Place an Ad Calendars Classified Forums Sports Weather

sptimes.com Text-only News sections Arts & Entertainment AP The Wire Business Citrus County Columnists Floridian Hernando County Hillsborough Letters Movies Neighborhood Times News Update North Pinellas North of Tampa Obituaries Opinion Pasco County South Pinellas Sports State Tampa Bay TV Times World & Nation  Find your local news section Weekly sections Brandon Times City Times Homes Outdoors Perspective Personal Tech Taste Travel Weekend Xpress Special Sections Arena football Buccaneers College football Devil Rays Lightning Police reports Schools Seniority Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Help Advertise Place an ad In print Online Market Info Join Us Internships Scholarships Times Jobs Contact us

Loss disappointing, but Kentucky is happy with season

Compiled from Times wires

© St. Petersburg Times, published March 24, 2001

PHILADELPHIA -- Kentucky coach Tubby Smith was disappointed in his team's play Thursday night, but not in his team's season.

It was a distinction to note after Southern California eliminated the Wildcats from the NCAA Tournament.

UK had come too far and overcome too much this season to let a horrid first half against the Trojans obscure its achievements.

"It's been a great year," Smith said, "considering the adversity we had."

Long before Southern California outlasted Kentucky 80-76 in the East Region semifinals, the Wildcats overcame the loss of their most athletic big man, Jules Camara, to the school's automatic one-year suspension for a drunken-driving conviction.

Seven newcomers were incorporated into a team that started earlier than ever -- Nov. 9 -- with less practice time than ever.

Then UK had to scale the mountain that was made of the 3-5 record that masked a competitive start against top-drawer competition.

"At Kentucky, that's just not the norm," guard Keith Bogans said in getting to the bottom line. "I thought, "What would it be like if we were losing all season? How would the fans react?' "

Bogans knew the answer to his rhetorical question. "They would have kicked us out of Lexington," he said.

Kentucky persevered amid the unceasing static surrounding son-of-the-coach point guard Saul Smith. UK kept believing and won a share of the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship and the tournament crown.

"Our young people really developed and came around, surprisingly well," Tubby Smith said. "So I'm really excited about the future. We should be pretty solid."

His talk of future promise contradicted continuing rumors of his imminent departure from UK. Speculation this week had him becoming general manager of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers.

But Smith and UK athletic director Larry Ivy insisted that their plan remains to meet after the season and work out a contract extension.

Asked if he intended to remain at UK, Smith said, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just looking forward to sitting down with Larry and getting things done."

Earlier this season, the elder Smith said he was "gung-ho" about continuing as Kentucky coach. That remained the case.

"Oh, yeah," he said. "Even more so."

He could not sound so definite, however, about the plans of his two best players this season, Tayshaun Prince and Bogans. UK will take advantage of an NCAA rule that permits college players to investigate their draft status without jeopardizing their eligibility, the coach said.

Much as Jamaal Magloire looked at the NBA before returning to Kentucky for his senior season, Prince and Bogans will seek information about their options.

What decision each makes "nobody knows," Smith said. "That's why you evaluate and get all the information that you can from other sources.

"It puts us in a precarious situation because we're not sure. We have to continue to recruit."

Adam Chiles, a point guard for Ballard High, plans to make an official visit to UK this spring. If the visit goes well, Chiles hopes to commit to the Wildcats, Ballard coach Chris Renner said.

As for the just-concluded season, several factors made it a success. A mid-December switch to a smaller lineup brought needed quickness. Many of the newcomers -- heralded recruits like Jason Parker and Marquis Estill, unsung prospects like Gerald Fitch, Erik Daniels and Cliff Hawkins -- seemingly took turns contributing.

Their play made a difference in this transitional season. With a smaller margin for error than enjoyed by most UK teams, it fueled the faith that the 3-5 start could be overcome.

"We knew we had so much talent on this team," guard J.P. Blevins said. "It was going to work out for us."

The season came to its crossroads at Georgia on Jan. 31. Georgia, the surprise SEC leader, could build a two-game pad on UK with a victory. Smith made a personal appeal to Prince and Bogans to shoulder a make-or-break responsibility.

A 56-point second half produced the pivotal victory at Georgia that set Kentucky on its way.

"We needed that road win to start to get us to believe we could win the SEC regular-season championship," Smith said. "It was a real boost for our ego and our morale."

Heretofore perceived as too laid-back, Prince took charge. His at-times astounding clutch play -- most memorably on display when he hit the winning hook shot in the final seconds to beat Florida -- made him the obvious choice for the SEC's player of the year.

Going into the NCAA Tournament, Kentucky had lost only two games since Jan. 23: at Arkansas and at Florida. And those defeats were hotly competitive affairs not decided until the final minute.

"This team probably has done more and had to overcome more than any team I've been associated with," Smith said earlier this month.

Yet, in retrospect, it is not stunning that UK's post-season hopes came to a halt Thursday.

Because of its location on the West Coast, Southern California played many of its games after midnight Eastern Standard Time. Relatively few east of the Rockies knew the Trojans were a veteran team with eye-catching talent and a chip on its well-muscled shoulder.

Kentucky, which expected to try to win a replay of its epic 1992 East Regional finals against Duke here, got blind-sided.

"They shocked us when they came out with that zone, trapping the first pass past halfcourt," said Sam Bowie, the former UK All-American who does commentary on the team's radio broadcasts.

USC made 56.7 percent of its first-half shots to take a 21-point lead and finished the game with 52.8 percent accuracy.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright