pre-conference schedule with three straight victories, though one would have to admit in less than impressive style. The Cats put an unsettled, but stubborn Indiana team away in the second half, 88-74; then ran all over an overmatched squad from High Point 102-49. Their final game before opening SEC play was a win over rival Louisville 64-62. Usually any win over the Cardinals is considered a good win, but on this day the Cats ended up leaving the court not with confidence, but once again wondering what went wrong at the end. It was the same scenario, the Wildcats had a team beat, but allowed them to come back and in this case luckily, ALMOST win the game. With a little over four minutes remaining and leading by 10 points, Kentucky watched as Louisville simply began to come down the court and score at will, while the Cats seemed unable to stop them. The victory gave UK a winning record for the first time of the season, but they certainly were not a confident team going into the conference schedule.

The Prince of Southern Comfort
Kentucky began the conference season by continuing to play in the same uneasy manner they had most of their other games. In the two opening contests against Georgia and South Carolina, the Cats built double digit leads, then squandered them, just barely holding on for the wins. For some folks it was viewed as an improvement, since they did at least win. UK moved their record to 9-5 with a victory over Notre Dame in Louisville 82-71. The Wildcats had developed two patterns to almost all their games, either get a sizable lead and lose it or fall behind early and have to comeback. Against the Fighting Irish the Cats found themselves trailing early, but took control before the first half ended. Fans once again attempted to convince themselves and may be the team that this was the turning point for the season and it would be all smooth sailing the rest of the way. The Cats needed all the encouragement they could get because their next opponent was always difficult, conference rival Tennessee who entered the game ranked #4 in the country with a 16-1 record. The Vols had the edge on UK in talent, but for once the Wildcats enjoyed the advantage of a boisterous Rupp Arena crowd. The average fan that stays home and listens or watches the Cats play, has long been envious of the loud, enthusiastic crowds that Kentucky generally faces on the road in conference play. Seldom does a Rupp Arena crowd ever come close to duplicating the same kind of atmosphere for the Wildcats. The few times that they do, the advantage they provide to their team is undeniable. For whatever reason, for the Tennessee contest Rupp was rocking as never before. May be it was the fact that early in the week Keith Bogans had done what every coach dreads by guaranteeing a Wildcat victory. May be the fans sensed that a loss to the Volunteers at this early point in the year could send UK into a tailspin they would never recover from. Whatever it was Tubby Smith I’m sure would have liked to bottle it for use every game.

Kentucky jumped all over the Vols from the start racing out to a 15-5 lead. Two big plays got the Rupp crowd on it’s feet and erupting and the Wildcats never gave them reason to sit back down. On one of the early trips down court, Charles Hathaway rebounded a UK miss, Gerald Fitch six inches shorter and 80 pounds lighter, ripped the ball away and a startled Hathaway fouled him. It sent the UK crowd into a full-throttle roar. Moments later Jason Parker caught Tayshaun Prince streaking down the lane and hit him with a pass that resulted in a high-flying dunk and the rout was on. The Tennessee players completely lost their composure and with 2:18 left in the half, found themselves trailing 44-28. UT put together a run of 10-2 to finish the half down by only eight, 45-38. Wildcats fans had to be uneasy, since this was beginning to look all too familiar. It could be a devastating loss if Kentucky let this one get away after such a great start and there was reason to be concerned. In the first five minutes of the second half, the Volunteers had been outscoring opponents 11 to 6 since the start of the season. Tennessee opened the second half by reducing the UK margin to 51-47 in the first four minutes. Kentucky answered though with 12 straight points, nine of them by Bogans, to push the margin back to sixteen at 63-47 with 12:52 remaining. The Cats opened their largest lead of the game at 67-49 before the Vols made one last run, but it wasn’t good enough on this night. UK maintained a comfortable margin and won 84-74. Afterward, Vol Vincent Yarbrough admitted to being rattled at the beginning of the game. “That might be the loudest crowd I've ever been in.”

What most Kentucky fans had hoped would be the turning point for the season, again, was smashed when the Cats went on the road and lost their next two games. The first was a lackluster effort at Ole Miss in which the Cats were never in the game. The next was a more familiar scenario; the Cats go to Alabama, fall behind early, trail by as many as 12 points late in the second half, make a startling comeback to take a 54-47 lead with five minutes to play and see Alabama win going away 70-60. To say it was a frustrating situation for coach, players and fans was an understatement. To add even more adversity for coach and players was the fact that former coach Rick Pitino had resigned from his job as head coach of the Boston Celtics. Speculation was running rampant as to where he would eventually end up and many UK fans and media were making no secret that they wanted him back at Camelot.

Kentucky followed these two losses with a win over Vanderbilt 86-75 and the tide finally did appear to turn when UK went on the road and came away with big victories at Georgia and South Carolina, winning both games with ease and putting the Cats in first place in the SEC. Not only were the fortunes of the team turning, but so were those of Tayshaun Prince. Prince was becoming a leader and the go to guy UK had lacked for so long now. Prince was named SEC Player of the Week by combining for 52 points in Kentucky’s last two wins. Florida came to town for UK’s next game. In recent years Billy Donovan had been bringing teams into Rupp Arena that mirror the Kentucky squads that almost all UK fans loved so much during Rick Pitino’s years. The Gators play a brand of basketball Cat fans long to see UK return to. It is only made worse by the fact that Florida has been winning most of time doing it. On this night Kentucky jumped on top early taking a 45-31 lead to the half, but the Gators were too good to be blown-out and came charging back to take a 70-67 lead with just under two minutes to play. After a Marvin Stone dunk and a UK stop, Kentucky was faced with a chance to do something they hadn’t seemed to be able to do for some time; win a game at the buzzer. After the usual time-outs the Cats went to their go to man of recent games, Tayshaun Prince. Prince went one on one, reversing dribble two or three times until he had worked his way into the lane, then turned and used his long reach to throw up a jump hook that fell straight through the net to win it 71-70.

Kentucky finally seemed to have some momentum. After a solid victory at Mississippi State and holding off Tennessee in Knoxville 103-95, the Wildcats took control of the SEC race with wins at Vandy and LSU. Meanwhile Prince was not only leading the Cats, he was leading the league. He was posting numbers such as; 19 points against Florida, 19 at Miss. St., 30 at Tennessee, and 27 against Vanderbilt. Kentucky had three games left on the season, two tough ones on the road at Arkansas and Florida and one at Rupp against Auburn. The Cats stumbled against the Hogs and Gators, losing both games. Kentucky sandwiched the two losses around a win over Auburn and finished the season in a first place tie with Florida. The Wildcats though would enter the SEC Tournament as the top seed in the east.

The Kentucky Wildcat Invitational or The SEC Tournament Returns to Normal
Kentucky entered the SEC Tournament with no intentions of repeating last year's meltdown when they lost to Arkansas in the second round. This time the Cats were on the butt-kicking side and South Carolina was the unfortunate victim. UK jumped out to a 21-8 lead behind a trio of three pointers by Keith Bogans who would go on to score 23.As the season had progressed and Tayshaun Prince began putting together one outstanding game after another, naturally opponents began to focus the defense on him. While in some cases this was successful in slowing Prince, it usually resulted in Bogans stepping forward and taking up the slack and then some. After the fast start at the beginning of the game, the Cats hit a dry spell  late in the half which allowed the Gamecocks to make a modest cut into the UK lead, which stood at 34-25 at the break. Kentucky delivered the knock-out blow early in the second period when they ripped off 13 unanswered points to take a 55-32 advantage with 13:30 left. Jason Parker led the charge during the run with eight of those 13. Though Kentucky was never seriously threatened the rest of the way, poor free throw shooting down the stretch allowed Carolina to cut the margin to 13 a couple of times, but no closer. The Cats coasted to the easy win, 78-65.

