November 5, 2018

UK’S MIX OF SHARPSHOOTERS, BIG MEN AND VETERANS GIVES THE CATS A SHOT AT GLORY kentuckykernel

Monday, November 5, 2018

Monday, November 5, 2018

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Monday, November 5, 2018

Kernel sports staff predictions for the ON THE COVER 2018-2019 men’s basketball season PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY ROB FISCHER

PHOTO BY JORDAN PRATHER I STAFF

Freshman guard Immanuel Quickley walks off the court during the game against Transylvania on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018, at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

2018-19 KERNEL

SPORTS STAFF ERIKA BONNER Sports Editor Junior 5’8 Ashland, Kentucky

CHASE CAMPBELL Assistant Sports Editor Junior 6’4 Crestwood, Kentucky

CHRIS LEACH Sports Features Editor Senior 6’2 Tucson, Arizona

With another UK men’s basketball season upon us, the Kernel sports desk sat down and gave their thoughts on how the season will play out.

What will UK’s record be at the end of the season?

Chris Leach: 24-7. I think last year showed that no one is guaranteed a win on any given night in SEC basketball, and while Kentucky has improved since last year, so has the rest of the league.

Chase Campbell: 26-5. The Cats have recently struggled against Kansas (UK last beat them in an early-season beatdown with the near-invincible 2014-15 team), and the SEC is incredibly tough.

This team is better than most, but so is their schedule.

Erika Bonner: I’ll go in between Chris and Chase and say 25-6. This team is definitely much better than last year’s and will win more games, but the SEC is really tough this year.

By the time UK faces Louisville (Dec. 29) who will be the regular starters?

CL: Immanuel Quickley, Tyler Herro, Keldon Johnson, P.J. Washington and Reid Travis. At some point, it’s going to be hard to keep Travis and Herro off the court, and I like the veteran duo of Quade Green and Nick Richards leading the second unit.

CC: Immanuel Quickley, Quade Green, Keldon Johnson, P.J. Washington and Nick Richards. The electricity and brutality that Herro and Travis will bring off the bench will be hard to ignore, as Hagans and Travis anchor stops and Herro lights the floor up against inferior second units.

EB: Herro, Travis, Washington, Johnson and Quickley. As impressive as that starting lineup is, what’s just as impressive is the guys ready to come in off the bench— Hagans, Green, Richards and Montgomery.

Who will be the season MVP for the Cats?

CL: Reid Travis. The preseason AllSEC First-Teamer provides the Wildcats with experience and leadership that they could’ve desperately used last year.

Also, he’s pretty darn good at basketball, too, and he should be able to hang with

JORDAN PRATHER I STAFF Freshman guard Tyler Herro takes a shot during the game against Transylvania on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018, at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

Grant Williams, Daniel Gafford and other great SEC big men.

CC: P.J. Washington. Calipari’s comparison of Washington to Draymond Green last year wasn’t that far off. Washington is tough, and his ball skills have improved by leaps and bounds since last year. If he pulls big defenders away from the basket, look out.

EB: Reid Travis. I’m really excited to see what kind of an impact he makes on this team, and I think it’ll be a very big one. With his age, maturity, leadership and talent, he’ll play a huge role and will be that extra factor the Cats will need.

Which players will lead the team in points/rebounds/ assists?

CL: Tyler Herro will lead the team in points, Immanuel Quickley in assists and Reid Travis in rebounds. Quickley led the Wildcats in assists during the four-game Bahamas trip, and the starting point guard role gives him the best opportunity to have the most assists.

CC: It’s hard to think Tyler Herro won’t lead the team in points, even coming off the bench. He’ll be a lightning rod. Quade Green, while being off the ball, will lead the team in assists because of his heavy minutes. Reid Travis will lead in rebounds as he dominates already

tired starters or weaker second units.

EB: With Tyler Herro being the lightsout shooter that he is, I don’t think I can pick anyone but him to lead the team in points. Reid Travis will lead the team in rebounds, and since I have him starting over Quade, Quickley leads in assists.

How many Cats get selected in next year’s NBA Draft? Who goes first?

CL: Five: Johnson, Washington, Herro, Travis and Quickley all get picked, with Johnson coming off the board first.

