The picks got a lot more difficult to make as the draft continued, but I think both of us did pretty well. Of course, for those who are too impatient to scroll down, the first part of this fantasy draft can be found HERE. But now, it’s onto the second part, where we finish out our benches and I emerge victorious as I always do. All due respect to Kenneth, but my team is just better. There’s nothing wrong with a silver medal, though – even in a competition between two people. Let’s continue, shall we?

Kenny’s team (starters marked with an asterisk)

Dan Issel*
Tayshaun Prince*
Rajon Rondo*
Keith Bogans*
Rick Robey*
Chuck Hayes
Travis Ford

Seth’s team

Jamal Mashburn*
Ralph Beard*
Tony Delk*
Kenny Walker*
Sam Bowie*
Jack Givens
Cliff Hawkins

KC: Surely you don’t believe Cliff Hawkins is going to shut down Bogans or Ford, do you? I understand… playing catch-up since I beat you to the punch on Rondo. Let’s see – Chuck Hayes is my glue guy coming off the bench first, then Travis Ford keeps the treys flowing after that. After this, I have to give my big guys a rest, right? Of course. That’s why I forced your hand with Sam Bowie. So I can this guy all to myself. It may be early, but if I’m bringing this guy off the bench, I think I’m close to checkmate.

My Pick: Alex Groza C-PF.

SS: Good pick. Very good pick. Groza’s a good one. I have an offense guy and a defense guy coming off the bench, and now it’s time to go with a guy who can do everything. He was one of the best NBA players to ever come from UK, and represents Western Kentucky very well. My next pick is from Owensboro, and should have his jersey retired by the Atlanta Hawks.

My pick: Cliff Hagan (F-C)

KC: Not many teams run beyond an eight-man rotation unless you’re stacked. Possible, but you aren’t looking for much from the rest of the bench after number eight. Just guys waiting in the wings, people who will help improve your starters. Except with this number nine pick, I might just have to let this guy see some playing time. Yeah, he’s that good. In fact, he’s a national champion and if he weren’t injured in 1997, UK would have seen three in a row. Ladies and Gentlemen:

My pick: Derek Anderson (G)

SS: Coach Rupp never liked to play but about 6-7 guys, but I’m not Coach Rupp. I’m playing everybody on this roster. We’re up to nine now, and the decisions are getting tougher for me when it comes to old school vs. new school. I picked an old school guy last, so I’ll balance that out with another guy I watched help win a national championship. In fact, he won one with Derek Anderson. In fact, he played a bigger role in that championship than Derek Anderson and emerged as an extremely clutch player by playing out of his mind. I’m talking, of course, about Mark Pope, but this is not a GPA contest.

Here’s my actual pick: Ron Mercer (F-G)

Also, your earlier comment about Cliff Hawkins not being able to guard Travis Ford is asinine. Look at how great Hawk was at playing that crappy ball-line garbage. Imagine if he played in a real system how lethal he could have been.

KC: Good luck being effective in playing 13 guys. Sometimes you just have to make decisions about guys who would make your team better in practice as the season wore on, if of course these were real teams. You may try to alternate between new and old school, but I’m picking for specific reasons. And right now, I’m reaching for a slasher. At some point, there’s going to be foul trouble and some moves are going to have to be made. I still want a guy that will provide Rondo’s slashing abilities, but can finish. This guy never really showed up until the end of his career, but when he did… WOW.

My Pick: Joe Crawford

SS: Well, if you’re picking based on needs, I’ll try one. Who knew that’s what you had to do when picking a fantasy team? Anywho, I’m very pleased with my starting lineup. Off the bench I have shooting, ball handling, defense, athleticism and…no size. Your team has Issel. There will be foul trouble. I need a big man. I need a guy who can rebound, and more importantly, take up some space. I’ve got just the guy.

My pick: Dinner Bell Mel Turpin

That’s right, I have the entire 1984 frontcourt on my team. Now what?

KC: Here’s the thing, my need was for a scoring slasher. That’s pretty good for a fantasy team, no? You can have Mr. Turpin. I’m still not losing the size battle. Or the defense battle. Or the shooting battle. I have Rondo and Ford to back him up. Prince, Issel and their backup so far, Chuck Hayes. I have Keith Bogans and his backup, Derek Anderson. Rick Robey and Alex Groza. Crawford can tween and play guard or wing. Some people would say I have two starting fives. Pretty nice huh?

So let’s get another big guy down there. Why lose the advantage I already have?

My Pick: Scott Padgett.

SS: My next pick would probably actually be the first guard I brought off the bench. He could do things with the ball that no other UK player could, and he’s one of Rupp’s Runts, which means the fans would love him (like they really do). I think he’s the second most popular player to ever wear the jersey, and a dang good one at that.

My pick: Louie Dampier

KC: Louie’s a good pick. He’s been on my radar, but I’ve decided to go with more recent players and taller guards, besides Travis Ford of course. My number 12 guy has a great name and a great game. Although listed as a F-C, he’s undersized for today’s game. Still, I can’t pass him up.

My Pick: Cotton Nash

SS: (Smacks self in head like a V8 ad)

Well, I just have to make this pick now. Fun fact: We’ve chosen every one of the top 10 scorers at UK - except one. One of the heralded class that was the last one ever recruited by the Baron, I can’t believe I’ve left this guy off of my list for so long. He’s as good a shooter as there has ever been, and he helped bring the program out of its post-Issel doldrums.

My pick: Kevin Grevey

KC: I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist rounding out the top 10. No bother to me. I think my team would just gel like none other in a real game. I have all the wheels in place and pieces put together to run my well oiled machine. So consider this just a celebratory pick.

My Pick: John Pelphrey.

