table of contents
Cover Photo: Mark Cornelison | MCT Illustration: Jody Beamer | Underground Design
INSIDE: RANDLE VS. JONES >> 10
6 | SEC Tournament Bracket 7 | Utter Dominance: UK’s SEC Tourney history 10 | Seeing Ghosts: Julius vs. Terrence 16 | Just Some Good Old Boys: Jarrod & John 24 | In Action: Must-See UK Basketball Photos
SENIORS STEP UP
32 | Welcome Home: The Rupp renovation
>> 16
FRESH PICS >> 24
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tourney time
SEC TOURNAMENT 2014 9
12
13
AUBURN
8
TEXAS A&M
OLE MISS 1
FLORIDA
4
TENNESSEE
3
GEORGIA
2
KENTUCKY
SOUTH CAROLINA 5
6
ARKANSAS
LSU
MISSISSIPPI STATE
14
11
ALABAMA
7
MISSOURI
10
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VANDERBILT
*Rankings are predictions & subject to change
GEORGIA DOME ATLANTA, GA. BASKETBALL CAPACITY: ~70K
SEC TOURNEY HISTORY
UTTER DOMINANCE Since its inception, the SEC tournament has been the property of the Cats. They own it. Kentucky has won as many tourney titles than all other teams combined. And regardless of the venue, Cats fans take over the arena like a Big Blue Mist.
UK HAS WON
OF 54 27 SEC TOURNAMENTS. THAT’S
50%. Georgia Dome photo by MSGT Joseph Pittelli, U.S. Air Force | Public Domain, SEC Tournament 2010 photo by Britney McIntosh | File Photo
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inside look
” 25
2 LBS. 15.7 PPG
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6’9” 72
. 9 25.0 FT 53.5 3P% %
FG%
SEEING GHOSTS WORDS GRAPHICS
DAVID SCHUH JODY BEAMER
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UK freshman forward Julius Randle has drawn a lot of comparisons throughout his inaugural year in college basketball. Most of them are to NBA players.
...
But his closest comparison happens to be a former Cat as well. Terrence Jones, now with the Houston Rockets, played two seasons in Lexington from 2010-12. His first season played out much like Randle’s first. The stats are similar, but how they were reached is not. Randle is more of a traditional “power” forward. He gets the majority of his points in the paint and from the free-throw line. Jones, on other hand, arrived at UK with an expanded skill set. He was efficient on the perimeter, playing in transition and from outside the 3-point line. But it isn’t so much about their methods as much as their individual value to their team. They played on similar teams, ones that began with high expectations yet struggled to win close games for much of the year.
...
6 F
6 ’ 9
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44.2 15.7G 250 P P % G F . S B L 32.9 3P%
64.6 FT%
” 9 ’ 6 252
” 9 ’ 6 9
72. % T F 25.0 3P%
5 7 . . 5 3 1 5 LBS. PPG % FG
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ILED FROM NES COMP O J E C N E TERR STATS FOR MEN YEAR. H S E R F IS H ED LE COMPIL LIUS RAND U J R O F S . STAT 27 GAMES THROUGH Illustrations by Jody Beamer | Underground Design, Photos courtesy Kentucky Kernel File
... Similarities begin with their versatility. Both players can guard multiple positions. As athletic combo forwards, Jones and Randle excel in pick-and-roll defense, which masks defensive mistakes at other positions.
way they are split. Randle will be viewed as a better pro prospect than Jones was. He plays harder for longer stretches, giving a perception that he will have a more consistent pro career.
And despite the perception that Jones checked out for games at a time in his UK career, he was actually quite consistent during his freshman year. In games against SEC opponents, he averaged 0.2 points more and matched his rebound-pergame season average.
Jones, though, has excelled in the NBA. With 49 starts in 54 games this season, he is averaging 11.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. He immediately showed how his versatility in college translated to the next level.
In losses, Jones averaged 2.0 points and 0.1 rebounds more than his season average.
Randle will be the same way. In the next few years, his outside jumper will get smoother.
Regardless of the games you isolate, Jones excelled at a consistent rate.
And when he parlays that with such a strong inside presence, he will become a skilled NBA forward.
And to match, Randle’s freshman season is comparable. In SEC games, Randle is averaging 2.1 points and 0.1 rebounds less than his season average. Likewise, in losing games, Randle is averaging 0.9 points and 0.02 rebounds less than his season average.
But at UK, the two players mirrored each other in many ways. And as talented freshmen on young, inconsistent teams, they were both stabilizing forces that produced each and every night.
32.9 44.2 6 3 FG% 15 Again, much like Jones, Ran- 4.6 P% .7 F
And if Randle is lucky, that production will allow his freshman season to last as long as Jones’ did.
T%
dle’s statistics waver little in any
PPG 2 LB 50
S.
