freshman stars are tall, talented

UK head coach JohnCalipari has recruited anabundance of five-star talentduring his career. From Der-rick Rose to John Wall toAnthony Davis, he’s hadsome guys that have beenable to physically outplay theopposition, simply with in-nate ability.

This year, as hard as it isto believe, Calipari may havehis finest athletes yet, thebest of which could be fresh-men centers Nerlens Noeland Willie Cauley-Stein.

Noel (6-foot-10) andCauley-Stein (7-foot) bring aunique set of skills to thetable. The quickness and co-ordination each possesses israre for players of theirheight.

“They have such great

length, offensively and de-fensively,” sophomore for-ward Kyle Wiltjer said. “Ifwe can get those guys on thecourt together and learn howto play together, it will betough to defend.”

It has been one of themore popular questions lead-ing up to the start of the sea-son: How dominant could adefense anchored by twonear 7-footers be?

“Not too many shotswould get up in the paint,”Noel said when asked aboutplaying with Cauley-Stein.“Willie has come a long waywith himself, and I think itwill be a great duo. I’m look-ing forward to it.”

The Cats’ defense couldbe their most clearly definedasset this season. There isquickness at every position,but it’s what happens in thepaint that dictates how the

opposing offense attacks thebasket. Having two playerswho can realistically blockfour shots per game and altercountless others is unprece-dented.

But, with such expecta-tions come comparisons. Par-ticularly, comparisons havearisen between Noel, Cauley-Stein and Davis. While itseems unfair to comparefreshmen with no game ex-perience to a guy who wonevery college award he couldlast season, it’s logical giventheir physically similarities.

“Everybody’s acting like(Noel) is Anthony, and he’sgoing to come out and he’snot going to be Anthony,”Calipari said. “The samething with (Cauley-Stein).He’s not the basketball play-er Anthony was, neither oneof those guys (are). Compar-ing this team to that team inMarch is not fair.”

It’s a challenge for Noeland Cauley-Stein to put thatbehind them. They havetheir own strengths andweaknesses, but it’s impor-tant that they forge their ownidentity to maximize theirabilities.

“We can’t compare our-selves to them,” Cauley-Stein said. “We just need tokeep going out there and do-ing whatever Coach Cal tellsus to do and being effectiveabout it.”

Calipari has himself tworare talents in the frontcourt.They are unique playerswho, if utilized properly,could become a dominantforce on both sides of thecourt. But, for now, they arejust two athletic 7-footerstrying to get better, developtheir games and co-existwith each other.

By David Schuh

dschuh@kykernel.com

Nerlens Noel, Willie Cauley-Stein have height, coordination

All work and no play hasmade Julius and Ryan longfor game action.

UK head coach JohnCalipari is planning to rely ontwo transfers to play signifi-cant roles in his short rotationthis year.

Sophomore point guardRyan Harrow and graduatestudent shooting guard JuliusMays both have experiencedthe physical and mentalstrains of sitting on the benchduring a redshirt year.

Mays considered givingup basketball while he sat outthe 2010-11 season at WrightState University, after trans-ferring after his sophomoreseason from North CarolinaState.

“There really were times Ijust wanted to quit. I didn’teven want to play basketballanymore,” Mays said. “I justwanted to move back to Indi-ana and be a regular student— just go to school with myfriends.”

Harrow went throughmany of the same feelingslast year during his redshirtyear with the Cats.

“It was hard knowing thatI got to do everything thatthey do (his teammates) — Ihave to wake up in the morn-ing, lift weights, I have to dothese hard practices and runthese sprints,” Harrow said.“But I’m not going to get onthe floor (in a game). I wouldhave my down days.”

Going through the rigorsof classes, weight trainingand practice without the pay-off of playing in the actualgames wore down each play-er’s psyche.

“It was tough. I felt like apractice dummy. I practiced,didn’t play, didn’t go to anygames, didn’t travel any-where — it was just realhard,” Mays said. “It almostfeels like you are doing it allfor nothing. Those were thetimes I just wanted to quit.”

Just as both players expe-rienced similar situations,they also received inspirationfrom similar sources — theirmothers.

“I give a lot of credit tomy mom. She always hastaught me to use basketball,not let basketball use me,”Mays said. “I could have eas-ily got off track with my aca-demics, but I give all of thecredit to my mom becauseshe stayed on top of me anddidn’t let that happen.”

Harrow expressed hisconcerns to the coaching staffand eventually called hismother to get guidance.

“I didn’t expect this. I did-n’t expect this to be this hard,”Harrow told his mother.

The response from thestaff and his mother was sim-ple.

“The coaches and mymom told me the end resultis going to be what I want,and that is doing well andmoving on to the next level,”Harrow said.

“So I just worked hardlast year and cheered themon. I was their biggest cheer-leader, so I can have my timethis year.”

Harrow’s redshirt yearwith the Cats climaxed with anational championship.Mays’ was less eventful froma team perspective, but per-sonally just as important.

“I stayed ahead in my ac-ademics and graduated ontime — which put me in theunique situation I am nowwhere I ended up here,”Mays said. “ When I was sit-ting at Wright State at thistime last year, I would havenever have expected to be sit-ting where I am right now. Itis a blessing to be a part of it,and I am excited.”

Although they will be see-ing their first minutes on thefloor for the Cats this season,both Harrow and Mays willbe counted on to be leaders.