His ability to defend, share the ball and score give him the best chances of success for the NBA. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Richards or Green go pro but not get picked.

CC: Johnson, Washington, Richards, Herro and Travis all get picked up in the draft next year. Washington goes first because teams want to copy the Golden State Warriors design, and a Draymond Green-type player is a great way to do that.

EB: I’m going with Herro, Washington, Johnson and Quickley for sure. Possibly Richards as well, and even though the guy has improved tremendously since last year, it really depends on how much he improves and how effective he is this season.

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Monday, November 5, 2018

Hagans gets to live out high school wish of playing with Montgomery, Johnson

By Chris Leach sports@kykernel.com

In basketball, it’s hard for a team to be successful if it doesn’t have good chemistry, as some of the best teams in basketball are the ones who get along off the court.

At Kentucky, the extra hours spent in the gym and the Wildcat Coal Lodge help the basketball team build chemistry. Every year, the group of Wildcats build a bond like none other, a bond that stays strong even as the players move on to the NBA. However, by the time the certain group of elite players arrive at Kentucky, they are already familiar with each other thanks to elite travel basketball leagues in high school. Because of that, players will sometimes pick Kentucky over other schools because the roster has a certain player that person wants to team up with.

That’s why Ashton Hagans ended up enrolling early at Kentucky.

“I’ve always wanted to play with E.J. (Montgomery) and Keldon (Johnson),” Hagans said.

Hagans had the opportunity to play on the same team with Johnson but not Montgomery before UK. Hagans and Montgomery’s high schools were separated by just over 50 miles, but the two were never able to team up during their prep years.

Hagans said he was also supposed to attend Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, with Johnson, but they were never able to work that out either.

“It was just like ‘Dang, I didn’t get to play with the guys that I wanted to play with,’” Hagans said. “So now I get the chance to do it and it’s one of the reasons why [he enrolled early at UK].”

Enrolling early at UK was a big decision for Hagans, but

one that he does not regret to this day.

Three months before enrolling at UK, Hagans decommitted from Georgia, two months after making his commitment. After the decommitment, Hagans received offers from several top programs, such as Georgetown, Providence and Louisville.

Kentucky’s offer wouldn’t come until a month after Hagans moved on from Georgia, and after the offer, it only took 12 days for Hagans to pick Kentucky. At that point, Johnson had signed with UK five months prior while Montgomery committed to UK the day before Hagans did.

In high school, Hagans was disappointed he never got to team up with Montgomery just right down the road, so the opportunity to play with him was one of the reasons he decided to pick Kentucky.

“I’ve never played with a

great big, and EJ can shoot the ball well, he’s very explosive,” Hagans said. “He can help my game more and I can help him out more.”

Hagans

Hagans got to know Johnson from travel ball, and the two played on the same team during one of Nike’s Elite 100 camps. The two bonded immediately and continued to stay in contact, knowing there was a possibility of playing together in the future.

“That’s my boy, I knew

Ashton before UK, I met him my 10th grade year,” Johnson said. “We just clicked from the jump when we first met each other and we definitely were trying to team up and have fun.”

Johnson and Hagans both have a similar playing style: hard-nosed on defense, maximum effort and energy and always sharing the ball with the open teammate. The similar playing styles only grew their desire to pair up on the same team.

“Just seeing him play, how hard he play and how hard I played, I was just like ‘Yeah, I want to play with him,’” Johnson said.

Now Johnson and Hagans both get to live out that wish of playing together, but in order for that to happen, Hagans had to finish a final difficult semester in high school to enroll at UK early.

Hagans had to take extra coursework to achieve everything he needed to before

coming to UK, and at times it seemed to be a bit too much for Hagans.

“I still had to get my workout in in the morning when I was still in high school, I had my classwork that I still had when I was in high school then I had the online courses,” Hagans said. “My family really just helped me through it all, they would stand with me through it all, telling me just keep fighting.”

Now, all that hard work of enrolling early is over, and Hagans is experiencing the benefits of playing with two players he’s wanted to play with since high school.

Add in all the other talented players on UK’s roster this season, and Hagans is happy with his decision to start his college career early.

“This is a great team that we have this year, we have a lot of talent so we could do something special,” Hagans said.

