March 22nd, 2013 — Uncategorized
Upper level tickets are available for the NCAA Tournament games in Rupp Arena on Saturday. Tickets are $88.50 and $45.50 (limited availability).
Tickets can be bought at www.ncaa.com/mbbtickets or by calling (877) NCAA-TIX.
The Rupp Box office can be reached at 859-233-3535. The box office is open until 6 pm on Friday, and will open at 10:00 am on Saturday. Starting at 3:30 pm on Saturday, all tickets must be purchased in person at the box office.
March 19th, 2013 — Uncategorized
Point guard Ryan Harrow’s season continued its sour spiral downward. After two-for-15 shooting left him tearfully apologizing for the 64-48 loss to Vanderbilt in the SEC Tournament last week, he sat the bench most of the night at Robert Morris.
Harrow played nine minutes, his lowest total since the first game back from a defacto leave of absence early in the season. In the final two games, he had one assist and six turnovers.
Although he spoke about wanting to return to UK next season, Harrow acknowledged that Calipari has veto power over any player’s wishes.
“If I can come back, I will come back,” he said. “If I can’t, I’ll just have to make decisions, really.”
March 19th, 2013 — Uncategorized
MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Ironically, the kind of one-for-all unity and resolve that Kentucky sought all season surfaced after a 59-57 loss to Robert Morris Tuesday. Members of the much-heralded freshman class — minus Nerlens Noel, of course — all said they intended to return to UK next season.
“I don’t think it’s a question of whether I’m going (to the NBA) or not,” said Archie Goodwin, who led UK with 18 points. “I don’t think I’m ready to go.”
Then Goodwin added, “There’s no reason any of our guys should really leave. We should come back next year . . . and just try to do better.”
Alex Poythress echoed Goodwin’s assessment. “I don’t think I’m ready,” he said.
Poythress said he would concentrate on off-season workouts. “That’s when you get better,” he said. That’s when the Cats can “continue to regroup.”
Willie Cauley-Stein, who assumed the center when Noel torn an anterior cruciate ligament last month, laughed when asked if he might enter this year’s NBA Draft.
“No,” he said. “Nobody’s ready for it. I don’t think anybody’s ready for it mentality-wise, body-wise, athletic-wise.”
Cauley-Stein said the disappointing season left him feeling a need to return.
“I’ve got this empty feeling in my gut and I want to fill it,” he said.
But, Cauley-Stein did not rule out an entry into the 2013 NBA Draft.
“It just depends on what my situation is,” he said. “I want to win a national championship. It could be next year. Could be the year after.”
But the financial security of being a NBA first-round pick cannot be automatically dismissed, he said. “If my family needs me, I’ll go.”
Goodwin sounded like John Calipari — even using one of his favorite words — in suggesting all UK freshmen (with the possible exception of Noel) should return.
“If any of us are saying we think we should leave, we’re all being delusional,” he said. “None of us need to leave. (Returning) is just going to help us in the long run.”
Calipari said he would sit down and discuss options with each UK player individually.
“You expect me to be honest with them,” he said, “and that’s what I’ll do.”
March 15th, 2013 — Uncategorized
Vanderbilt’s 12 three-point baskets in beating Arkansas 75-72 Thursday equaled the second-most the Commodores made this season.
Vandy figures to need similarly good shooting to beat Kentucky on Friday in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
When asked how dependent Vandy was on three-point shooting, Stallings said, “Pretty. Pretty dependent. We don’t score a lot of post-up points. We just don’t.”
Kedren Johnson, Vandy’s leader in three-point baskets (54 of 150) made only one of three against Arkansas. Forward Rod Odom made a career-high five shots from beyond the arc. He equaled a career high with 20 points, and he would have had more had he made more than three of 11 free throws.
Guard Kyle Fuller equaled his career high with three three-point baskets.
Vandy made 10 or more three-point shots for the ninth time this season, and the fifth time in the last eight games. Three-point attempts have accounted for 46.3 percent of Vandy’s shots this season.
“We need to make shots,” Stallings said, “… and Kentucky is good at defending them.”
March 15th, 2013 — Uncategorized
After his team outlasted Arkansas 75-72 Thursday night, Vanderbilt Coach Kevin Stallings spoke of the likelihood of a hotly competitive game with Kentucky on Friday in the Southeastern Conference Tournament quarter-finals.