When asked how Caliparidefined his role, Mays said,

“To knock shots down and tobe a leader, with the experi-ence I have.”

Harrow will have the ulti-mate leadership role, follow-ing in the footsteps of JohnWall, Brandon Knight andMarquis Teague by playingpoint guard for the Cats underCalipari.

“For him to pick me, heobviously had some faith inmy game. That made me feelgood,” Harrow said aboutCalipari recruiting him. “I’mjust trying to do the best I cando and help my team out.”

Following two years atNorth Carolina State and aredshirt year, Mays had abreakout senior season atWright State, leading theRaiders with 14.1 points pergame and earning second-team All-Horizon league hon-

ors.Mays is a career 84.1 per-

cent free-throw shooter anddrained 42.4 percent of his 3-point attempts last season.

“He is a great kid whohad performed at a high level,that could make baskets —especially jump-shots — thatwanted to be a part of thisand understood what itmeant,” Calipari said aboutMays in early September.

He appears to have hisshooting stroke cranked upjust in time for the season. Ac-cording to Eric Lindsey atCoachCal.com, Mays recentlyhit 66 3-pointers in a five-minute shooting drill in prac-tice. Hitting 50 during thattime frame is considered goodand anything more than 60 isconsidered “NBA level.”

Coach Calipari is looking

for Harrow to be a vocalleader of the team.

“He has to be more ag-gressive — has to have moreintensity to his game,” Cali-pari said after the Blue-Whitescrimmage.

“He can’t be cool. Hecan’t act like the other guy’snot playing.”

Harrow averaged 9.3points per game for theWolfpack his freshman yearand was second on the teamwith 96 assists on the sea-son.

He has gotten strongersince arriving on campusprior to last season. Heweighed 125 pounds as ahigh school senior and is upto 167 pounds now, withmost of the weight and mus-cle gain coming since join-ing the Cats.

“I think he’s playedstronger than he looks,” Cali-pari said. “He’s out of themold of Brandon (Knight).They’ve got the same bodyframe. You look at him andsay he’s skilled, fast and apretty good athlete.”

Although the year on thesidelines was trying at timesfor Harrow, it has given himan additional edge of know-ing the Calipari system as theseason starts.

“He’s ahead of the gamebecause he was here last year,but he didn’t play,” Caliparisaid. “He’s got to go in thegame and perform.”

After redshirt years thathad both considering givingup, performing in a game isexactly what Harrow andMays are looking forwardto.

transfers harrow, mays eager to playGuards considered giving up

basketball during redshirt yearBy Les Johns

ljohns@kykernel.com

PHOTO BY LATARA APPLEBY | STAFFTransfer and graduate student Julius Mays makes his entrance atBig Blue Madness this year. He last played at Wright State.

PHOTO BY TESSA LIGHTY | STAFFNoel and Cauley-Stein practice at Big Blue Madness on Oct. 12. Both players are freshman centers.

Julius Mays Ryan Harrow

PHOTO BY TESSA LIGHTY | STAFFRyan Harrow, shown at photo day this year, sat on the bench lastseason with the Cats after transferring from North Carolina State.

PHOTO BY LATARA APPLEBY | STAFFFreshmen Willie Cauley-Stein, left, and Nerlens Noel pose for aphoto at media day in September. Cauley-Stein is 6-foot-10 andNoel is 7-foot.

Page 2 | November 7, 2012 Basketball Season Preview

Must-see matchups of the seasonScheduling became contentious during the offseason, as UK and Indiana failed to come to terms on a continuation of their annual rivalry. UK head coach

John Calipari wanted the series to return to neutral sites, but IU wanted it to remain in Bloomington and Lexington. For now, that series is off, but this year’s schedule features many intriguing games, including seven matchups against teams in the AP preseason Top 25.

Here are the top nine games you can’t miss:

6. Baylor - Dec. 1 - 12:30 p.m. - Rupp Arena - CBSThe Bears, coming off a 30-8 record last year, are

ranked in the top 20 of both major polls to start the season.Baylor returns its entire backcourt from last year, includingAll-American candidate Pierre Jackson.

Head coach Scott Drew lost three key players to theNBA draft but replaces them with the No. 6-ranked recruit-ing class by Rivals.com. The Bears will be the highest-ranked non-conference team to face the Cats at Rupp thisseason.

8. Notre Dame - Nov. 29 - 7 p.m. - South Bend, Ind., Joyce Center -ESPN2

The Fighting Irish do not lose at home very often. Theyhave enjoyed home winning streaks of 45 and 29 over thepast few years.

The Irish also return all five starters from a team thatwent 22-12 last year (13-5 Big East). Head coach MikeBrey believes he has a team capable of contending for theBig East title, and this is a team that will likely give UKfits in South Bend.

5. Maryland - Nov. 9 - 8:30 p.m. - Brooklyn, N.Y., Barclays Center - ESPNThe Terrapins will blend a top-20 recruiting class with

three returning starters, attempting to improve on first-yearhead coach Mark Turgeon’s 17-15 record from last year. Awin over the Cats in the season opener would be a pro-gram-re-defining win.

“It’s definitely a big game for us,” sophomore guardNick Faust said at Maryland media day. “Defeating themwould definitely put us on the map from an early start.”

