+ IN ACTION: B THREE’S BEST PHOTOS
+ JANUARY 2014 VOLUME 4
+ ROAR FOR 22: ALEX POYTHRESS
+ PLAYER PROFILE: DAKARI JOHNSON
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ALEX POYTHRESS FORWARD
6 ON THE COVER 8 2014-2015 SCHEDULE 10 IN ACTION: A LOOK AT SOME OF THE BEST PHOTOS 20 ROAR FOR 22: THE BEST OF ALEX POYTHRESS 26 WILDCAT PROFILE: DAKARI JOHNSON 30 WILDCAT PROFILE: ALEX POYTHRESS 34 CONTRIBUTIONS
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IBE R C S SUB MAG.COM
EEM 35 R H T B 7.65 5 . 2 859
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Y TI@K 7.2872 S I U AG 59.25 8
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SPOTLIGHT
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TYLER ULIS TOOK A VICIOUS ELBOW IN THE FIRST HALF AGAINST LOUISVILLE. HE KEPT DEFENDING DESPITE THE BLOOD RUNNING DOWN HIS FACE... AND OPPONENTS FAKING THE SAME INJURY. PHOTO | MICHAEL REAVES | STAFF
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Photo | Michael Reaves
11/02
PIKEVILLE
LEXINGTON, KY
7:00
11/09
GEORGETOWN (KY.)
LEXINGTON, KY
7:00
11/14
GRAND CANYON
LEXINGTON, KY
8:00
11/16
BUFFALO
LEXINGTON, KY
12:00
11/18
KANSAS
INDIANAPOLIS, IN
9:00
11/21
BOSTON UNIVERSITY
LEXINGTON, KY
7:00
11/23
MONTANA STATE
LEXINGTON, KY
6:00
11/25
UT ARLINGTON
LEXINGTON, KY
7:00
11/30
PROVIDENCE
LEXINGTON, KY
2:00
12/05
TEXAS
LEXINGTON, KY
7:00
12/07
EASTERN KENTUCKY
LEXINGTON, KY
6:00
12/10
COLUMBIA
LEXINGTON, KY
7:00
12/13
NORTH CAROLINA
LEXINGTON, KY
12:00
12/20
UCLA
CHICAGO, IL
3:30
12/27
LOUISVILLE
LOUISVILLE, KY
2:00
01/06
OLE MISS
LEXINGTON, KY
7:00
01/10
TEXAS A&M
COLLEGE STATION, TX
1:00
01/13
MISSOURI
LEXINGTON, KY
9:00
01/17
ALABAMA
TUSCALOOSA, AL
4:00
01/20
VANDERBILT
LEXINGTON, KY
9:00
01/24
SOUTH CAROLINA
COLUMBIA, SC
12:00
01/29
MISSOURI
COLUMBIA, MO
9:00
01/31
ALABAMA
LEXINGTON, KY
7:00
02/03
GEORGIA
LEXINGTON, KY
7:00
02/07
FLORIDA
GAINSVILLE, FL
9:00
02/10
LSU
BATON ROUGE, LA
7:00
02/14
SOUTH CAROLINA
LEXINGTON, KY
2:00
02/17
TENNESSEE
KNOXVILLE, TN
7:00
02/21
AUBURN
LEXINGTON, KY
6:00
02/25
MISSISSIPPI STATE
STARKVILLE, MS
7:00
02/28
ARKANSAS
LEXINGTON, KY
4:00
03/03
GEORGIA
ATHENS, GA
9:00
03/07
FLORIDA
LEXINGTON, KY
2:00
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IN ACTION
rejection dejection NORTH CAROLINA’S MARCUS PAIGE SULKS IN HIS GAME AGAINST THE CATS. UK WON BY DOUBLE DIGITS. PHOTO | MICHAEL REAVES | STAFF
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IN ACTION
not so blue blooded UK ABSOLUTELY DESTROYED UCLA’S SPIRIT WITH A HISTORICAL FIRST HALF PERFORMANCE. PHOTO | JONATHAN KRUEGER | STAFF
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IN ACTION
small frame, big game THE LOUISVILLE WIN PROVED TO BE AN OFFENSIVE STRUGGLE, BUT TYLER ULIS SCORED A BIG 14 POINTS. PHOTO | MICHAEL REAVES | STAFF
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IN ACTION
they never learn AARON HARRISON HAS A SPOT. HE PROVED IT THREE TIMES BEFORE. DEFENDERS CAN’T SEEM TO FIGURE THAT OUT. PHOTO | EMILY WUETCHER | STAFF
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+
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ROAR FOR 22:
Photo | Marcus Dorsey
THE VERY BEST OF ALEX POYTHRESS
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Photos | Emily Wuetcher
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Photo | Emily Wuetcher
WILDCAT PROFILE
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Photo | Michael Reaves
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DAKARI JOHNSON BROOKLYN, NY #44 WORDS KYLE ARENSDORF
S
ophomore center Dakari Johnson made it clear that there were two major aspects of his game he worked on in the offseason – his conditioning and his nutrition. “I lost about 15 pounds (this offseason),” said Johnson, who was listed at 265 pounds last season. “Every time we went to meals (my coaches) would tell me what to order and what not to order – less carbs, less fried food.”
