Wildcats return to Rupp, face USC

By Chris Easterling
Assistant Sports Editor

After proving to the rest of the Southeastern Conference that they were somewhat mortal in beating Georgia by only five points Wednesday, the UK men's basketball team returns to Rupp Arena tomorrow to play host to South Carolina. The Cats (16-1 overall, 6-0 SEC) already have beaten the Gamecocks (11-4, 5-2) once this season, 89-60, on Jan. 3 in Columbia.

Since that game, USC boss Eddie Fogler has been raving about the UK squad, saying they were "head and shoulders" above the rest of the SEC.

"Kentucky is Kentucky," Fogler said.

"We have 11 teams that can beat each other on any given night," Fogler said of the SEC, "and then we've got one team (UK) that's beating everybody no matter if it's home or away."

South Carolina will be without starting center Nate Wilbourne, a transfer from Ohio State, who has an ankle injury. He will be replaced in the post by freshman Bud Johnson.

Wilbourne was third on the team in scoring and first in rebounding when he went down with the injury in their win over Alabama last Saturday.

Due to this, Fogler will go with a three guard offense, led by the SEC's Player of the Week, Larry Davis.

Davis, a junior who transfered from the University of North Carolina, is leading the team in scoring with 18.9 points a game, and in minutes with 32.9 minutes a game.

Joining Davis in the backcourt will be sophomore Melvin Watson and freshman B. J. McKie, and Malik Russell will round out the starting lineup for USC.

UK coach Rick Pitino said the Gamecock squad that will be coming into Rupp will be different from the one the Cats faced earlier in the season.

"They're much improved from the last time we faced them," Pitino said. "We're going to have to play much better than we did against Georgia."

But Pitino did tip his cap to the Bulldog team.

"Georgia made us play the way we did," he said. "We didn't play bad, we played good."

One of the biggest complaints Pitino had with his team's performance was their foul shooting. The Cats shot 11-of-23 from the charity stripe against UGA.

"We can't possibly go to a Final Four, or to go far in the tournament, shooting the way we are from the foul line," Pitino said.

But if there is someone who can help the Cats get to the Meadowlands for the Final Four, it is Tony Delk.

"Tony Delk is outstanding," Fogler said, "not only offensively, but the thing that goes unnoticed about (him), in my opinion, is the great defense (he) plays.

"He may be one of the best defensive guards in this league if not the country. He is a great player having a great year on a great team."

Pitino said he thinks the senior from Brownsville, Tenn. has an outstanding shot at a pro career.

"If I'm an NBA basketball team, I go after Tony Delk as one of my premier guards," Pitino said. "He is just a great basketball player, and he is a legitimate candidate for Player of the Year."

Note:

The starting time for tomorrow's game has been changed from 7:30 to 8 p.m., in order to accommodate SportSouth, who will be calling the game live across the south. In Lexington, it is on TCI Channel-36.

The game will also be televised on a delayed basis by the UK Television Network. It will be shown on WKYT Channel-27 at 10:30.