Before I start, I am once again ecstatic because of the recruiting of Rich Brooks and Joker Phillips. Morgan Newton committed to UK this morning, and hopefully you heard it first from me in my column on Sam Simpson. It’s a great day to be a Wildcat fan.

This will be my last 2004 game. After the emotional win over Florida, Kentucky went on a roll, losing only once for the rest of the regular season. That game was in Athens against probation-screwed Georgia in Dennis Felton’s rookie year with the Bulldogs. Georgia also won in Lexington early in the year, handing out half of Kentucky’s losses for the season. Felton employed the same grueling, physical style that led the Bulldogs to the 2008 SEC Tournament title, and this Kentucky team did not respond well to that style. At the time of this game, Felton was 3-0 against Kentucky because of a win in 2002 when he was with Western Kentucky.

Georgia had quick, physical guards and long forwards. Rashad Wright was essentially a cliff Hawkins clone, probably my favorite Georgia player ever. Levi Stukes was the sharpshooter who put Georgia in this quarterfinal. Georgia was expected to lose to Auburn and Kentucky was anticipating another tough game against the Tigers, but Stukes hit eight threes and propelled the Bulldogs to the victory. This game will also drive me crazy in the recap because Kentucky had Erik Daniels, Chuck Hayes and Sheray Thomas. Georgia had Chris Daniels and Jonas Hayes, and the year before, they also had Jarvis Hayes (went pro) and Steven Thomas (suspended). That’s just not right, and I felt sorry for any announcer whose audience was blind. From the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, our announcers are Tom Hammond and Larry Conley.

This game actually has a special place in my heart because it brings me back to some of the best times of my life – my senior year in high school, to be exact. In 2003, Kentucky played a Friday afternoon game against IUPUI, but the administration at Lincoln County High School chose to show the first serious of bombings of Operation Iraqi Freedom instead. I understand the significance, but I’d still rather watch a basketball game than a bunch of random things exploding. This time was different. This time they showed the game and we essentially got the afternoon off unless you had Spanish, in which case you were SOL.

Gerald Fitch started his first game since injuring his right index finger in the Florida game, and he helped get Kentucky off to a decent start (great compared to the first two starts against Georgia) with a big block, followed by a three. Cliff Hawkins made a Jack Givens shot (bank shot from the baseline) to give Kentucky an early 7-4 lead. Because of the suspension to Steve Thomas and the outburst by Stukes against Auburn, Georgia deviated from their usual offensive style and shot threes in bulk. Hawkins forced a five second violation on Wright (Hawk forced more five counts in a week than some teams do in a season), and then forced a shot clock violation. Both teams went on small runs, but I hesitate to even call them runs because the defense was so good. Wright had another five count later in the half, this time because of Fitch.

Kentucky went up 16-9, but an NBA three by Wright capped a 7-0 run for the Dawgs. Georgia was able to come back because of their ability to crash the offensive glass, and another contested three by Wright gave Georgia a 21-20 lead. The first half set the scene for the second half because defensive stalwarts Hawkins and Wright were looking for their shots. Wright won the Defensive Player of the Year award in the SEC in 2004, something I’m sure Hawk took personally. Hawk unleashed everything in his offensive arsenal at the Bulldogs, and his sudden burst of scoring put Kentucky up by six. Both teams got a score after that, and Kentucky led at the half, 32-27. I apologize for the lack of highlights, but this was one of the best defensive games I’ve ever seen, and because Dennis Felton was involved, there was no flow to the game. I promise you that the second half will make up for it.

The second half started with offense. Damien Wilkins (Dominique Wilkins’ nephew) made a 17-footer, but when Georgia pressed on the inbound, Kelenna Azubuike sprung free on the baseline for a powerful dunk. This was at the tail end of his “looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane” phase. Georgia had been able to beat Kentucky in the regular season by starting each second half well. It was Kentucky who came out with guns blazing on this day. Fitch tipped in a Hawkins miss, then hit a three from the corner to put Kentucky up by ten. In the AP English class at LCHS, we thought it was over and there was no reason to worry. In typical Dennis Felton fashion, the Bulldogs fought back. The key to the run was an ankle injury to Cliff Hawkins, but he quickly came back.

If not for the post play of Chuck Hayes, Georgia may have been able to take the lead. Luckily for Big Blue Nation, this was one of the rare days where Chuck was hitting everything around the rim due to Georgia’s lack of shot blocking. In fact, the strong play of Hayes helped push the lead back to ten. Another three by Hawkins put UK up by 11, the biggest lead of the game, but Wright responded in kind with a three of his own, then a hesitation layup that got Georgia to within six. A crazy spin move by Chris Daniels made it 49-45 halfway through the half. A three by Stukes made it a one-point game, but it was the only basket of the game for Levi. Fitch did a great job guarding him all game.