“I thought it was a good system,” Johnson said. “You can go out there for four or five minutes and just burn all of your energy and then come out. That can really wear the opposing team out.” Johnson’s best offensive outputs of the 2013-14 season (15 points each) came in two games – one against Louisiana State University in the regular
“It helps me a lot,” he said. “I feel like I’m a lot lighter on my feet.” Johnson also took the opportunity to commend his point guard, freshman Tyler Ulis, and his willingness to dish the ball on fast break opportunities. “As a big man, it’s your job to run the floor, and why wouldn’t you when your guard is as unselfish as (Ulis),” he said. During the 2013-14 season, Johnson averaged the lowest number of minutes per game among players in the main rotation, logging just over 14 per game. In UK’s six games at the Big Blue Bahamas Tour, however, he averaged well over 20 minutes per game with his better-conditioned body and, as a result, increased his point total to 7.2 points per game. Johnson is also one of the main benefactors of UK head coach John Calipari’s platoon-style offensive that he implemented in the Bahamas, in which two five-man rotations play for short – to – average time lengths.
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season and the other in UK’s Sweet 16 win against Louisville. Johnson also started 18 of the last 20 games, including every game in the postseason. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native remains the only true center on the team, but with seven players listed at 6-foot 8-inches or higher on the roster, he’ll be fighting for playing time just as hard as the forwards will be. “It does drive me,” Johnson said. “Coach is going to play whoever is going to help win the game, so it’s really up to us.”
Photo | Jonathan Krueger
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WILDCAT PROFILE
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Photo | Eleanor Hasken
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ALEX POYTHRESS CLARKSVILLE, TN #22 WORDS KYLE ARENSDORF
T
here was a somber mood to the Friday before the UNC game as news of the knee injury to junior forward Alex Poythress broke earlier that day. Poythress has been ruled out for the the season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in a practice earlier this year. Junior forward Willie CauleyStein, who’s especially close with Poythress, said practice came to a screeching halt after the injury and described the environment as “like if someone in your family died … it was just an eerie feeling.” Cauley-Stein and Poythress were both teammates of former UK forward Nerlens Noel, who sustained the same injury two years ago in a game against Florida. Cauley-Stein told the media Friday he’s taking comfort in the fact that Noel has recovered so well from his injury. “That’s going to be really uplifting for (Poythress),” Cauley-Stein said. “Nowadays the ACL injury isn’t like what it used to be. You can come back better than what you were before. It’s just the timing of it, which is going to be the most frustrating.” Poythress will be forced to take on a different role with the team now, a situation Cauley-Stein thinks he could relish.
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UK will have to continue the season down one of its big men, something Cauley-Stein’s teammates had to do a season ago after he went down in the first half of the Cats second round matchup against Louisville in the NCAA Tournament. He was able to offer advice from a point of view that not many others could, and encouraged Poythress to stay the course. “It’s just having a good outlook on it,” Cauley-Stein said. “Things that I did were, I got a chance to kind of stop and really think about what I was trying to do. That’s something that is going to help him. You get that break, and it’s a mental break. You learn a lot about yourself going through the process.”
Photo | Emily Wuetcher
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CONTRIBUTIONS
EDITORIAL KYLE ARENSDORF TAYLOR CLEMENTS JODY BEAMER KATIE SALTZ
PHOTORAPHY MICHAEL REAVES EMILY WUETCHER TESSA LIGHTY ADAM PENNAVARIA JONATHAN KRUEGER TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE
DESIGN JODY BEAMER BLAKE BEAMER MAY MAY BARTON UNDERGROUND DESIGN
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