“They’re pretty familiar with us (and) we’re pretty familiar with them,” he said of regular-season games won by two and four points by UK. “Two competitive games. … You sort of anticipate another slugfest for the third one.
On Wednesday, Stallings spoke of UK fans making the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville seem like Rupp Arena. After the Arkansas game, he dismissed the possibility of a mass of UK fans adversely affecting his team.
“I don’t care; we’ve seen it,” he said when asked of UK fans. “If 20,000 Kentucky fans are here, we played in front of 24 (in Rupp Arena). The atmosphere will not bother us.
“Kentucky players will bother us. That’s what we have to worry about. Our guys will compete. Our guys are not afraid. We have not had the kind of season we’re used to having. But I like these guys. They like to play.”
Vandy takes a record of 15-16 into Friday’s game against Kentucky.
In the first meeting, Kentucky almost toyed with Vandy, then had to hold on down the stretch. Vandy’s leading scorer, Kedren Johnson, missed a contested three-point shot at the buzzer while allowed UK to win 60-58.
“I thought about it for about a week,” Johnson said, smling, of the miss. “I was so down. My dreams were shattered.”
In the rematch, Kentucky won 74-70. Stallings lamented Vandy’s defense. UK shot with 51.8-percent accuracy, the second-best of the season by a Vandy opponent.
“Our defense was completely ineffective against them,” the Vandy coach said. ” In that game, they just did what they wanted to do. They drove us. They threw it inside. If that happens again tomorrow night, we’ll just get beat again.”
March 12th, 2013 — Uncategorized
The Southeastern Conference coaches voted Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel as the league’s Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of Year for 2012-13, it was announced Tuesday.
The SEC coaches voted Kyle Wiltjer of Kentucky as Sixth Man of the Year.
The SEC also named Billy Donovan of Florida as Coach of the Year, Georgia sophomore Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as Player of the Year SEC and Florida’s Patric Young as Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors.
It was Donovan’s second Coach of the Year award.
Caldwell-Pope, who ranks second in the SEC in scoring (18.0 ppg) and third in steals (2.1 spg), is one of only 10 players in NCAA Division I to score in double figures in every one of their team’s games this season. He became the first Georgia player to be named SEC Player of the Year by the league’s coaches.
Noel blocked 106 shots in his 24 games before going down with a torn anterior cruciate ligament at Florida on Feb. 12. His 106 blocks ranked second in UK single-season history and third among SEC Freshmen behind Anthony Davis (186) and Shaquille O’Neal (115). He set a UK single-game record with 12 blocked shots at Ole Miss and finished the year averaging 10.5 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.
Young earned the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year award for the second consecutive year, sporting a 3.38 grade-point average in Telecommunications.
Wiltjer won the SEC’s Sixth Man of the Year award after averaging 10.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
The coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players.
First Team All-SEC
Trevor Releford, Alabama – G, 6-1, 195, Jr., Kansas City, Mo.
Erik Murphy, Florida – F/C, 6-10, 238, Sr., South Kingstown, R.I.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia – G, 6-5, 205, So., Greenville, Ga.
Nerlens Noel, Kentucky – F, 6-10, 228, Fr., Everett, Mass.
Johnny O’Bryant III, LSU – F, 6-9, 256, So., Cleveland, Miss.
Phil Pressey, Missouri – G, 5-11, 175, Jr., Dallas, Texas
Jordan McRae, Tennessee – G, 6-5, 178, Jr., Midway, Ga.
Elston Turner, Texas A&M – G, 6-5, 209, Sr., Sacramento, Calif.
Second Team All-SEC
Marshawn Powell, Arkansas – F, 6-7, 240, Jr., Newport News, Va.
BJ Young, Arkansas – G, 6-3, 180, So, St. Louis, Mo.
Kenny Boynton, Florida – G, 6-2, 190, Sr., Pompano Beach, Fla.
^Mike Rosario, Florida – G, 6-3, 183, Sr., Jersey City, N.J.
^Patric Young, Florida – C, 6-9, 249, Jr., Jacksonville, Fla.
Marshall Henderson, Ole Miss – G, 6-2, 175, Jr., Hurst, Texas
Murphy Holloway, Ole Miss – F, 6-7, 240, Sr., Irmo, S.C.
Laurence Bowers, Missouri – F, 6-8, 227, Sr., Memphis, Tenn.