With Kentucky leading 50-48, Jonas Hayes drew a shooting foul. It was the first chance for Georgia to tie the game, but Hayes only made one of two. This was a classic series of plays where Georgia got close, but couldn’t get over the hump. Georgia had about a dozen chances to tie or take the lead, but they either missed the shot or turned it over. Finally, Wright got open and buried a three to tie the score at 52. At this point, I had to leave school a couple minutes early to get to Danville for an appointment. I felt terrible because I hate abandoning close games. I feel responsible if Kentucky loses a close game where I have to leave in the middle of it. So I got the rest from Tom Leach and Mike Pratt on the radio. I’m glad I now have the tape, because this final five minutes is amazing.

Jonas Hayes drew another shooting foul with a chance to give Georgia the lead, but he missed both free throws. The FT shooting for Georgia was just tragic. Kentucky missed a couple of easy ones, as it remained deadlocked at 52 with 3:30 to go. Fitch drew a foul and made both shots from the line. 54-52. A Wright miss led to a melee under the basket. Chuck Hayes emerged with the ball, and he found Erik Daniels breaking to the basket for a layup. 56-52. Georgia answered back with another LONG three by Rashad Wright. 56-55. Hawkins came back and hit a three from even farther out. 59-55. Both of the shots by Wright and Hawkins were contested. After Wright missed a three, Azubuike rebounded a Fitch miss, put it back in and drew the foul. 62-55. Wright missed on a drive to the rack, and just like the beginning of the half, Azubuike went baseline for jam, completely uncontested. 64-55. It was over. The final score was 69-60, but words alone cannot capture the drama of those last five minutes. It was an incredibly hard-fought game with amazing defense.

I’m Seth Stogsdill, and I’m ready for a quarterback controversy.

I love this game, and I also hate it. I did the Michigan State game from this season a few weeks ago, so let me try to fill in some gaps. The 2004 Wildcats were an experienced group of guys who meshed well, but they didn’t have a great bench. This translated into quick starts in games and slow finishes, hence the insane number of close games. Because of the experience advantage, Kentucky won almost every one of these close games, but they did fold down the stretch in their three losses coming into the Florida game – at home against Louisville and Georgia and at Vanderbilt. In fact, the Cats were just coming off of the Vanderbilt loss going into Gainesville to face a pumped up Florida team.

Florida, as usual under Billy Donovan, was immensely talented. They had three big scorers on their team. David Lee currently starts at power forward for my beloved New York Knicks, and he’s one of the rare Florida players that I actually liked when he was at Florida. The other two scorers, Matt Walsh and Anthony Roberson, were epic tools in the same way that “Stairway to Heaven” is an epic song. Donovan brought in Christian Drejer from Denmark, who was supposed to be one of the best Euro players to ever play college ball (I heard somebody who was sober compare him to Magic Johnson), but he just wasn’t. Dude had serious confidence issues at this point in his career – think Derrick Jasper in his freshman year, only he took fewer shots. There were also two players you might know – Chris Richard and Lee Humphrey – from their national championship runs. Florida was 4-3 in the conference heading into this game and was just terrible in those three losses, but given Kentucky’s play against Vanderbilt, the Gators were probably the favorites on their home court. From the Stephen C. O’Connell Center in Gainesville, FL, our announcers are Dan Shulman and Dick Vitale. Because this game took place on the same day as the Bob Knight “salad bar incident,” they don’t talk much about the game.

Kentucky exposed Florida’s complete lack of discipline on defense early into the contest. The guards were able to work it inside to Chuck Hayes and Erik Daniels for easy scores. Kelenna Azubuike went down the lane uncontested for a nasty tomahawk jam, though that was the last good thing Kaz would do until the final minute. There was a long dry spell for Kentucky because Daniels, Gerald Fitch and Cliff Hawkins went to the bench for a reason I can’t understand. Once Fitch and Hawk came back, the Cats went on a nice little run. A three by Hawkins made it 15-7. This was a low scoring game, but I think it was more a case of great defense than bad offense. Kentucky played great defense all the time, but Florida had brief spurts of pure suck on D, which resulted in most of the Kentucky points. A three by Fitch put a stop to a Florida run, and the good guys led 24-15. Florida came back with threes. Contested threes by Walsh and Roberson cut the lead to six, as the only thing keeping Florida from taking the lead in the first half was the awesome post play of Erik Daniels. Fitch hit a tough three, but Roberson beat the first half buzzer with an even tougher three from NBA range, and the good guys had their lead cut to 33-29 at halftime. I said going into halftime that we were in trouble.