My team:
Dan Issel*
Tayshaun Prince*
Rajon Rondo*
Keith Bogans*
Rick Robey*
Chuck Hayes
Travis Ford
Alex Groza
Derek Anderson
Joe Crawford
Scott Padgett
Cotton Nash
John Pelphrey

I believe I win… there’s no trump card left for you.

SS: I pick Andre Riddick. The reason? He’s my favorite player and since my first 12 would most likely blow out your first 12, then so help me God, I can let my favorite player be on my team. And besides all that, he’s fourth all time in blocks, and he played a limited role in all four years. Also, if any of your guys acts out of line, Andre will choke him like he did to Rasheed Wallace.

Apologies to Wah Wah Jones, Bill Spivey, Frank Ramsey, Pat Riley, Mike Casey, Mike Pratt, Mike Phillips, Kyle Macy, Rex Chapman, Antoine Walker, Walter McCarty, Jeff Sheppard, Nazr Mohammed, Jamaal Magloire, Gerald Fitch, Erik Daniels, Randolph Morris and Patrick Patterson (maybe a year from now - right, Patrick?).

My team consists of:

G - Ralph Beard
G - Tony Delk
F - Kenny Walker
F - Jamal Mashburn
C - Sam Bowie
G - Louie Dampier
F - Jack Givens
F - Kevin Grevey
F - Cliff Hagan />G - Cliff Hawkins
F - Ron Mercer
C - Andre Riddick
C - Melvin Turpin

This pleases me. KC, your cockiness knows no bounds. Ask any UK fan with a brain and they’ll tell you my team is far superior. I know it’s unfair to compare games from the present day to games from the 40s and 50s, but my team has better winners. You have seven guys who didn’t go to a final four. I only have one. No time for losers, because I am the champion of the world.

I’m Seth Stogsdill, and how does defeat taste, KC?

This is one of the most difficult things I’ve done. Here’s the deal. CBS is doing a “Championship Bracket,” involving the six greatest programs of college basketball, based on number of championships – UCLA, Kentucky, Indiana, North Carolina, Duke and Kansas. UK is the #2 seed because of the seven championships. Each team’s roster will consist of a starting five and a sixth man. The only criterion for making these rosters is a championship ring. Also, the rosters will be based on the players’ performances in college rather than in the pros. This makes the determination of the Kentucky roster very difficult, as many of the best UK players (Issel, Mashburn, Grevey, Riley, Dampier, Nash, Walker, Bowie) didn’t win rings. Three of the positions were pretty easy for me to figure out. I’m only one man, and these are not the official picks for the roster, but this is who I think should make the cut.

PG – Ralph Beard (1946-49)

I can’t say a whole lot about Ralph Beard, except that he was one of the greatest winners in the history of the game. He was a three-time All-American, a two-time National Champion and an Olympic gold medal winner. People who remember watching Ralph still say he was not only the greatest point guard in Kentucky history, but they usually said he was the best guard they had ever seen play in person. I never saw him play, but those opinions are good enough for me.

SG – Tony Delk (1993-96)

This is the zone buster. I’m sure that better shooters have put on the jersey, but did any of them win championships? I know Tony Buckets did. Tony Delk may be one of the most underrated players In Kentucky history, if that’s possible. You already know about the incomparable shooting ability, but that only scratches the surface of what he could do. His pressure on the ball was a huge factor in the greatest full court press ever. His athleticism was off the charts, and his rebounding skills were amazing for a 6’1” guard. Tony Buckets could do it all. This was a no-brainer for me, just like Beard was and the next guy is.

SF – Jack Givens (1975-78)

Nobody had a better midrange game than the Goose – ever. Goose is one of the smoothest players that has ever lived, with one of the purest jumpers as well. Scoring 41 points against Duke in a national title game is incentive enough to put him on this list. Banking in a shot from the corner in said game is the icing on the cake. I don’t care if he’s undersized. The goal is to put the ball in the basket, and you’d be hard pressed to find a championship player at Kentucky who could do that better than Goose Givens.

PF – Wallace “Wah Wah” Jones (1946-49)

Is anybody tougher than Wallace Jones? He’s the only player I know of whose number is retired both at Rupp Arena and Commonwealth Stadium. Like Ralph Beard, he was a three-time All-American, a two-time National Champion and an Olympic champion. So far, this team has representation from Louisville, Lexington and Brownsville, TN, but we need somebody who is country strong, and if you come from Harlan, KY, there’s a good chance you’re country strong. I realize this is an undersized team, especially if somebody like Jones has to match up with James Worthy, Scott May or Danny Manning, but I think Wah Wah can handle his own.

C – Alex Groza (1946-49)

I personally believe that the Fabulous Five was the greatest collection of individual talent ever at Kentucky. They weren’t the best team, because the 1996 team was the greatest college basketball team ever, not just Kentucky. But the individual players were better in the 40s. Groza was the third three-time All-American on one roster. He earned the same accolades as Beard and Jones, and for a long time was considered one of the finest players at his position in college basketball history. That’s good enough for me.

Sixth Man – Ron Mercer (1996-97)

A controversial pick for sure, but of the guys on the 1996 and 1998 teams, I thought the two best were Tony Delk and Ron Mercer. People forget how good Ron was in 1997 when he willed a depleted team to a title game after Derek Anderson got hurt. He was one of the most versatile players I’ve ever seen. He was an extremely smooth shooter, probably the best midrange game of any UK player of my 22 years. He could jump out of the gym, and he stepped up like nobody else in big games. I remember one time when Villanova came in with Tim Thomas, and all the hype was about how Tim Thomas was going to own Ron Mercer, and the opposite happened. He isn’t the Goose, and he isn’t Tony Buckets, but of my team’s champions, he’s probably the next best thing.

I’m Seth Stogsdill, and like Norman Dale, my team is on the floor.