Washington not letting the past affect his future

By Chris Leach

sports@kykernel.com

Since March 22, 2018, P.J. Washington has watched that game once.

Once was enough for him.

“I watched it just to watch it,” Washington said. “I watched it with my family and we watched every little thing, we critiqued every little thing then after that we just said ‘We’re done with it.’”

That one game was Kentucky’s Sweet 16 loss to Kansas State last season. In that game, Washington was Kentucky’s best player, but what’s mostly remembered of Washington’s performance from that game was the missed free throws.

In 20 attempts at the free throw line, Washington only made eight free throws. In the final five minutes, with UK never trailing by more than one until the last 19 seconds, Washington missed three out of five free throws while Kansas State held on to secure the trip to the Elite 8.

“I feel like if I made a lot more free throws obviously we would’ve won that game,

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but there’s nothing I can do about it now,” Washington said.

The loss was one of the worst Washington had to endure in his career, and to make things worse, he didn’t receive much support from the fan base.

Of course there were uplifting messages in Washington’s notifications, but a majority of the responses to Washington’s free throw blunder was negative. Washington saw all the messages, but he isn’t letting them affect him.

“To this day they talk about it but I don’t let it get to me,” Washington said. “I know I just got to work on them and that’s what I’ve been doing so I’m confident.”

Free throws aren’t the only thing Washington has worked on, as he got loads of advice from NBA scouts in the offseason on how to improve his game.

Washington participated in the NBA Combine and worked out for numerous NBA teams before deciding to come back to Kentucky for his sophomore season. One of the things scouts told Washington was to work on his defensive versatility so he’s able to guard more than one position.

“I feel like at my size, a lot of people in the NBA do that,” Washington said. “People like Draymond Green guard one-throughfive, so that was the biggest thing for me.”

Another thing Washington has been working on is his leadership. As a sophomore, Washington is automatically a veteran and a leader on most Kentucky teams, and this year is no different.

“I can see myself in them and I see that they’re going to be really good this year just because we have guys just leading them,” Washington said.

Between being a leader and improving aspects of his game, Washington said he believes he and his team are in store for a big season.

“I learned what I need to do this year in order for me to be successful,” Washington said. “Just trying to come out and lead these guys to a winning season.”

JORDAN PRATHER I STAFF Sophomore forward P.J. Washington smiles during the game against Transylvania on Friday, Oct. 26, 2018, at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky.

Women’s basketball to return to ‘40 Minutes of Dread’

Monday, November 5, 2018

By Jake Maynard sports@kykernel.com

Full court press is back in the Bluegrass, and Kentucky has a very successful history with stifling defenses under head women’s basketball coach Matthew Mitchell.

The Wildcats defense was dubbed “40 Minutes of Dread” back in 2012 for a reason. That season saw an NCAA-high and school-record 939 turnovers forced by the Cats. The best performance was in Kentucky’s 76-40 win over Mississippi State, when Kentucky forced 33 turnovers from 20 steals.

Mitchell knows how to run a defense, but he doesn’t have to run it by himself this year. Former UK standout point guard Amber Smith has moved from director of player development to assistant coach.

Smith was known for her defensive prowess during her days as a player.

“We were a little worried early in the summer, she was our best on-ball defender at 29-years-old,” Mitchell said jokingly at media day. “I told her, I was like, ‘Amber, your eligibility is completed.’”

Mitchell said he believes that Smith’s addition is “invaluable.” He raved about her passion and dedication to Kentucky, attributing this to her own time rocking the blue and white uniforms.

Mitchell sounded extremely confident in the addition to the coaching staff.

“We are in really good shape with Amber being back on staff,” he said.

UK doesn’t have a player taller than 6-foot-3 this year (Dorie Harrison and Nae Nae Cole), but the Wildcats do have plenty of athleticism and length. Mitchell talked about how the team has plenty of long, explosive players between 6-foot and 6-foot-3.

Mitchell said he thinks the team does have “the athleticism and the personnel to get on the attack.”

Mitchell said that he’s seen his players enjoy playing an aggressive full-court defense, “but it’s not always fun getting to that spot and it’s a lot of hard work.”

A full court press requires a lot of conditioning to execute properly, but running a defense this demanding for a full 40 minutes requires a certain mindset as well. No one wants to run for an extra 47 feet when they can wait for their opponent to walk to them.