The two teams traded baskets early in the second half with Kentucky maintaining the four-point advantage over Florida. With Kentucky leading 39-33, Florida went on a huge run. Walsh beat the shot clock with a tough runner in the lane. Humphrey hit a tough three from the elbow. Lee posted up Daniels and scored. Lee hit a FT. Roberson stole it and scored. Richard made a FT. Finally Walsh beat the shot clock with a three to end the 14-0 run. Antwain Barbour cooled the run with a steal and slam, then Azubuike made to FTs to make it 47-43. Florida answered back with another run. Roberson drove down the lane with a nice spin move for a score – not quite Ron Mercer against St. Joe’s, but still very nice. Then Drejer made a three (!) and the Gators had their biggest lead of the game. After a jump hook by Daniels, Drejer hit another three (!!), and the lead reached double digits. I will readily admit that I have up on my team after the second three by Drejer. I left the TV on because I like to have my TV on while I try to go to sleep, but I thought Florida would pull away and win by about 90. Adrian Moss tipped in a Drejer miss to give Florida an 11-point lead, and UK was dead in the water. Kentucky had several chances to cut into the lead, but they couldn’t hit a FT at gunpoint. To their credit, they were still drawing the fouls, which were piling up for Florida.

With Florida leading 59-48, Kentucky made its push at the six-minute mark. Hayes found Barbour on a cut for an easy score, then after Drejer missed a front end, Chuck made two from the line and it was 59-52. Hawkins stripped Walsh and made two free throws. I should note that most of the big run for Florida happened with Hawk on the bench. His +/- had to be off the charts. After FTs by Drejer, Fitch, Roberson, Daniels and Walsh, Florida led 65-57. The shots by Walsh were the last points of the game for Florida. A melee under the basket led to an open look for Azubuike, and he connected, cutting the lead to five. Daniels went to the line and made two, making it 65-62. On the next Florida possession, Vitale opened his mouth: “Get it into Drejer’s hands, he’s an excellent passer.” Christian tried to dump it inside to Lee, but the pass went wide left. It was so bad, you’d have thought he was aiming for Erin Andrews and the rest of the Florida dance team.

Smith called a timeout, and Hayes drew a foul. His shots cut the lead to one, and as Kentucky trapped Florida on the inbound, Vitale spoke again: “Drejer’s the guy you want with the ball here.” As a UK fan, I definitely agree with Dick on this one, as Drejer threw it away again, this time directly into the welcoming arms of Cliff Hawkins, who laid it up and in to give UK a 66-65 lead. Hayes blocked Roberson on the next Florida possession, then Roberson committed a stupid foul of impatience on Hawkins. Hawk made one of two, and Florida could hold for a last shot. Roberson jacked up a long three with seven seconds left, which didn’t have a chance of going in. Florida fouled Hawkins after the rebound, and he once again made one of two. With UK leading 68-65, Florida had a chance to go the length of the court in 3.4 seconds. They got it to Walsh at midcourt, but Hawkins and Azubuike forced him to step on the sideline. A young lady in the Florida student section let out a scream comparable to the one from Return of the Jedi when the rancor ate that pig guy. They used this clip on the Lee Cruise Show for 2-3 months afterwards. The good guys triumphed over evil once again, 68-65.

I said that I loved and hated this game at the same time. It’s obvious why I love it. I love comebacks, and I love it even more when rivals choke. So why do I hate it? Kentucky faced Florida two more times in 2004, and dominated each game. It was part of an 8-game win streak Tubby Smith had over Billy Donovan. Donovan realized the major flaws in his system: His teams were weak on defense, and his players, as talented as they were, were softer than pillows. By making key hires in his staff and following it with the Noah/Green/Horford/Brewer recruiting class, he fixed those problems almost instantly, and now every game with Florida is an absolute war. The Gators did win seven straight over UK until the emotional senior Day win this year. I’d like to think that a class like Florida’s 2004 class is lightning in a bottle when it comes to being perfect fits and foils for each other, but you just never know.

Shortly after this game, Christian Drejer left Florida and returned to Europe, never to be heard from again.

I’m Seth Stogsdill, reminding you to pour one out tonigh
t – one for you, one for your homies and one for Christian Drejer.