The Terrapins will counter UK’s size with 7-foot-1sophomore center Alex Len and 6-foot-9 freshman centerShaquille Cleare.

Turgeon’s rebuilding effort, the recruiting war betweenthe schools for the Harrison twins and this being the regu-lar-season opener make this a can’t-miss matchup.

3. Missouri - Feb. 23 - 9 p.m. - Rupp Arena - ESPNThe ESPN College Gameday show makes its way to Rupp Arena for the first time since

the record-setting appearance in 2010, when a crowd of more than 22,000 attended the 11a.m. show broadcast. Calipari wants to break the attendance record this year as the Tigersface the Cats.

“Missouri’s transition to the SEC is going to be really good for them. They have a dy-namic backcourt with Michael Dixon and Phil Pressey,” ESPN commentator Jimmy Dykestold the Kernel. “That is a good basketball team that I think will be a major player in theSEC race.”

The matchup and the presence of Gameday make this the biggest game of the year at Rupp.

2. Duke - Nov. 13 - 9:30 p.m. - Atlanta, Georgia Dome - ESPNTwo of the greatest programs in the history of college basketball are meeting as part of

the Champions Classic in Atlanta, wrapping up 24 consecutive hours of basketball coverageon ESPN.

The Cats and Blue Devils have played some classic games, including what many con-sider the greatest game ever played in the Elite Eight in 1992.

The Cats are 1-4 all-time against Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski and Calipari is 0-1all-time against Duke. The teams last met in 2001.

It will take a special effort from the Cats to have a reversal of recent fortune. The BlueDevils are deep, talented and experienced. They return four starters from last year and willfeature a front line that will match UK’s size.

7. Tennessee - Jan. 15 - 7 p.m. - Rupp Arena - ESPNThe Volunteers, under second-year head coach Cuonzo

Martin, invade Rupp Arena in January with much higher ex-pectations than last year. The Vols return seven players withstarting experience, including 6-foot-8 forward Jarnell Stokes,who joined the team mid-season last year.

Stokes provided a boost, averaging 9.6 points and 7.4 re-bounds per game, in helping the Vols to a 10-6 SEC record —barely missing out on a NCAA berth. How Stokes battlesdown low against UK’s post players will likely decide thisconference matchup.

1. Louisville - Dec. 29 - 4 p.m. - Louisville, KFC Yum! Center - CBSLast year these two faced off in the Final Four. This year, they could possibly take it a step

further and make it to the championship game. Both major preseason polls have the Cards No.2 and the Cats No. 3.

Calipari is a perfect 4-0 against U of L head coach Rick Pitino since coming to coach theCats, but this year could be different.

Cardinals point guard Peyton Siva looked like a different player in the postseason last year,leading the Cards to eight consecutive wins until dropping the Final Four matchup to the Cats.

This Louisville group will not be able to overachieve. It is expected to make some noisethis season. Those expectations include contending for the Big East title, making a run in theNCAA Tournament and finally beating Calipari’s Cats — especially with the game takingplace at the Yum! Center.

4. Florida - March 9 - noon - Rupp Arena - CBSThe Gators are ranked No. 10 in the nation preseason

and return four double-digits scoring starters off last year’sElite Eight squad. Billy Donovan’s team is among the fa-vorites for the SEC title, with much more experience thanthe Cats.

If this game were played in November, the Gatorswould likely be the favorite. By the time March rollsaround, however, Calipari’s freshmen will almost be sopho-mores and this matchup could decide the SEC champi-onship.

Calipari is 8-1 during his career against Donovan andlooks to better that record in this season finale.

By Les Johns

ljohns@kykernel.com

8 7

6 5 4

1

2

3

9. Lafayette - Nov. 16 - 7 p.m. - Rupp Arena - Fox Sports SouthThis is the first meeting between the Cats and the Leop-

ards, but more importantly it is the first home game of theregular season. The Cats will be coming off two strongtests, starting the season with neutral-site matchups againstMaryland and Duke.

The Leopards were 13-18 last season, and the gameshould afford the Cats a chance to better refine their styleof play and preferred lineups.

9

Basketball Season Preview November 7, 2012 | Page 3

Flashback to this timetwo years ago — UK wascoming off a season endedby an Elite Eight loss to

West Vir-ginia, al-though somewould argueit had themost talent-ed team inthe country.

Every-thing wasthere; theyjust couldn’tput it all to-gether.

A teamalmost entirely comprisingnew players came in, and

there was a bit of uncertaintyas to what their potential re-ally was.

Sound familiar?UK head coach John

Calipari has a team this yearwith as little experience asany in college basketball.Only one player, sophomoreforward Kyle Wiltjer, hasseen meaningful minutes inan NCAA Tournament game.

The question everyonehas been asking lately is:What is this team’s ceiling?Can the players put their ath-letic ability together in theright way to gel into a cham-pionship-caliber team? Orwill the talent fail to translateto wins at this level?

This can be looked atfrom two angles — first, thebad.

The Cats don’t jump outat you right now like they didthis time a year ago. There isa lot of talent there, but with itis uncertainty as to their disci-pline and patience.

So, here’s how it wouldgo. UK would play re-spectably in the first twomonths, beating teams likeMaryland and the others thatit should beat. But, then theCats would cap the calendaryear off with a convincingloss to Louisville.