The hungry, determined mindset it takes to embrace the extra work of this defense is something the team is building in practice.

The team yells, claps and cheers at everything that happens. The energy in practice alone is infectious, but come game time, the Cats are going to become explosive.

www.ukfcu.org | 859.264.4200

JORDAN PRATHER I STAFF Redshirt Junior guard Amanda Pascha plays defense during the game against Auburn on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018, in Lexington, Kentucky.

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Monday, November 5, 2018

Kentucky strength coach keeps up his energy for both his families

By Chris Leach sports@kykernel.com

One word to best describe Kentucky basketball’s strength and conditioning coach Rob Harris: energetic.

Before every home game, fans sitting in the Rupp Arena seats can see Harris bouncing around with the much-taller players on the jumbotron as they get pumped up in the backstage hallway before taking the court. Harris is often seen standing in the middle of the huddle screaming at the players, getting them ready for the battle they are about to face on the court.

Rupp Arena isn’t the only place you will see Harris display high amounts of energy. In fact, anywhere he goes, Harris always brings the same intensity fans see on the jumbotron.

“You can ask my kids, I’m probably the embarrassing parent at the soccer field, yelling and screaming,” Harris said. “I have the same level of energy that I do here as I do at home, when I’m with friends; it’s just who I am.”

A high amount of energy is something Harris believes any great strength coach needs, especially at a place like Kentucky. Every year a fresh batch of 18-year-old high school graduates come to Lexington with little experience, and every year it is Harris’ task to turn those boys into men, sometimes in less than a year.

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In high school, most five-star players spend little time in the weight room and more time practicing their shot and other basketball skills. At such a young age, players don’t see the importance of building strength and conditioning, and would rather work on their skills that can be displayed on the court.

Harris has had some players come to him during their first days on campus and tell him that they don’t like lifting weights. One player who delivered that message to Harris was Isaiah Briscoe.

The two-year UK player and now guard for the Orlando Magic once told Harris that he wasn’t going to lift weights, but when he left Kentucky after his sophomore season, he had a completely different opinion of the weight room.

“By the time he left, he was probably one of the biggest transformations body-wise I’d ever had and absolutely loved the weight room and was probably one of the strongest guys on the court,” Harris said.

How exactly did Harris get him, and many others, to go from hating weights to becoming a gym rat? It’s the high-energy weight room plus the bonds he creates with players as he encourages them to be their best.

Harris always tries to be the first one in the weight room and the last one out, so he’s always available when the players are working out or have questions. When players are in the weight room, Harris will have music blaring through the speakers,

CHET WHITE | UK ATHLETICS Head strength and conditioning coach Rob Harris trains with Kentucky forward Reid Travis.

but that isn’t enough to drown out Harris completely.

“He’s an uplifting guy, he’s bringing the energy when we are in there lifting weights,” freshman guard Ashton Hagans said of Harris. “…

When I first got here I wasn’t as built as I am now.”

With the music pumping in the background, Harris is always running around the weight room, yelling at the players and motivating them to work harder or do an additional set. However, telling someone to do something and getting them to actually do it are two completely different things.

The way Harris motivates players to actually push harder is with the energy that he brings at all times.

“The excitement that I bring is—

they can never match that,” Harris said. “If they can go only go halfway to that then they’re in great shape. If they can meet my excitement, which some do, then I think that we’re in the right direction as far as me being the motivator to them.”

Motivating the players to work harder and improve their strength is the basic job task for any strength coach. Aside from that, Harris believes he has an additional obligation with his job, and that’s to provide the players with a sense of comfort in an area that’s completely new to them.

Harris thinks of himself as a big brother for the players, someone to always have your back and encourage you to be the best you can be at the same time. Harris believes he’s the perfect fit for the big brother role

on the team because of the way he can interact with the players on a personal level.

“That’s why I say I’m more or so that big brother role as opposed to some of the coaches,” Harris said.

“With me being a younger guy, being closer in age, I think we just kind of mesh well with their personalities and my personality.”

Making personal connections and helping people is what led Harris into strength and conditioning. When Harris graduated from Kentucky State with a bachelor of arts in physical education, he became an intern on Kentucky’s football strength and conditioning staff.