The next round pitted UK against a familiar foe of recent years, Arkansas. Since 1992 Kentucky had faced the Razorbacks seven times in the SEC Tournament.The Wildcats were 6-0 before last season's loss. UK not only wanted to resume their dominance of the Hogs, but of the tournament also. Arkansas came in on a roll with six straight wins including a victory over Kentucky two weeks earlier. For awhile it appeared they would turn the trick again, jumping on top in the early going by as many as 15 points and eventually taking a 42-32 lead to the locker room at the half. The Wildcats turned it around in a hurry at the start of the second period with six quick points. Later still trailing 50-43, Kentucky went on a 10-1 run, taking a 53-51 lead; a lead which they would never give up. The Cats were led by Bogans and Prince who combined for 42 points, but UK's reversal of fortunes was due more to defense than offense. Arkansas made five three point baskets in the second half, but all came in the final 1:53 when it was too late. Better organization and execution in the second half resulted in a 19 point turn around and took Arkansas completely out of their game. With timely free throw shooting down the stretch, the Cats moved on with a 87-78 victory to a now familiar place; a spot in the championship game.
"I think early in the season we probably would have cracked if we'd fallen behind by 15 like we did today." said Bogans. Kentucky would face Ole Miss for the SEC Tournament title. UK had lost to the Rebels in their only meeting of the year in what was one of the Wildcat's poorest efforts of the season.

This season, like last, Kentucky's ability to stop teams with a strong inside game and potent outside shooters, was suspect at best. Tubby Smith's ball-line defense simply appeared to have a weakness which allowed teams too many open looks from three point range. When the UK players overplayed the outside, teams simply pushed the ball inside. When the inside attack would begin to be effective and the Cats responded on defense, the opponent kicked the ball to the outside for what was usually an open three point shot. This is exactly what Mississippi had done in their win earlier and it appeared to be sound strategy to employ again. Ole Miss had one of the top power players in the SEC in center Rahim Lockhart; Lockhart had basically did whatever he wanted in the previous game. This time instead of allowing Lockhart and the Rebels to force their will on the Cats, Kentucky dictated the terms from the very start. Lockhart was limited to two baskets in the first 29 minutes of the game, the second one cut the UK lead to 20 points with 10:34 left to play.

It was that suspect defense that won Kentucky its 23rd SEC Tournament title. The Cats not only stopped the Ole Miss inside game, but they took the three point shot away as well. The Rebel's first three pointer came with 15:42 remaining in the contest and it cut the UK lead to 48-22. It was also the first points for Ole Miss in over 10 minutes. The first half was a nightmare for the Rebels. They started the game missing 12 of their first 14 shots. When Justin Reed made a running lay-up with 6:20 remaining in the half it made the score UK 22, Mississippi 19 and would be the last points the Rebels would score for the rest of the first half and well into the second. Ole Miss never posed any serious threat and the Wildcats posted an easy victory 77-55. "They beat us to the punch," Ole Miss coach Rod Barnes said, "They were more aggressive. They took it to us." Tayshaun Prince, who had already been named Player of the Year for the regular season, scored 26 points and was named MVP of the tournament. A good case could've been made for Keith Bogans though, who had two 23 point efforts and 19 in the title contest.

The Kentucky Wildcats entered the NCAA Tournament as a #2 seed in the East Region and by no surprise to anyone the #1 seed was Duke. Just coincidence that the two had played an unforgettable game for the same East Region Title in 1992; just coincidence that if both teams won out they would meet again on the same floor for the same title; sure, it was just coincidence. I believe everyone’s intelligence would be a bit less insulted if the powers that be over the NCAA Tourney would just admit what is so blatantly obvious to us all when these types of matchups occur. If that was not enough of a distraction for Kentucky and it’s fans another soap opera was developing in the Bluegrass State and this one was starring former UK coach Rick Pitino. It was becoming clearer with each passing day that the coach so many Kentucky fans had adored during his stay and continued to hold in the same high esteem as the great Adolph Rupp, was going to take the now vacant coaching job at of all places.......Louisville! Most believed it couldn’t possibly happen, that it wouldn’t happen, that it was simply a ploy, but those in the know didn’t seem to think so. All indications were Pitino was going to do the unthinkable and take the job and this was coming at the most inopportune time possible; at least for Kentucky.