They would lose four orfive games in the SEC(which wouldn’t sound too

bad anywhere else in theSouth) and the freshmenwould continue to showsigns of inconsistency and aninability to buy into Cali-pari’s plan.

A pretty fitting four seedwould greet them on Selec-tion Sunday, but winning sixgames in a row would be toomuch to ask. The Cats finishwith a Sweet 16 loss to ateam with a little too muchexperience in the pressure ofMarch.

It doesn’t seem all thatoutlandish, when you thinkabout it. It really depends onhow well Calipari can getthem to play within the teamconcept.

If they do that, well, thiswould happen:

The Cats burst out of the

gate, running over Maryland,getting a huge confidencewin against Duke and goingundefeated into Louisville.

The environment is hos-tile, pitting two of the na-tion’s three best teams. It’s astruggle, but UK scrapes bywith a single-digit win. TheCats take the right steps toprogressively continue mesh-ing. They play unselfishly.Five or six players averagedouble-figure points.

UK then rolls through theSEC, dropping one game to aseasoned Missouri or Floridateam. It clinches the confer-ence title and a No. 1 seed inthe process. After using oneof the best defenses in thecountry to lock down lesserteams in the first two weeks,the Cats find themselves

heading back to Atlanta tothe Final Four.

Once in Atlanta, the Catsgrind out a win over OhioState in the semifinal and getIndiana in a colossal nationalchampionship game. It goesdown to the wire, but a 3-pointer by veteran JuliusMays seals it with under aminute left, also sealing UK’sninth title in the process.

The season could reallygo either way at this point. Itcould even lie somewhere inthe middle.

The talent is there tohave an exceptional season.But, as with almost all ofCalipari’s teams, if theydon’t learn to play for eachother, for the betterment ofthe team, it could just turninto the one that got away.

best- and worst-case scenarios for the catsCould see short NCAA run or another title

SEC stats: last year’s returning production

DAVIDSCHUH

Kernelcolumnist

UK head coach John Calipari has been forced toreload more than ever for2012-13. The Cats return thefewest points and minutesplayed of any SEC team.

0%

20%

60%

40%

80%

100%

% of returning minutes

% of returning points

Page 4 | November 7, 2012 Basketball Season Preview

Last season, Baylor man-aged to keep the rest of

women’sbasketballteams in theNCAA atarm’s length,which maynot soundlike much— until yourealize thatarm belongsto BrittneyGriner.

TheLady Bears

mauled every team they met,going 40-0 with an averagemargin of victory of 26.3points per game while only al-lowing 52.3 points per game.

Griner, the reigning play-er of the year, had one of themost dominant seasons in re-cent memory, averaging 23.2points per game, nearly 10rebounds per game and morethan five blocks per game.

206 blocks. 20 more thanAnthony Davis had. Talkabout intimidating.

Baylor is returning six ofits top seven scorers, whileadding the nation’s eighth-ranked recruiting class.

All of this is to say, Bay-lor was incredible last seasonand won’t be much differentthis season.

When UK Hoops travelsto Waco, Texas, on Nov. 13,it will have the almost insur-

mountable task of beatingthe Lady Bears in front ofthem.

Baylor didn’t just beatteams last year, it embar-rassed them. Only a handfulof times did Baylor not winby double digits. Its averagemargin of victory in theNCAA tournament? Nearly21 points per game.

You might be wonderingwhy Matthew Mitchell andhis staff would even want toschedule this game so earlyin the season.

Respect? Experience? Both.A game against the best

team in the country is aprime opportunity forMitchell to show what histeam is made of. The Catsalready have gained im-mense respect in the SEC,and a preseason AP rankingof No. 7 and a No. 6 spot inthe preseason Coaches’ Pollshow a growing nationalrecognition.

Give a team like Bayloryour best shot and people willreally start to pay attention,including potential recruits.

The problem with givinga team like Baylor your bestshot is you still might loseby 20-plus. Get within 10and that’s an accomplishmentin itself. Defy all logic andactually win? There ought tobe a special trophy made forsuch an occasion.

No matter the outcome,the game should be a valu-able learning experience forUK. Even with one of thetoughest schedules in pro-gram history, the Cats won’thave many chances to play ateam of Baylor’s caliber.

There is an upper eche-lon in women’s college bas-ketball, occupied by teamslike Tennessee, Baylor,UConn, Stanford and NotreDame. UK has seen Ten-nessee’s success up closeover the past three decadesand ran into UConn in lastyear’s Elite Eight, suffering a15-point loss.

Cracking this elite classisn’t easy, but to do so youhave to play its members andaccomplish some success.UK is just now starting to gotoe-to-toe with UT afteryears of blowout losses.Playing the best teams in thecountry will only prepare theCats for future matchups,perhaps even late in the sea-son when a championship isat stake.

A Wildcat victory onNov. 13 is unlikely, but thatdoesn’t mean nothing will begained from the game. Otherteams will pale in compari-son to Baylor, so the tough-est test is out of the way ear-ly.

Should a rematch occurin late March or early April,maybe UK will be morepoised for an upset thanks tothe early-season matchup.