Even as an intern, Harris displayed the excellent work ethic he’s known

See HARRIS on page 7

HARRIS

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 6 for that eventually helped him move his way up the ladder.

“When a lot of people spent time going home, I was like cleaning weight rooms, getting extra training sessions in with different athletes that I could,” Harris said. “It’s all about literally keeping your head down and just working to when you feel like you can’t go anymore, and going even further.”

Since the internship at UK, Harris has been involved in the strength and conditioning programs at Ohio State football, the Cincinnati Bengals and Arkansas football.

Harris joined the Kentucky basketball strength and conditioning staff as an assistant strength coach before the 2014-2015 season, and for the last two seasons, he’s been the head strength coach for UK. Harris loves the role he’s in now, as it provides him another platform to help kids improve their fitness.

“I have a passion for helping people, I have a passion for strength and conditioning and I also have a passion of knowing that when I go home, I got three women that are looking up to me as far as my wife and two daughters,” Harris said.

Harris’ family of his wife, Maria, and two daughters, Anaya and Alaya, is the first of his two families, the other being the basketball players he coaches in the weight room every day.

When Harris isn’t in the weight room screaming at freshmen, he’s often spending time with his real

family, and the tight-knit group’s favorite hobbies are horseback riding, playing board games and watching family TV shows.

“The home life is great, we make it a point to spend a lot of time together as far as— we eat dinner together as a family when we can, we also have like movie nights and pizza nights,” Harris said.

When Harris goes home after a long day at work, he doesn’t mellow down like many others might. In fact, he keeps up the same amount of energy as he would if he were yelling at a basketball player to push harder.

“We’ve done a test, a personality test the performance staff did, where it’s like this is who you are at home,” Harris said while moving the palms of his hands from closed to open.

“Everybody else’s was like ‘This is who you are at work [palms open], this is who you are at home [palms closed].’ Mine was ‘This is who you are at work and this is who you are at home [palms closed].’”

Life as the strength coach at Kentucky can sometimes keep Harris away from his family, especially when he coaches a team that spends so much time in the gym. When Harris is away from home, he is still spending time with his family, however— the one that he continues to push and chase greatness with in the weight room.

“There’s a lot of people who would love to be in the seat that I’m in, so it’s like I’ve been blessed to be where I am and I don’t want to take that for granted, so I give it 110 percent,” Harris said. “Sometimes it might be too much but it is who I am.”

Monday, November 5, 2018

Men’s basketball players looking at team’s depth as a positive motivator

By Erika Bonner sports@kykernel.com

Remember that one time in 2014-2015 when the Kentucky basketball team had a “platoon” system that consisted of a legitimate second starting five on the bench who were just as good as the actual starters?

Well, we’re not seeing a replica of that this year, but what we are seeing is a team with a heck of a lot of depth— comparable to what we’ve seen from some of John Calipari’s Kentucky teams in the past.

With the addition of seven new guys, Kentucky has players all the way down the bench that can come into any given game and make big impacts. There are several different lineups that Calipari could use, and he even tried two different ones in the first and second half of the opening exhibition game against Transylvania. In the first half, he started Immanuel Quickely (guard), Quade Green (guard), P.J. Washington (forward), Reid Travis (forward) and Nick Richards (center). But to start the second half, Travis was the only common denominator, joined by Ashton Hagans (guard), Keldon Johnson (guard), Tyler Herro (guard) and E.J. Montgomery (forward).

The first lineup with three bigs seemed to suit the Cats well and work to their advantage in that

particular game, but Calipari said afterwards that the team is “still exploring.”

Washingon said that the depth of this team is extra motivation to work harder.

“It challenges us a lot because at all times we have 10 guys on the court that can pretty much take over the game,” Washington said.

“So you just have to come out, play your hardest and just try not to get embarrassed.”

During men’s basketball media day, Calipari put a lot of emphasis on the depth of the team and the luxuries it brings. He compared it to several individual players he’s had in the past who came off the bench for the Wildcats or didn’t have a lot of minutes and still had huge impacts— guys like Devin Booker and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Because there are so many guys who could potentially be starters, it means they’re working that much harder to fight for a starting spot.