The Wildcats first round opponent would be Holy Cross, coached by former UK and Pitino assistant Ralph Willard; another coincidence of course. In the 1940’s Holy Cross was one of the powers of college basketball. They had played some epic battles with Adolph Rupp’s Wildcats, but while Kentucky remained one of the powers Holy Cross gradually slipped out of sight. Their last victory in the NCAA Tournament was in 1953. Ralph Willard had taken the Crusaders from a 6th place finish in the Patriot League last season to the championship. While Holy Cross was substantial underdogs those first round games between high and low seeds are always nerve wracking. As usual the tournament opened with the unexpected upsets and just like every other team seeded in the upper half of the brackets, Kentucky did not want to become tomorrows headlines.

On paper the Wildcats had all the advantages, talent, tradition and firepower; that is on paper. Holy Cross had something most first round underdogs have….desire. Certainly just the fact that a team is playing an NCAA Tournament game should be all the incentive needed to come out ready to play, but in these opening round situations teams can lose confidence fast if things don’t go well. For UK fans this had to be a fear in their minds.

Holy Cross started the game with a quick 5-2 lead, then the Cats ran off eight straight to take control 10-5. The half though would be one streak after another as the Crusaders answered with a 9-2 run of their own, to take back the lead 14-12 with 10:00 to go. It was UK’s turn and they took full advantage finishing the half 24-13 taking a 36-27 lead at the break. Keeping in sequence, Holy Cross began the second half with a 9-2 run to cut the Wildcat margin to 38-36 at the 17:44 mark. The game remained tight and the lead fell to one point, 45-44 with 12:15 left. Kentucky made another charge running off nine unanswered points to take the biggest lead of the game 54-44 with just over 10 minutes to play. Instead of breaking the spirit of their underdog opponents, the Cats watched as Holy Cross came fighting back and tied the score at 58-58 with 6:29 to go. It had become an all too familiar sight for UK fans during the season and it was a situation that some other teams had not been able to get out of in their opening round contests. Enter the UK royalty. Tayshaun Prince nailed a three and when Bogans stole the ball on Holy Cross’ next possession he found Prince in transition and the UK star fired in another three from deep in the corner. It was exactly what Kentucky needed to as Bogans put it, “…knock some of the momentum out of them.” The Crusaders answered with a field goal then Prince broke free on an inbounds play and flipped in a five footer. Holy Cross would not give up and when they cut the lead back to 68-65 Prince took matters into his own hands. Dribbling out almost the entire shot clock near mid court, Prince went one on one, making an incredible cross-over dribble move against Tim Szatko to throw in a running 10 foot jumper to seal it for the Cats. Holy Cross added a three point basket and UK two more free throws to make the final 72-68. Holy Cross had made a battle of it, but for the first time in what seemed like an awfully long time, Kentucky had a leader who could say, “Get on my back and let’s go.” Ralph Willard’s team seemed to have had an answer for just about everything but…..Tayshaun Prince.

The Wildcats heaved a huge sigh of relief and moved on to face a Steve Alford coached Iowa team. Iowa finished the season by winning the Big Ten Tournament and they brought with them the tournament MVP and nation's leading rebounder Reggie Evans. Evans was the type of inside player that had caused problems for the Wildcats all season. For a while at the beginning of this second round contest it appeared Evans might be able to handle the Cats single-handed. With just over eight minutes played Evans had 10 points and four rebounds and was basically doing whatever he pleased. Jason Parker was on the bench after committing two fouls in the first three minutes of play and Marvin Stone was completely ineffective as his replacement. Kentucky's man-to-man defense seemed to be tailor-made for the the Hawkeyes who led by as many as nine points in the early going.