Maybe then, BrittneyGriner’s arms won’t seemquite as long.

uk Hoopsstarts season at

toughest teamTraveling to Baylor to take on

Griner, defending champs

ALEXFORKNER

Kernelcolumnist

Basketball Season Preview November 7, 2012 | Page 5

It’s rare in a system ofone-and-dones to have muchcertainty of anything enteringa college basketball season.There’s always the uneasi-ness of whether freshmencan win big games at thislevel and mesh into a teamcapable of competing for anational championship.

Strangely, that uneasinesswas relatively quiet enteringthe 2011-12 UK season.

Coming off of a Final Fourloss the previous year, UKhead coach John Calipari hada recruiting class coming inthat rivaled any in history.

Teams have had greatfreshmen before, but whatmade last season differentwas the experience coupledwith the talented youth.Sophomores Terrence Jonesand Doron Lamb returned af-ter starting on the team thatlost in the national semifinal.Senior Darius Miller alsoplayed a crucial role comingoff the bench throughout theseason, averaging just fewerthan 10 points per game.

The Cats showed exactlyhow dominant they could be

when they beat Marist by 50in the first game of the sea-son. The freshman learningcurve didn’t appear to be asprevalent as it usually is.They meshed with each otherquickly, understood the col-lege game, and it showedfrom the start.

Three weeks later, UKmet No. 5 North Carolina atRupp Arena in a game thatwould become a lasting high-light of the season, as theCats won by one point be-cause of freshman AnthonyDavis blocking UNC’s JohnHenson in the final seconds.

After a last-second loss atIndiana on Dec. 10, UK ranoff 24 consecutive wins, in-

cluding a 16-0 sweep of theSEC, the third team to do soin program history. The Cats,led by Davis’ shot blockinginside, were arguably the bestdefensive team in the coun-try.

“It was all about thelength,” sophomore forwardKyle Wiltjer said. “That teamhad so much defensive inten-sity, too.”

UK lost to Vanderbilt inthe SEC Championshipgame, but some didn’t con-sider it that much of a detri-ment.

“We don’t have to worryabout a win streak, none ofthat,” Calipari said after theloss. “Let’s go play this tour-nament.”

That’s exactly what theydid.

After cruising throughthe first rounds of the NCAATournament, the Cats sawthemselves facing what somecalled the biggest sportingevent in the history of thestate of Kentucky.

UK and Louisville hadnever faced each other in theFinal Four, and the hostilitymounted as the game drewcloser. The Cats won the reg-ular-season meeting by sevenin Louisville, but both teamshad since improved.

UK came out hot and hada seven point lead at half, butthe Cardinals fought back,getting within two with sevenminutes left. The Cats, asthey had shown all season,would not break, holding onfor an eight-point victory.

In what became a theme

in the tour-nament,UKagain gota re-matchwith a regular-season foe,this time against Kansas, todetermine the national cham-pion. The Cats built a 14-point halftime lead, but thistime they never let it getclose.

Calipari finally had hisfirst championship, and UKhad its eighth.

The 2011-12 Cats were arare team. They combinedspeed with length and youthwith experience. They raninto little real adversity overthe course of the season,which speaks to how domi-nant they truly were.

The 1996 UK basketballteam is one of college hoopslore.

It waselectricitypersonified.

Audi-ences werecaptivated bythe squad’sability to“dominate”opponents.

Thatabilitybrought theillustriousnickname

that now portrays those Cats:The Untouchables.

Featuring nine NBA play-ers and 10 All-Americans, theCats needed a bump in theroad during their third gameagainst UMass to realize theircapabilities, a moment formerguard Derek Anderson said iswhen everything “startedclicking.”

Upon that moment occur-ring, the Cats reeled off aschool-record 27 consecutivewins, as they became the firstteam in 40 years to go unde-

feated (16-0) in SEC play.“I just remember beating

teams so bad — just seeingguys actually quit. It was fun,but it was almost like a thrillto see guys give in to ourpressure,” Anderson said.

The Cats rolled to 20-plus-point wins in 20 of its 36games, scoring triple digits innine of those. Tourney timedidn’t halt the dwarfing ofopponents, either. UK’s open-ing round game was a 110-72defeat of San Jose State andits Elite Eight matchup result-ed with a 83-63 win over theTim Duncan-led Wake ForestDemon Deacons, with routesin between.

“The people in the standswere like ‘We’re not cominghere to watch you guys play,we already know, we’re justtrying to figure out how badyou’re going to beat teams,’ ”Anderson said. “That’s whenwe knew we were good.”

According to Anderson,or any basketball mind, it’shard to slow a team when itcan rotate in an entire newgroup of All-Americans. Forhead coach Rick Pitino, that

was the method to his team’sdestruction of opponents.

“It was physically impos-sible to outlast us in anygame,” Anderson said. “Ifyou look at these teams’ start-ing fives, they might have abetter big man or equallymatch talent, but nobodycould come and touch the restof our team.”

Now a little more than 16years removed from that his-toric title-capturing season,those Cats maintain the con-tact with one another that cre-ated their fluid on-courtmovement.

“We actually all hung to-gether,” Anderson said. “Wewent to the bowling everyFriday, we went to laser tag,we went to the movies —there would be 13 guys at themovie theater and they wouldbe like, ‘What is going on?’But we did it, and it wasn’tplanned.”

Once CBS sportscasterJim Nantz deemed the 2012team’s coronation complete,fans and players alike beganthe debate of 1996 vs. 2012.