“Your consistency is going to build your confidence, and there’s only one way to be more confident: get in the gym, and not get in the gym and shoot tiptoe shots, get in the gym and work,” Calipari said.

“You don’t need to be in there five hours, but go in for 45 minutes and get a great workout, shooting workout in, work on your skill set, work on your ball handling away from us.”

Quickley said he thinks that because they’re going so hard in practice to beat each other out for a spot, it’s making them better players, while graduate transfer Travis sees the depth as an asset that will help his team in the long run.

“I think it’s going to help us a lot. I think it’s easy for outside pressures to look at depth as a negative thing, but when you’re going through a long season I think depth is one of the biggest components that we’re going to have as far as trying to stretch the season out as long as possible and compete at the end of the year as far as having multiple guys that can step in,” Travis said. “You have very skilled, very high-level players that can come in for each other and at a whim, so as far as teams having to prepare for that and play against that when a guy subs out, you still got another guy coming in that is just as capable as him.”

The team’s talent goes such a long way that Green said he could step out of his guard spot and play a much different position.

“Put P.J. at the point guard if you want, you can put me at the five, it doesn’t matter. It could be all different things,” Green said jokingly.

While the team is certainly very talented all the way down the bench, don’t expect Green to be Kentucky’s starting center this year.

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2018-19KENTUCKYM Monday, November 5, 2018

Quade Green

Ashton Hagans

Keldon Johnson

Nick Richards

Immanuel Quickley

Jonny David

Sophomore Guard Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Freshman Guard Cartersville, Georgia

Freshman Guard South Hill, Virginia

Sophomore Forward Kingston, Jamaica

Freshman Guard Havre de Grace, Maryland

Senior Guard Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

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Bra Calip

Juni Gua Franklin New Je

MEN’SBASKETBALL

Monday, November 5, 2018

ad pari

Jemarl Baker Jr.

Tyler Herro

Zan Payne

Reid Travis

E.J. Montgomery

P.J. Washington

ior ard n Lakes, ersey

Redshirt Fr. Guard Menifee, California

Freshman Guard Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Freshman Guard/Forward Lexington, Kentucky

Graduate Student Forward Minneapolis, Minnesota

Freshman Forward Fort Pierce, Florida

Sophomore Forward Dallas, Texas fall 2018 | 9

Monday, November 5, 2018

HALSEL

HAINES

POFFENBERGER

MCKINNEY

LASHAE HALSEL

SABRINA HAINES

PAIGE POFFENBERGER

KEKE MCKINNEY

0

SENIOR

FORWARD BOWLING GREEN, KENTUCKY

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REDSHIRT JUNIOR GUARD PHOENIX, ARIZONA

2

SENIOR GUARD MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA

3

SOPHOMORE FORWARD KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE

2018-19 KENTUCKY WOMEN’S BASKETBALL WYATT

HARRISON

ANYAGALIGBO

21

23

TATYANA WYATT

DORIE HARRISON

OGECHI ANYAGALIGBO

KAMERON ROACH

14 SOPHOMORE FORWARD COLUMBUS, GEORGIA

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SOPHOMORE CENTER NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

REDSHIRT JUNIOR FORWARD MIAMI, FLORIDA

ROACH

SOPHOMORE GUARD HOPKINS, SOUTH CAROLINA

Monday, November 5, 2018

MORRIS

GREEN

HOWARD

PASCHAL

MACI MORRIS

BLAIR GREEN

RHYNE HOWARD

AMANDA PASCHAL

two scorers from last year. Kentucky also has an abundance of new and young players who should see playing time, such as Rhyne Howard, Blair Green and

Tatyana Wyatt. As always, Kentucky’s schedule is difficult, as the Cats will face 10 opponents who received votes in the AP Top 25 preseason poll, including South

Carolina twice. Kentucky was predicted to finish seventh in the SEC by league coaches, behind the six SEC teams who are ranked in the top 25.

MURRAY

ROPER

COLE

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SENIOR GUARD PINEVILLE, KENTUCKY

After finishing with its first losing season in the Matthew Mitchell era and not making the NCAA Tournament last season, the Kentucky women’s basketball team returns most of its production from last year in hopes of making it back to the big dance.