15 PPG.7 5 25.0 3 3P% . 5 FG
%
6’9” 72
FT%.9
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inside look
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JUST SOME
GOOD, OLD BOYS WORDS | NICK GRAY 路 PHOTOS | ELEANOR HASKEN 路 GRAPHICS | JODY BEAMER
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THE CATS’ SENIORS STEP UP TO DEFEND THEIR COACH UK’s roster changes more frequently from year to year than any program around the country. Coaches and players have admitted this, but what they do not know is how each team will develop throughout the season and whether it will have a prolonged stay in the postseason. Seniors Jarrod Polson and Jon Hood understand that better than most, which makes them good judges of what exactly the 2014 version is headed toward. A day before their Senior Night, Polson was optimistic about how the season would end with the recent losses — and doubt from
is young because we recruited a young team. So all of it comes back to me.” Polson disagreed with Calipari and tried to wrestle away blame from his coach. “A lot of people are hounding (Calipari) right now, but it’s on us,” Polson said. “We have to go out and perform.” Each player has been part of a National Championship-winning team (2012) and a team that did not win a postseason game (2013). The Cats have also been on a team that was a No. 1 seed (2010) but lost in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, and a team
Hood, who Calipari said this season has “played as well as he’s ever played in his career,” has not seen the floor as often as last season (10 games compared with 23 games last season). His playing time was limited further as a freshman and sophomore, and a torn ACL three years ago set him back physically. However, he has no regrets about how his college career has progressed. “I wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world,” Hood said. Both players started on Tuesday against the University of Alabama on Senior Night.
A LONG TIME COMING people outside of the program — in mind. “They think we’re done for,” Polson said. “That’s kind of what we’re rallying around — us against the world. We’re going to prove everyone wrong.” Head coach John Calipari said on that the struggles should be blamed on himself, not “18-or 19-year-olds.” “I’m responsible to get them to play right, to get them in the right frame of mind. If they’re not in that frame of mind, that’s back to me,” Calipari said. “This team
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that was a No. 4 seed but was a point away from playing in the National Championship game. The 2014 Cats have played competitive games against ranked teams like the University of North Carolina and Michigan State University in November and December. They also played themselves into double-digit deficits in the past week against the University of Arkansas, a team in the middle of the SEC standings, and the University of South Carolina, which was tied for last in the SEC prior to Saturday.
Calipari saw criticism for not talking to media following the South Carolina loss where he was ejected for arguing with officials after his second technical foul. Hood came out in defense for his coach and putting the onus of UK’s lack of success on the players in the same breath. “It’s not anything that he can do. It’s the way we take it, the way we take the messages and the way that we play,” Hood said. “He’s not out there playing for us. He’s not in between the lines. He can only do so much.”
I WOULDN’T TRADE THIS FOR ANYTHING IN THE WORLD.” — JON HOOD
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in action
LET’S GO Tod Lanter cheers from the bench for his peers on the court, an indication of Calipari’s team-driven concept.
MICHAERLEAVES
PHOT|O
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in action
HUDDLE UP Julius Randle & Marcus Lee huddle with their teammates during a stoppage of play.
PHOTO | ADAM PENNAVARIA
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in action
GAME TIME Andrew Harrison prepares for the start of a game as he is announced as a starter.
PHOTO | MICHAEL REAVES
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in action
SENIOR SEND OFF Jarrod polson & John Calipari embrace during Senior Night celebrations at Rupp Arena.
PHOTO | EMILY WUETCHER
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a deeper look
WELCOME
HOME WORDS | NICK GRAY
...THIS PROJECT WILL BECOME A REALITY — AND I AM GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT IT DOES.” — GOV. STEVE BESHEAR
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Photos courtesy of the NBBJ and EOP architecture firms.
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Photos courtesy of the NBBJ and EOP architecture firms.
The number and placement of student seats for UK basketball games could change with renovations to Rupp Arena. The final designs for the $310 million arena project were released at a news conference Monday at the Lexington Center. DeWayne Peevy, UK’s deputy athletic director, said university leaders have discussed the possibility of changing student seating. Under the plan, all seats in the arena will have chairbacks, which will likely decrease the amount of seats that will fit in the upper level, said project consultant Stan Harvey. The current student ticket allotment includes five complete sections and parts of three sections in the upper level behind the basket closest to the UK bench. No final decision has been made on the future of student seating, Peevy said. “We all want to get to the point where we have more, better seats,” he said. “Whether we reduce overall capacity or anything like that, that hasn’t been a discussion point at this point.” Moving student seating or enlarging the eRUPPtion Zone are among the options for the student section, Peevy said. Plans include a new scoreboard, luxury boxes and a “transparent skin” exterior, said Robert Mankin, a partner with NBBJ, an architecture firm working on the renovation project. NBBJ is teaming up with EOP, a local architecture firm, for the project. Fans inside the building concourses will be able to see out into downtown Lexington through the new exterior. Fans outside the building will be able to see into the concourses, creating a connection between the arena and the rest of downtown, Mankin said.
Architects plan on recreating the creek that once ran through downtown Lexington, called Town Branch Creek. The creek will wind through the new arena district. A walkway for students from campus to Rupp Arena is also planned, according to a city news release. Gov. Steve Beshear and Lexington Mayor Jim Gray also announced a financing proposal during Monday’s press conference. The renovations will be financed partly by a long-term lease agreement between city, which owns Rupp Arena, and UK. It has yet to be signed. Officials did not disclose the amount of funding from the lease. Peevy said the length of UK’s relationship with the city and the arena gives the university some flexibility in negotiating the best financial deal possible. Gray said the university’s success goes handin-hand with the city’s success. “Kids want to go to a place where there’s a vibrant urban experience,” Gray said. “So that gives us a good reason to work together on an ambitious and aspirational project like this.” Beshear has included $65 million in state funds over the next two years for the project, pending legislative approval. The release provided at the news conference said several partners will help with funding, including the Kentucky High School Athletic Association. The organization uses Rupp Arena for five days every year for the Boys’ Sweet Sixteen state championship tournament. “I’m confident with all of these parties at the table, this project will become a reality — and I am going to make sure that it does,” Beshear said.
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