What If. It’s the favorite question of many sports fans and one that we at UK Wildcat Country bounce around a lot. The latest question we bounced around was: if we had to draft a 13-man roster full of former UK players, who would we pick and where? Well, we decided to make that a reality and this morning give you part 1 of a a two part draft between Kenny Colston and Seth Stogsdill. Part 1 shows the first 7 selections. Part 2 will round out the 13-man rosters. You can find part 2 this afternoon.

Kenny Colston has the first pick.

Kenny:In building any team you need the total package. Someone who can score, play defense, rebound. A real team player. So it makes perfect sense to pick the guy who still owns the career records for points and rebounds in a career. Well, he pretty much still owns all the scoring records. He may not have won a title, but I can make him into a winner. That’s why I pick:

Dan Issel, PF-C.

You probably knew that was coming, so let’s see who you counter with, Mr. Basketball guy.

Seth:A shock with the first pick. I can’t blame you. After all, when Issel retired from the NBA, he was the 4th leading scorer in the league’s history if you throw in his numbers from the ABA. That’s unbelievable.

Well, to do what Issel did in 3 seasons was incredible, but my pick could have surpassed the scoring record had he stayed his senior year. The best big man crossover ever, I have no choice but to pick the best UK player of my lifetime.

Jamal Mashburn (PF)

Kenny:Believe it or not, I actualy considered Monster Mash over Issel. But hey, you have to go with the man at the top right? So while the battle on the boards is looking epic right now, I’m thinking of today’s game with this next pick.My team might look a like a bunch of hybrid positions, but you need that. And with Issel scoring all the points, I need a lockdown defender. A guy who will shut down your greatest player and then kill you offensively. And my pick will shut down anyone you throw at me. Guard, forward or center. Why? Because that’s what he does.

My pick: Tayshaun Prince G-F.

Seth:Actually, I’m glad you went with Tayshaun. Tayshaun Prince at the peak of his game would make Mashburn work hard for every point, but Mash would still get those points, especially on the receiving end of assists from this guy. No offense to Tayshaun Prince, but once you get the big man, you need a playmaker. And as I said when I did my version of the CBS Championship Bracket, if you’re looking through the directory of former UK players, there’s really only one name you can have as your top point guard.

My pick: Ralph Beard (PG)

Kenny:You have the point guard position all wrong. All wrong. Don’t get me wrong, Ralph Beard is a great player, but if you wanted to highlight Mashburn, Beard isn’t your guy. Defense wins championships my friend. I have two scorers and one lockdown defender in the post. Now, I get my lockdown guy on the perimeter. Beard is a good, but at 5′10, he’s a little small. My point guard has a good four inches height wise, long arms, long fingers. Steal machine. The pressure he would put on Beard would frustrate the man. And while he only played two years, eveyone knew his greatness. He’s a world champion! And ask Kevin Garnett how much he likes to get fed from my pick. My pick drives the line and dishes for easy dunks. Issel will love this man, Mashburn will hate him. The point guard of the future, the point guard that will give you fits.

My pick: Rajon Rondo. Guard.

Seth:Rondo is a good pick, definitely one of the first guys I would have chosen for the bench (after Brandon Stockton, of course).

Here’s the thing: Defense does win championships, but that really applies more to the NBA than college ball. The magic number for a college national champion is 78 ppg. The only championship team of the last 20 or so years that didn’t average at least 78 ppg was Michigan State in 2000. With all of that in mind, I’m glad that this guy is on the board, because he can fill it up. He also has longer arms than Rajon Rondo, if that were possible. I’m putting him on this roster because he can D it up and, as his nickname suggests, get buckets.

My pick: 00, Tony Delk (SG)

Kenny:That’s the thing, if you don’t reach 78 ppg, you won’t win. My defensive players aren’t just the pure defender type. Rondo drives to score, or dish when the lane collaspes. Prince hits threes and has post movies. Issel is the leader scorer in all of Kentucky history. I’m at no loss for scorers, I just want to make it tough on your scorers.

I knew picking Rondo so quickly might hurt and I had Delk pegged, but he’s replacable. I have my assist man, my swing man, my low post scorer. Now, I’m hitting you from the outside. You may have the all-time 3 point FG career leader, but I’m not letting that go without a fight. My shooting guard can hit it from downtown… or pretty much anywhere on the court. You ask for scorers and I deliver.

My pick: Keith Bogans. SG.

Seth:Crap. I wanted Bogans really bad as a sixth man, just like he is with the Magic. He’s definitely the most underrated and unappreciated UK player ever in my book.

Oh well, you win some, you lose some. I need a 3 and a 5 to complete my team, and this might be cheating, but I don’t care. He played small forward one year, and that team went to the Final Four. This guy also wins bonus points with me because he played for the New York Knicks, and could probably start for them now (no joke) if he weren’t too busy being a model (no joke either). This guy was more of a 4 than a 3, but I don’t care. He was long, athletic and a great player.