The Wildcats return three starters and 11 overall players from last year’s team, including senior leaders Maci Morris and Taylor Murray, who were the top

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FRESHMAN GUARD HARLAN COUNTY, KENTUCKY

10

FRESHMAN GUARD CLEVELAND, TENNESSEE

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REDSHIRT JUNIOR GUARD BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

24

32

44

TAYLOR MURRAY

JAIDA ROPER

NAE NAE COLE

SENIOR GUARD ODENTON, MARYLAND

JUNIOR GUARD MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

REDSHIRT JUNIOR CENTER GAINESVILLE, VIRGINIA

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Monday, November 5, 2018

Soft-spoken senior set to lead Kentucky women’s basketball

By Chris Leach sports@kykernel.com

A leader for a basketball team is supposed to be one of the most talkative players on the court, making sure the communication between the team stays efficient and constant.

Taylor Murray will be one of the leaders for the Kentucky basketball team this season, but she won’t be the leader that can be heard from the opposite side of the court.

“She talks plenty and is verbal but doesn’t project her voice,” head coach Matthew Mitchell said at media day. “She’s a bit mild mannered with the volume of her voice and just her willingness to communicate and get out of her comfort zone.”

Murray has been that way since she first arrived to campus. As a freshman, Murray wasn’t required to speak much, but now as a senior leader, it’s required.

Murray said she is comfortable being a leader, even if she is unable to speak loudly.

“My voice isn’t very projective like most of my teammates but whatever I can do so they can hear me is always beneficial for me,” Murray said at media day.

Murray won’t be the only one tasked with leading this team, however, as one of Murray’s closest friends and Kentucky-native Maci Morris is also in her senior season. Morris is also expected to have a big leadership role with this team.

Morris has been with Murray ever since they both stepped foot on campus as freshmen in 2015. They have been through three seasons of basketball together plus hundreds of hours of practice.

Murray and Morris have developed a relationship of

12 | kentucky kernel

OLIVIA BEACH I STAFF Senior guard Taylor Murray gets ready to pass the ball during the game against California on Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017 in Lexington, Kentucky.

trust and comfort, and Morris has seen Murray grow from a shy freshman to who she is now.

“Tay (Murray) is really not a shy person once you get to know her, but like at first, if she’s not used to you or she don’t know you, she’s definitely going to be interior and not come out of her shell,” Morris said. “Once you get her out of her shell, she’s a really good person and she’s fun.”

As a shy freshman, Murray had a bigger role with the 2015-2016 team than most freshman typically do.

She averaged 23 minutes per game, getting valuable experience that few freshmen get.

Murray has averaged more than 30 minutes a game in her two seasons since, and is expected to average the same this year as a senior. While Murray has developed her

leadership during that timespan, she also has developed her skillset, and Mitchell said he believes her minutes as a freshman helped Murray get to where she is now.

“So excited for all of you to see Taylor Murray and just how she is playing offensively with a lot of confidence and shooting the ball well and scoring the ball well around the bucket in real creative ways in different ways,” Mitchell said.

As Murray gears up for her final season, she said she is excited about the opportunity to lead the team and showcase her skills one last time.

“I think Coach Mitchell has helped me in a lot of different ways just growing for being a leader,” Murray said.

“I think Amber (Smith) has helped me really as well with my game so I’m really excited for this season.”

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Monday, November 5, 2018

UK will face Duke’s athleticism in first regular season game

By Chase Campbell sports@kykernel.com

As UK basketball gears up for yet another season, the perennial mystery surrounding the freshmen increases after their exhibition season, and they look to use their combination of youth and experience to take on another year.

The Cats aren’t the only young team looking to seize control, as the rival No. 4 Duke Blue Devils boast a star-studded lineup with only two juniors expected to be in their regular rotation (Javin DeLaurier and Marques Bolden). Duke is coming into the season with the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation, featuring Canadian star R.J. Barrett, highlight dunker Zion Williamson and lanky wing player Cam Reddish.

The Blue Devils make it very clear how they’re going to defeat teams: with athleticism. As Williamson’s 6-foot-7, 285-pound frame glides across the court with surprising speed, he imposes his

14 | kentucky kernel

physicality with help from Barrett, a passing, shooting and athletic phenom in his own right.

