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LOW POST Three's company
By Dave Gorman SENIOR STAFF WRITER How does this front line sound for UK's basketball team?  "Big Daddy," "The Grim Reaper" and "The Cat in the Hat." Those were the stage names at Midnight Madness for the three Cats in the paint this season. Nazr Mohammed may have packed his bags and gone to the NBA, but the Cats should have no problem filling his size-17 shoes at the center spot. Try 6-foot-10, 260-pound junior Jamaal Magloire, who wears a size 18. Or perhaps 6-foot-10, 235-pound sophomore Michael Bradley. Throw in 6-foot-11, 213-pound freshman Jules Camara, and UK has its own version of triple towers. Head coach Tubby Smith likes what he sees from the three big men so far in practice. But Smith said he didn't like what he saw from Magloire over the summer. Magloire was riding in a vehicle in June with two men who were arrested on charges of drug possession. Smith announced he would be suspended from early season games, but will not make his decision on the number of games public until a news conference before UK's first exhibition game. Magloire said he has learned his lesson already though. "We're all young," Magloire said. "I made a mistake. I want to make it a point to apologize to my family, friends and fans and just try to move on and help this team win another national championship. "I'm wiser now. I'm trying to make myself a better player and person." Wiser, more experienced and heavier, for the better of course. "I've gained 20 pounds in muscle," Magloire said. "It's hard to maintain our weight with the training we go through." The "repeat" theme is the universal goal of the three big men. One thing is for sure, Smith has the option to mix it up in the paint with all of the extra height. The towers' style might be attributed to their own mix of cultures. Bradley sports a Massachusetts accent and says he got a hard time from his teammates at first. "I would say things to them like three times, and they would pretend like they couldn't understand what I was saying," Bradley said. Camara speaks French, Spanish and English and is from Senegal, where "Jules" is short for Souleymane. Magloire draped himself in his home flag of Canada as he marched down the stairs of Memorial Coliseum during Midnight Madness. But the towers mix it up best when it comes to playing time. While he said Bradley needs to work on his scoring inside, Smith commended the sophomore on his passing ability, something Bradley says he got from watching an NBA legend. "I love the Boston Celtics," Bradley said. "I watched Larry Bird all the time." With a guard-like center in Camara, a power-player in Magloire and a pass-happy Bradley, Smith has plenty of options down low. "Jamaal is one of the best centers in the country," Smith said. "Bradley has improved his strength and stamina. Jules creates so many problems for opponents because he is so skilled on the perimeter." [ KENTUCKY KERNEL ] Comments or questions about KyKernel.com: andreas@gson.com ©1998 Kernel Press, Inc. All Rights Reserved -- Contact Information |