Like the ’96 squad, head

coach John Calipari’s champi-onship team became knownfor being a close-knit group;just see the Michael Kidd-Gilchrist “Breakfast Club.”

“Most of the people say-ing something about 2012 areyoung people who didn’t getthe chance to watch us play,”Anderson said. “I don’t thinkanyone five years removedout would judge any otherway besides the ‘96 team.”

For those choice few, An-derson’s guidance is a reasonto see the electricity, one-fifthof the Cats’ domination —Ron Mercer and Anderson,formerly known as Thunderand Lightning.

Anderson’s reasoningclearly states what made TheUntouchables the clearchoice: “Only because wedominated. There is no com-parison ... we were just waytoo deep.”

the top 2 teams in uk history

1996 Untouchables ‘dominated’ opponents

2011-12 Cats combined talent with inexperience

#2

CODYPORTER

Kernelcolumnist

DAVIDSCHUH

Kernelcolumnist

STAFF FILE PHOTODerek Anderson battles a Wake Forest player for the ball inUK’s March 23, 1996, Elite Eight win.

Page 6 | November 7, 2012 Basketball Season Preview

#1

Most leaders can be heardfrom a distance, showeringteammates with encourage-ment, constructive criticism,and sometimes what playersand coaches might call“tough love.”

Every once in a bluemoon, in this case the BlueMoon of Kentucky, therecomes a leader who can beseen from a great distance,but not heard.

A’dia Mathies, a UKHoops senior ready to takeon her final season at UK, isamong those silent com-manders. Her career in theBluegrass has done all thetalking, allowing Mathies tosend messages to her team,her coaches and the sportsworld without even movingher lips.

With the calm and cooltechnique that has taken herand the Cats to two EliteEight appearances in the pastthree seasons, Mathies hasconsistently topped the chartsin points and steals for UKHoops head coach MatthewMitchell.

The Louisville native hasplenty to put on her basket-ball resume, as she wasnamed the 2010 SEC Fresh-man of the Year, the 2012SEC Player of the Year, andrecently predicted to benamed 2013 SEC Player ofthe Year in a coach’s poll.

With the big wins and theaccolades already to her cred-

it, what could possibly bemissing from her college ca-reer? For starters, she’d liketo take the Cats to the nextlevel this postseason.

“We’ve been to two EliteEights since I’ve been here,and now I hope to make it tothe Final Four,” she said.

New Orleans is a longway off, and in between nowand March lies a schedulethat will challenge the team,in conference and out. Doesthis faze Mathies? Has anyspecific game on the schedulegot her worried? Not at all,Mathies said.

“I’m looking forward toevery game, actually,” shesaid. “We can’t make it agreat year and make it to theFinal Four without takingcareful consideration to everysingle team we play. We’vegot big games on (the sched-ule) like Baylor, Louisville,Tennessee and all the others,but I think even the firstgame, Delaware State, iswhat we’re going to focus onright now.”

Based on her history,Mathies certainly has the abil-ity to take this team deep intothe postseason, but she is notresting on her laurels. Overthe summer she worked onher game, as well as her in-tangibles.

“I’ve been taking steps tobe sure to be more vocal andlead by actions out there. Thisis yet another year that I’mtrying to take us to the nextlevel,” she said.

“I’ve been trying to im-

prove my free-throw shoot-ing. It’s never been terrible,but I want to get into the con-sistent 70s at least, so that Iknow I’ll be able to getfouled and make shots,”Mathies said of her work overthe summer.

“Also, I’ve been workingon being able to (be) morethan a spot shooter — comingoff of screens and being ableto shoot threes, somethinglike that.”

Mathies’ continuedprogress has coincided withthe program’s growth underMitchell.

After being predicted tofinish No. 11 in the SEC sev-eral years ago, Mitchell andMathies, as well as formerUK stars Victoria Dunlap andKeyla Snowden, have turnedthe program into a power-house, garnering an AP pre-season ranking of No. 6 for2012.

Mathies certainly hasbeen a part of many big mo-ments in her time at UK, butwhat she calls her biggestmoment comes as no sur-prise.

“The biggest moment forme would be when we wonover Tennessee and I hit thegame-winner. People talkabout that like, ‘Oh, it was agreat game,’ but I feel like itwas more because it was thefirst time, and you neverknow how things go, it mightbe the last time, that we beatTennessee. Hopefully not,but that was the first timeand the only time that we’vebeat them since I’ve beenhere.”

Beyond how her accom-plishments reflect on her,she’s proud of how far theteam has come since she ar-rived on campus as a fresh-man.

“It’s meant a lot just tobe one of the people to comein here and help change thisprogram around to a power-house and finally get nation-al recognition. It means a lotfor me and especially myteammates, because theywork so hard every day. Soto be able to leave here andknow Kentucky is being puton the map now means a lotto me. It’s very humbling,”she said.

Last year marked the bestseason (28-7) in the pro-gram’s history. Finding out ifthis season’s team has what ittakes to top last season andmake it to the Final Four willbe a test for Mitchell. Mathiescertainly believes her teamhas the right formula.

“I think this team haseven more talent, even morepotential, so I’m lookingforward to this year,” shesaid.

With a difficult schedule,new names on the roster andseason tickets nearly soldout, Mathies, with her cool,quiet demeanor, may be theonly person in MemorialColiseum who is not shout-ing during games this sea-son.