Williamson is also stretching his shot to the perimeter, meaning he’ll have a chance to open up the floor for more driving lanes to his replay-worthy dunks.

If a team focuses too much on Williamson, however, Reddish and Barrett will have a field day. Both are accomplished shooters, especially Barrett.

Barrett has already established himself as a competitor. In the FIBA U-19 tournament semifinal round in 2017, against a USA team that had cruised through teams up to facing Barrett’s Canadian team, the guard dropped 38 points in a 99-87 win that eliminated the USA from championship contention. That American team featured UK players P.J. Washington and Quade Green, as well as current NBA players Josh Okogie and Kevin Huerter.

The main concern for Duke, at least early in the season, is its de-

IAN JAFFE I DUKE CHRONICLE Duke freshman forward Zion Williamson dunks the ball during their exhibition game against Virginia Union on Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, in Durham, North Carolina.

fense. A very overmatched Ryerson team was their first game, one they won by just 19 points after allowing the Canadian college to score 67 points. They’ve shored up their efforts since then, most recently dispatching Ferris State at home, 132-48. They’ll have no more ex-

hibitions until they face the Cats on Tuesday.

UK won’t have to wait to face their bitter rival, a team they’ve played only 21 times in both teams’ history. Every time these teams have played since the fated East Regional Final in 1992, both teams have held

a Top 10 ranking when squaring off against each other. The Blue Devils have won seven of the last nine matchups.

The season-opening game will be Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 9 p.m. in Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The shot heard 26 years later: The history of the Duke-UK rivalry

Monday, November 5, 2018

By Erika Bonner

sports@kykernel.com

It’s March 28, 1992.

George H.W. Bush is the president of the United States, Wayne’s World is one of the most popular movies in the country and you’ve got Pearl Jam playing on the radio.

Kentucky and Duke are playing in East Regional Final of the NCAA tournament, fighting for a spot in the Final Four. The Wildcats and Blue Devils have gone neck and neck and neither team could seal the win in regulation— but there are 2.1 seconds left on the clock and the defending national champion Duke is trailing by just one point.

Grant Hill takes the ball out under the basket and throws the ball down the court and into the hands of Christian Laettner, who’s waiting for it slightly in front of the free-throw line.

He fakes right.

Dribbles once.

Turns, pulls up for a contested mid-range jumper and sinks it.

The Duke Blue Devils move onto the Final Four and break the hearts of Kentucky fans into a million little pieces, and Laettner is now the most hated man in America.

Twenty-six years later and the Kentucky-Duke rivalry is still one of the strongest in all of college basketball— even though the two teams hardly ever play each other.

The Wildcats will face the Blue Devils in their first regular-season game of the season this year at the State Farm Champions Classic in Indianapolis, and it’s a pretty big deal considering

the history.

The overall record between the two teams is 12-9, with Kentucky on the winning end of the statistic. It’s been three years since the two teams have played each other, the last time being in 2015 at the Champions Classic, when Kentucky won 74-63.

On men’s basketball media day, head coach John Calipari called the Nov. 6 matchup “a hard game” for both teams.

“It’s just a hard game out of the gate playing a program that has really good players and is really well-coached and is not intimidated by the scenery,” Calipari said. “But it also wakes you up early in the morning.”

Calipari emphasized that it’s going to be early for both teams and neither one will be fully developed, but his players are going to prepare for it like they would any other game.

“I would say that game will be just another game for us at that point unless we win. Then it’s huge. It’s a huge game,” Calipari said.

Other than the fact that these two teams historically hate each other, Nov. 6 technically will be nothing more than a regular-season game. However, you could say that with each Kentucky win over Duke, Big Blue Nation hates Laettner a little less.

But probably not.

SCOTT HANNIGAN LEFT: Alex Poythress dunks the ball against Duke in the State Farm Champions Classic game at the Georgia Dome on Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012.

MICHAEL REAVES CENTER: Guard Isaiah Briscoe of the Kentucky Wildcats goes for a layup during the State Farm Champions Classic against the Duke Blue Devils at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015.

MICHAEL REAVES BELOW: Guard Tyler UIis of the Kentucky Wildcats guards guard Grayson Allen of the Duke Blue Devils during the State Farm Champions Classic against the Duke Blue Devils at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2015.

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