The Wildcats needed a savior and when the second TV timeout came with 11:53 to go in the half, the hero came charging in. Marquis Estill entered the game and Tubby Smith switched to a zone defense. Estill took charge scoring 11 points and grabbing five rebounds by halftime, but more importantly, he shut Evans out for the rest of the half. The defensive change nearly shut-out the entire Iowa team who was able to hit only one field goal in the final 9:30; meanwhile Kentucky scored 12 unanswered points to close out the half. Estill had six of those on a couple of three-pointers; one the old fashioned way on a basket and foul and the other a jumper from the top of the key.

Trailing 45-33 at the half, Iowa didn't fold, Dean Oliver cut the lead to four by scoring the first eight points of the second period. Prince made sure it was as close as they would get though, by countering with a couple of athletic scores in the lane. Each time Iowa made a run, the Cats had an answer. When the Hawkeyes cut the lead to 51-44, Estill took an entry pass, held off Evans with one arm and threw down a one-handed dunk. Then with the score 66-58 and the shot clock running out, Gerald Fitch found himself in front of the UK bench. With one second remaining he calmly turned and fired in a 30 footer making it look as routine as a free throw. On a night when Tayshaun Prince scored a career high 31 points, 21 in the second half, the attention was all on a third string center; Marquis Estill. Estill finished with 22 points and was the major difference in the contest. While Prince had the record-setting night in UK's 92-79 win, Estill was the key to the victory by virtually stopping Reggie Evans. The Hawkeyes knew all about Prince and Bogans, but they had ignored Estill. One thing was certain though, after this game Southern California would be aware of Estill and probably every other player on the UK bench as well.

As the tournament moved on the media hype grew. With each win by Kentucky and Duke the "rematch" was all over print and the airwaves. Now it was only one game away and not many reporters were talking about anything else; especially not about Southern California. It seemed just about everyone had UK already in the regional final and though the Kentucky players denied being distracted, it had to be on their minds. Whether they realized it or not, the media was giving USC a wealth of locker room material for their coaches to use as motivation. If this was not enough for the Kentucky coaches to have to worry about another factor was thrusting itself into the picture; Rick Pitino. On the eve of UK's third round game with Southern Cal, Pitino chose to announce he was taking the head coaching job at Louisville. While it could be argued that this should not have been important to the current UK players, it was extremely disappointing to the Wildcat fans. It was just one more media distraction the Kentucky players did not need. The timing of it over-shadowed the UK game itself and may be that was intentional. One can only speculate on the motives of the former Kentucky coach, if there were any. If Pitino still held the UK program in the high regard he had said he did, why not wait until Kentucky was out of the tournament? I seriously doubt that Louisville was going to run out and hire another coach in the meantime. If nothing else it makes this writer wonder if this was not an attempt to get back at the UK fans who had not reacted favorably to Pitino's interest in the UL job. It still amazes me to find after all the time he spent at Kentucky, Pitino never understood the UK fan. No matter, Kentucky still had a game to play and against a formidable opponent. Some were saying Southern Cal. would simply collapse in the face of the UK press; most of these were the same ones that had Kentucky and Duke already written into the regional finals bracket.