Jarnell Stokes, Tennessee – F, 6-8, 270, So., Memphis, Tenn.
SEC All-Freshman Team
Michael Frazier II, Florida – G, 6-4, 200, Fr., Tampa, Fla.
Charles Mann, Georgia – G, 6-4, 205, Fr., Alpharetta, Ga.
^Willie Cauley-Stein, Kentucky – F, 7-0, 244, Fr., Olathe, Kan.
Archie Goodwin, Kentucky – G, 6-4.5, 198, Fr., Little Rock, Ark.
Nerlens Noel, Kentucky – F, 6-10, 228, Fr., Everett, Mass.
^Alex Poythress, Kentucky – F, 6-7, 239, Fr., Clarksville, Tenn.
Craig Sword, Mississippi State – G, 6-3, 189, Fr., Montgomery, Ala.
^Gavin Ware, Mississippi State – F, 6-9, 270, Fr., Starkville, Miss.
Michael Carrera, South Carolina – F, 6-5, 212, Fr., Anzoátegui, Venezuela
SEC All-Defensive Team
^Trevor Releford, Alabama – G, 6-1, 185, Jr., Kansas City, Mo.
Scottie Wilbekin, Florida – G, 6-2, 176, Jr., Gainesville, Fla.
^Patric Young, Florida – C, 6-9, 249, Jr., Jacksonville, Fla.
Nerlens Noel, Kentucky – F, 6-10, 228, Fr., Everett, Mass.
Anthony Hickey, LSU – G, 5-11, 178, So., Hopkinsville, Ky.
Reginald Buckner, Ole Miss – F, 6-9, 235, Sr., Memphis, Tenn.
^-Ties are not broken
SEC Coach of the Year: Billy Donovan, Florida
SEC Player of the Year: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia
SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year: Patric Young, Florida
SEC Freshman of the Year: Nerlens Noel, Kentucky
SEC Sixth-Man of the Year: Kyle Wiltjer, Kentucky
SEC Defensive Player of the Year: Nerlens Noel, Kentucky
March 5th, 2013 — Uncategorized
Turner Sports announced Tuesday that will air a documentary on Kentucky basketball on March 17 beginning at 8 p.m.
The documentary, entitled Bluegrass Kingdom: The Gospel of Kentucky Basketball, features interviews with such former UK players as Pat Riley, Jamal Mashburn, Jack Givens, Cliff Hagan and Kenny Walker. It also includes interviews with Joe B. Hall and John Calipari.
The documentary on Kentucky basketball is the second produced by Turner Sports. The network aired a documentary on Duke — Duke 91 & 92: Back to Back — as a lead in to the 2012 NCAA Tournament.
February 27th, 2013 — Uncategorized
The John Calipari Overnight Basketball Camp is scheduled for June 16-19 and is open to boys ages 7-17, UK announced Wednesday.
To register as an overnight camper and stay in a dorm room for this year’s Overnight Camp, participants must be 12 years of age prior to the first day of camp (6/16/13). Campers below the age of 12 must register and participate as a Day Camper/Commuter, per University of Kentucky Athletics Department policy.
All camps are based on a first-come, first-serve basis, with online registration (http://www.ukathletics.com/
The cost of the camp is $430 for overnight campers and $350 for day campers.
February 27th, 2013 — Uncategorized
A limited number of tickets books for the 2013 Southeastern Conference Tournament are on sale through www.SECsports.com , the league announced Wednesday.
Fans can log onto the ticket page of www.SECsports.com and follow the links to the schools’ websites for purchase.
Additionally, tickets for Session One of the tournament are currently on sale for $15 each and are valid for 300-Level general admission seating only.
The SEC Tournament is scheduled for March 13-17, in Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.
February 25th, 2013 — Uncategorized
Kentucky announced Monday that it will distribute rings to its 1996 national championship team.
The ring ceremony will happen at halftime of UK’s game against Mississippi State on Wednesday.
On his radio show Monday, UK Coach John Calipari saluted the “great gesture” of handing out rings.
Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald- Leader has covered Kentucky basketball since the 1981-82 season. That time includes five coaches, five Final Fours, four athletic directors, two interim athletic directors and many memories. Before coming to Lexington, Tipton worked eight years for the Huntington (W.Va.) Herald-Dispatch. He covered Marshall’s basketball team for two seasons before coming to the Herald-Leader.
UK sports headlines Mark Story columns John Clay columns