By Boyd Hayesbhayes@kykernel.com

Senior ready for final seasonon team that’s grown with her

Sitting at a desk atopthe steps of the Joe CraftCenter is Karen Marlowe, astaff assistant at UK Athlet-ics’ administrative office, ora bouncer of sorts, she said.

She welcomes guestsdaily, often for media-relat-ed purposes. But, ever sooften, names that have gonedown in the record booksfor UK basketball pay her aspecial visit, as they nolonger have a reason tohastily enter the basketballcourts and offices belowthat of Marlowe’s.

Years ago, the nameKeightley was the only onethat followed what was giv-en by her mother and father.Now, it is what defines theperson she and so manyothers have become.

Her father, Bill Keight-ley, is a staple in the historyof UK basketball. Muchlike the names Rupp, Halland Ledford, it defines“part of the building of thetradition.”

“He still has an effecton what goes on there to-day,” Marlowe said.

All across the land-scape, whether at historicprograms such as UCLA,North Carolina, Kansas orDuke, the identity of ateam’s equipment managerhas never been so highly re-garded.

Despite how “crazy”UK basketball head coachJohn Calipari claims hisfans are, few are likely tobe able to name a currentequipment or student man-ager, justifying Keightley’ssignificance to a programadorned with recognition.

Once a postal carrier,Keightley began workingdouble-duty shifts in theearly 1960s when co-work-er George Hukle helped gethim a job with UK as hisassistant equipment manag-er.

By 1972, Keightley be-came the lead equipmentmanager and eventually theCats’ utility man.

“It didn’t matter whatthe thing was that needed tobe done, or if there werematerials needed, or if peo-ple needed to be contacted,or whatever; he was theperson that did it,” Marlowesaid. “They’d say, ‘Go talkto Bill about that.’ ”

Keightley’s worth dur-ing his tenure would haveput him in the role of amodern-day assistant coach,Marlowe said, rather thanthat of an equipment man-ager.

“Dad always seemedlike the guy that pulledeverything together.”

In pulling everything to-

gether, Keightley showedan incomparable work ethicthat rubbed off on hisdaughter, along with thosewho worked for him, suchas current Georgetown Col-lege head coach Chris Brig-gs.

“He’d get there early,early in the mornings, bethere all day, be back atnight sometimes. He wasone of those guys thatworked hard and took pridein his work ethic,” saidBriggs, a student managerand graduate assistant from2001-06.

Considered one ofKeightley’s “cream of thecrop,” according to Mar-lowe, Briggs said he carriedlessons learned from hisformer boss with him toGeorgetown.

This season, unlikethose in the past, Briggs hasimplemented early-morningpractices that have remind-ed him of Keightley’s workethic, who, he said, “was al-ways (at the gym) at 4:30, 5o’clock in the morning.”

Work was always a con-stant for Keightley.Whether it was as a postalcarrier, painter, bartender onDerby day or merely cut-ting grass, a day’s conclu-sion was always UK relat-ed.

“There were days hedidn’t even go to bed. Theywould have a road trip andthey would get home at twoor three in the morning, andhe always got up about 4o’clock,” Marlowe said,adding even “as an old manhe did that.”

Memories of Keight-ley’s influence aren’t theonly thing Briggs continuesto carry with him. Onequote in particular struck achord, providing a path ofguidance for him to date.

“Mr Keightley, he al-ways said, ‘I’ve neverworked a day in my life be-cause I’ve had fun everysingle day.’ ”

With so much timespent on the job, the nameBill Keightley became arecognizable one. Conse-quently, his notoriety grew,although, “sometimes hedidn’t really understand ithimself,” Marlowe said.

“Mr. Wildcat,” a nick-name assigned to him byformer UK basketball headcoach Joe B. Hall, devel-oped into the persona thatfans and coaches becomeaccustomed to greeting.

“He was one of thoseguys that had a personalitythat attracted people,” Brig-gs said.

Briggs said if you askany former manager about“Mr. Bill,” they would havecountless stories, but whenit came down to it, “he’d al-

ways stress to develop goodrelationships with people.”

“We’d be doing sum-mer basketball camp andwe’d go somewhere aroundtown with him to pick upshirts, or do this or do that.It didn’t matter where youwent with him, somebodyknew him and he usuallyknew them and remem-bered them,” he said.

Just as they do with hisdaughter now, Briggs saidpeople continuouslystopped by to visit Keight-ley.

“You couldn’t sit inthere two or three minuteswithout somebody newcoming in to say hello, chatfor a few minutes. Asthey’d head out the doorsomeone else new wascoming in.”

Whether or not he wasin his 70s or 80s was irrele-vant, be it a player or stu-dent manager, Keightley’spresence was beyond thatof a UK employee. Hisdemonstrated values madehim “one of the guys”among Cats student man-agers and players.

Since the time of hisdeath in 2008, while he wasstill employed at age 81,there’s still “a sense of himthere,” according to Mar-lowe.

Be it an open seat at theend of the bench reservedby former men’s basketballcoach Billy Gillispie, awarm embrace by Hall andCalipari following win No.2,000 for UK, or the equip-ment room bearing hisname at Memorial Colise-um, Keightley’s legacy con-tinues.

“If players or othermanagers just had thechance to know him, theywould know how meaning-ful the program was tohim,” Briggs said.