While most of the media seemed to be salivating at the prospect of a rematch between Duke and Kentucky, I feel most of the Wildcat fans had other things on their minds. Whether they would admit it or not I believe the news involving Rick Pitino was having a bigger impact on them then dreams of avenging that 1992 loss. It’s hard to say what frame of mind the team was in, but Southern Cal was getting fired up and they would carry that intensity right onto the floor. The opening half was a nightmare for the Wildcats. Instead of the Cats pressing USC into submission, the Trojans jumped on Kentucky right from the start and put the Cats back on their heels. It was an exact reversal of what was expected; UK looked a step slow and confused at best. Kentucky didn’t help matters with what can only be described as sloppy ball-handling. UK turned the ball over on it’s first two possessions and on it’s third Prince, who had been rock solid in his shooting, threw up a three point attempt that slammed hard against the board and never drew iron. Meanwhile Southern Cal was blistering the nets, making 12 of 13 shots in one stretch and the one they missed was put back in on an offensive rebound. The Trojans weren’t missing many, but it seemed the ones they did miss they grabbed and put back in. Kentucky found themselves trailing by 21 points during the half and finished it down 43-24.

UK had dug themselves a very big hole and when USC came out and scored the first basket of the second half, it appeared there would be no comeback for the Cats on this night. But in the next seven minutes Kentucky charged back into the contest with a 22-3 run that had them trailing 48-46. It happened so fast it was hard to believe and the Trojans now found themselves in big trouble with their momentum gone. USC found it’s resolve though in the person of David Bluthenthal who seemed to have the answer each time the Cats got within a basket of the lead. Bluthenthal helped get Southern Cal back out to a double digit lead, but UK charged back with four straight three point baskets, two each by Bogans and Smith to cut the lead to 61-60 with 8:06 remaining. Bluthenthal hit a three from the corner and moments later another on a fast break to push the Trojan lead back out to 67-60.

With time running short Kentucky appeared to be down for the count on at least three occasions, but each time they came charging back to get within a basket. The game though may have gotten away from the Cats when they came away with no points on a USC intentional foul. Parker missed both free throws, then Bogans missed a jumper. Down by seven with 1:30 to go Parker made good on two free throws and after a USC air ball, Bogans grabbed the rebound and charged down the floor all the way to the hole with a powerful dunk to make it 75-72 with 42.8 seconds showing on the clock. Kentucky wasn’t done yet as they turned Southern Cal over near the mid court line. Gerald Fitch had his attempted layup blocked, but Erik Daniels was there to grab it and put it back in to close the margin to 75-74 with 32.2 seconds left. The Trojans went to the rock that had been steady all night for them, David Bluthenthal. During those last 32 seconds Bluthenthal hit five out of six free throws to hold off UK and give Southern Cal an 80-76 win.

The hoped for Duke - Kentucky Regional Final was now history. The USC players and coaches made it clear that the apparent lack of respect for them shown by the media was a major factor in the outcome. Henry Bibby went so far as to thank the media for their help. “….I want to thank you guys for that. You guys deserve half the victory.” While USC felt they had something to prove, the emotional factor in games like these usually wears off after the first couple of time outs. The Trojans won the game by playing more aggressively from the beginning and putting the Wildcats in a position they couldn’t get out of.

Tayshaun Prince could muster only six points, Keith Bogans who was throttled for the first half scoring only two, broke out with 21 in the second. Saul Smith played the way he had always played in a UK uniform, 100% hustle and had a career high five three point baskets. Jason Parker had a big second half as well and finished with 22 points, but that first half was too much to overcome. Each time UK appeared to be on the verge of tying or taking the lead, they lost the opportunity or the Trojans came back. After a 3-5 start and continued abysmal play on offense, Kentucky seemed to find itself around mid season. Prince finally blossomed into the star player he had been predicted to be and Bogans complimented him very well. Other players showed flashes of brilliance from time to time, but as a team Kentucky was just not able to sustain the effort night after night.

As the season ended, the make up of next year’s team was somewhat unknown. What was known was that both Bogans and Prince were going to test the NBA waters. The feeling was that Prince was gone for sure and probably Bogans as well, if that happened UK would be hard pressed to put a Final Four caliber team on the floor. But with both of these players back and the talent that was on the way, Kentucky Basketball should be back at the pinnacle where it always belongs.
 
 

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