My pick: Kenny “Sky” Walker (F)

Kenny:You’re a lucky man Seth Stogsdill. If you hadn’t “cheated” a bit and taken Sky Walker, you would have been toast. You see, I’m just looking for one last forward/center type guy, depending on if I want to slide my man Issel to a pure 5 or a more likely 4 spot. If you had passed on Kenny Walker, I would have snatched him up in a heartbeat.

The choice between taking a center and going small with another four was tough. But I made my decision. I’m taking a center. And I’m reaching down deep for this one. Issel is my scorer inside, but this guy can clean the boards and wasn’t that bad himself. And I just am not sold on any recent big man, since most of them left early and then bombed out.

My Pick: Rick Robey

Seth:You’ve forced my hand by selecting a frontcourt of Issel, Prince and Robey. I was going to go with Alex Groza at center, but he’s 6′7″ and might get lost amongst the trees. That means there are two logical choices left. I could go with Bill Spivey, since he was an absolute giant back when he played at 7′1″ (equivalent to 10 feet in the early 50s), but I’m going to go with a more recent pick. Keep in mind that we don’t take injuries into account, because this man’s legs were made of balsa wood. Still, when he was healthy, he was very deserving of his draft pick.

My pick: Sam Bowie (C)

Kenny:That’s how I roll Seth. You aren’t going to be able to get into the type of game you want to play. No, you’re playing my game. Bowie is a good pick, and injuries won’t factor in.. but if we’re playing a real game here, I think my frontcourt obviously has an advantage. And in picking my sixth man, I’m not letting up that advantage. Every team need a trash man. And that’s not an insult to my pic
k, because he’s gritty. Undersized for what he constantly plays, he can fight with the tallest and the toughest. He’s a no brainer for my bench.

My pick: Chuck Hayes F

My starting five:
PG Rondo
SG Bogans
SF Prince
PF Issel
C Robey

Seth:Okay then, it’s bench time. Points. Points. Points. Nothing wrong with points, and that’s what you need your bench guys to do. Or at least some of them. I get eight more pick, and I can’t believe that we’ve gone 10 total picks without a mention of this guy. It might be a case of getting the best guy left, but he’s probably the best guy left, so I don’t care.

My pick: Jack Givens (SF)

R. Beard*
T. Delk*
K. Walker*
J. Mashburn*
S. Bowie*
J. Givens

Kenny:It was a tough call between Givens and Hayes for me. I had The Goose pegged until the last minute, figuring I can always get scorers. May be a costly mistake, but I believe I have the starting five edge and had plenty of scorers.

But I don’t want to stop bombing the minute Bogans needs a breather. That why my next pick is logical.

My Pick: Travis Ford.

My team:
Issel*
Prince*
Rondo*
Bogans*
Robey*
Hayes
Ford

Seth:I’ve been watching some 1993 tapes recently. Travis Ford was almost automatic from three during the postseason that year. I guess I had better go with perimeter defense, which can mean only one guy. Remember Chris Thomas? He played at Notre Dame 4-5 years ago, and was one of the HS PGs in his class. He was also exceptionally overrated, like almost every Indiana kid who plays at an Indiana school. Chris Thomas had his career singlehandedly ruined in 2003 after an ill-fated trip to Rupp. One man was responsible.

My pick: Cliff Hawkins

My Team:
Mashburn*
Beard*
Delk*
Walker*
Bowie*
Givens
Hawkins

Those are the first 14 picks (seven each)of our draft. Check back this afternoon to see who rounds out the rosters.

If you want to leave a request for a game, please do so on the comment page. Just make sure that the game is from 1992 on, and the good guys win.

This is another game that I’ve watched so many times that my tape is almost worn out. This, of course, is the infamous Basket Bowl, played in Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions. I think Michigan State had wanted to do a basketball game in Ford Field for the longest time, and they knew that the only team that could fill that stadium to capacity was Kentucky. Kentucky was #2 in the country at the time, but #1 Florida lost earlier that day, so the Cats would move up to #1 if they won this game. MSU was #21, but they had already begun to fall out from their lofty preseason hype because of the insane non-conference schedule that Tom Izzo always puts together. This team was too young to handle that kind of a ridiculous schedule, as all of their good players were freshmen and sophomores. Since this is a fairly recent game, you probably know the names: Paul Davis, Chris Hill, Alan Anderson, Shannon Brown, Kelvin Torbert and Maurice Ager. This was pretty much all they had. At the same time, even though the 2004 UK t