In the years since, newnames have taken up resi-dence within the dwellingsof the Craft Center.

Without Keightley’spresence in there, Marlowesaid incoming student man-agers greet her just thesame.

“They’re very, very re-spectful of me. I tell themto think of me as your bigsister. They’re always veryrespectful of Dad.”

One recent visitor iscurrent UK equipment man-ager Bo Rodriguez, who isthe most recent name to fol-low Keightley, placing hisfeet in Shaquille O’Neal-es-que shoes.

“I wouldn’t think any ofthose guys think they’re go-ing to step in to fill Mr.Keightley’s shoes,” Briggssaid. “If they’re there for 40or 50 years, I guess it wouldbe possible, but it’s kind ofone of those unique dealsthat doesn’t come around sooften.”

By Cody Portercporter@kykernel.com

Daughter works at Athletics

keightley remembereddaily by uk fans

neutral-site games have pros, cons for team, fansUK playing first regular-season games against Maryland in Brooklyn; Duke in Atlanta

The lure of Rupp Arena,the prestige of a UK gamein downtown Lexington, theexcitement of opening theseason in front of a roaring

homecrowd stillbouncingwith joy atan eighthnational ti-tle: thatmay oncehave beenenoughrazzmatazzfor the reg-ular-seasondebut forUK’s men’s

basketball team, but not in2012.

On Friday, the Cats willget their quest for a ninthnational championship un-der way in the shiny newBarclays Center in Brook-lyn, N.Y.

Rather than facing thehometown team, as youmight expect with a game

not being played in Lexing-ton, UK will instead playMaryland in the first of theCats’ two neutral-site gamesthis season.

The other will comefour days later in a venuemore used to hosting theNFL’s Atlanta Falcons thana UK-Duke college basket-ball game — the GeorgiaDome.

While the enticement ofplaying in a brand-newbuilding in a big market forthe opener, and an NFL sta-dium in the follow-up,brings national televisioncoverage, it remains to beseen how many fans of theschools playing will bepresent on game day.

That is among the manypros and cons that material-ize when contemplating thegrowing trend of neutral-site games.

Yes, alumni in the areawill enjoy having their almamater play nearby, but whatabout the students on cam-

pus who can ill afford toskip class or the monetaryexpense of a road trip so farafield?

Perhaps fans should justbe thankful this year’s regu-lar-season neutral sitegames take place in theU.S., and not on an AirForce base in Germany,where Michigan State andConnecticut play Friday.

Playing games at neutralsites ensures heightenedmedia interest, and in turn,greater media coverage ofthe school on the airwavesand in print.

Having your programplay on national televisionis vital to attract the nextgeneration of players duringthe recruiting process.

Wouldn’t you be moreinterested in playing for aschool that gets to play inthese big marquee events onnational television each sea-son? Not to mention playingfor a coach who gets greet-ed by Jay-Z, as is likely to

be the case for UK headcoach John Calipari prior tothe Cats’ game in Brooklyn.

If UK recruit JuliusRandle was impressed bythe presence of hip-hop starDrake at Big Blue Madness,imagine what will be goingthrough his and fellow re-cruit Andrew Wiggins’minds when they see thatexchange on television.

Finances are also a pluswhen playing a neutral-sitegame, particularly in a foot-ball stadium.

Which school wouldn’twant to enjoy the highergate receipts from crowds inexcess of 70,000?

On the other hand, theidea of neutral-site games isnot a pleasant one for everycollege official.

Calipari and athletic di-rector Mitch Barnhart want-ed a new agreement forgames against rival Indianato be played at neutral sites.

IU officials didn’t feelthe same way, and instead

favored continuing thehome-and-home format.

The opposing desires re-sulted in the series beingscrapped all together.

Aside from the high me-dia interest and larger prof-its from ticket sales, theother pro in the eyes ofcoaches and officials is hav-ing their players experiencethe “big occasion.”

Playing at the GeorgiaDome with its grand statureand unfamiliar basketballsetup will give players ataste of what things will belike if they make it back tothe stadium in April for theFinal Four.

That experience couldbe vital for a teenager as hestands in the Atlanta Fal-cons’ locker room thisspring preparing to take thecourt for a shot at a nationaltitle.

UK’s involvement inneutral-site games is set tocontinue into the future, beit to the delight or dismay

of fans, students, alumni,bankers, recruits and televi-sion networks alike.

Gimmicks of playinggames on aircraft carriers orEuropean air bases are onething, but setting up youryoung squad with valuablebig-venue experience is an-other.

It’s a sentiment certainlynot lost on Calipari.

He’s already arranged atleast one neutral-site gamefor 2013-14, against Baylorat Cowboys Stadium in Ar-lington, Texas.

Why does he want thelikes of the Harrison twinsand James Young to get ex-perience playing in that par-ticular building, I hear youcry?

Is it for the ticket mon-ey, the national exposure, toplease alumni and donorsbased in Texas?

Or, maybe it’s becausethat’s where next season’sFinal Four will take place.

mathies a quiet leader

TOMHURLEY

Kernelcolumnist

Basketball Season Preview November 7, 2012 | Page 7

PHOTO BY TESSA LIGHTY | STAFFSenior guard A'dia Mathies was 2010 SEC Freshman of the Year,2012 SEC Player of the Year and is predicted to win again in 2013.