xt70zp3vtd8j https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt70zp3vtd8j/data/mets.xml Wildcat News Company 1986 Volume 11 -- Number 8 athletic publications  English Wildcat News Company Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. The Cats' Pause UKAW University of Kentucky Men's Basketball (1986-1987) coaches Sutton, Eddie players Bennett, Winston University of Kentucky Football (1986) Chenault, Chris Claiborne, Jerry statistics schedules Cats' Pause Combs, Oscar The Cats' Pause,  "November 1, 1986" text The Cats' Pause,  "November 1, 1986" 1986 2012 true xt70zp3vtd8j section xt70zp3vtd8j UK To Tackle Hokies Day After Halloween
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SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS PE$$${*Yq OR MUTILATING BOOKS OCT 30 1986 NEWSPAPERS OR PERIODICALS
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Margaret I. King Library - North "SPOTLIGHTING UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE"
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VOLUME 11 - NUMBER 8
SATURlMY^lVoV^Mfckrt'i/1986
LEXINGTON, KEN
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Knee Injury Knocks Bennett Out For Season
University of Kentucky senior forward Winston Bennett underwent reconstructive surgery on his right knee at Lexington's Central Baptist Hospital last Saturday morning and will miss the 1986-87 season, according to UK coach Eddie Sutton.
The Louisville Male product will be able to redshirt and be eligible for the 1987-88 campaign.
Bennett apparently collided with teammate Irving Thomas while the two were going after the ball during practice last Wednesday (Oct 22). The 6-foot-7, 210-pound forward got up and tried to walk off the injury. Two days later, following examinations by orthopedic specialist Dr. James Andrews and UK team physician Dr. Michael Ray, it was learned that Bennett was going to have surgery.
Going into the surgery, however, it wasn't sure if his knee would need arthroscopic surgerya common procedure in which a person can rehabilitate the injury in a short periodor major overhaul.
Major surgery was required, thus putting Bennett on the sidelines until next season. He was to be the leading scorer returning from last year's 32-4 squad (12.7 ppg and 7.2 rpg). A season of rehabilitation now awaits Bennett.
According to the medical team which performed the surgery, Bennett had a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a torn lateral meniscus. The doctors concluded that the knee was unstable and Bennett would not be able to play again unless a total reconstruction was performed. The procedure was performed with an arthroscope and doctors called the surgery a "complete success."
"We are all pleased with the results of the surgery," Sutton said. "Naturally, we are disappointed that Winston will not be playing this season but he will definitely be a key ingredient in this year's squad. He has the respect of his fellow players and the coaching staff and his leadership on and off the court will be vital.
"The doctors expect Winston to recover fully and be ready to play again in 1987-88."
With the loss of Bennett, Kentucky now returns only guards Ed Davender and James
Blackmon as starters. The only front court player who has ever started a game is 6-foot-U junior Rob Lock, who started four games early in his freshman season. Joining Lock as front-line players are 6-9 junior Cedric Jenkins. 6-7 junior Richard Madison, 6-7 junior Todd Ziegler and 6-7 sophomore Irving Thomas.
"Make no mistake about it, we're going to miss Winston," said Sutton. "But my experience in coaching has been that when a key player goes down, other players work harder and step to the forefront. I believe that is going to happen with this team.
"Our players have worked harder than ever since Winston went down," he continued. "They know that they are going to play better than ever. And we as a coaching staff know that we are going to have to coach better than ever.
"But I'm still optimistic about the season. We have a fine group of young men who will represent us very well."
The loss of Bennett has sparked considerable speculation that the Wildcats would once again employ a three-guard look this season. Last year, Sutton and the Wildcats proved the critics wrong by using a three-guard set in compiling a 32-4 record and advancing to the NCAA Final Eight.
Sutton, however, says it is too early to predict what type of lineup he will use.
"It's still too early," he said. "There's no doubt that we are strong at the guard position. We have two returning starters in Ed Davender and James Blackmon at guard. Paul Andrews is back and freshmen Rex Chapman and Derrick Miller have performed well in practice.
"With the introduction of the three-point shot in college basketball, there will be more emphasis on outside shooting," he continued. "That could work in our favor this season."
The Wildcats will conduct their first public preseason scrimmage Saturday night (Nov. 1)
at Rupp Arena. The Diet Coke Blue-White scrimmage is set to start at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are available at the Rupp Arena box office as well as all Ticketron outlets throughout the state. The tickets are $5 and $3.50.
The Wildcats will also scrimmage at Louisville's Freedom Hall next Tuesday, Nov. 4. Coca-Cola officials, who are handling the promotions of both scrimmages, and are predicting a sell-out in the 19,000-seat arena. Tickets for that scrimmage are also $5 and $3.50 and are on sale at the Freedom Hall box office and at all Ticketron outlets.
Kentucky will also scrimmage at Graves County High School in Mayfield, Ky., Nov. 10 and at Lincoln County High School in Stanford, Ky., Nov. 24.
Approximately 500 participants are expected at the annual Nike/University of Kentucky Basketball Clinic this weekend, Oct. 31 and Nov.l
Joining the Wildcat coaching staff will be such basketball standouts as Jerry Tarkanian of UNLV, Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, Dick Vitale of ESPN and J.D. Barnett of Tulsa.
The clinic gets underway at 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31, at Lexington's Radisson Plaza Hotel and concludes with the Blue-White scrimmage Saturday night at Rupp Arena.
The cost of the clinic is $40 in advance, $45 at the door. For more information, contact the UK Basketball Office at (606) 257-1916.
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No Fond Memories
This past week will not go down in the history books as one of the Wildcats' greatest memories.
First there was the season-ending loss of All-SEC Winston Bennett. If that wasn't enough to dampen the spirits of Wildcat faithful, then the 31-9 bombing from Georgia Saturday night practically eliminated any hopes for a postseason bowl.
It was that kind of a weekend for Kentucky.
The future?
In this space one week ago we said the future is now for the Wildcats. At 3-3-1, the 'Cats still have time to salvage a winning season. There's nothing in the books which says UK couldn't win all for remaining games, except that Kentucky hasn't proven it can win a big game.
There's also nothing in the books which says Kentucky might win another game. That would be a disaster.
During the preseason, the Virginia Tech game appeared to be a game in the win column. Not so today. In fact, Kentucky will be the underdog. The Gobblers have sprinted off to a 4-2-1 mark and are coming off a very impressive 42-10 win over arch-rival Virginia.
A loss in Blacksburg would saddle UK with a four-game losing streak. The 'Cats will close the season with home games against Vanderbilt and Florida and then the season finale at Tennessee.
Everyone is asking, "what's happened to the 'Cats this year?"
Everything was so rosy at the beginning. For the first time since Claiborne arrived in Kentucky, his squad was made up entirely of his pickings. It was the fifth year of the Claiborne era and there was a schedule which included seven homes games, an eighth just 80 miles north in Cincinnati, only two road SEC encounters and not a single team on the card which would be unbeatable.
Everyone is still wondering, but perhaps you have to go back no farther than the opening game when Rutgers strutted into Commonwealth Stadium and tied the 'Cats 16-16. Remember 1985 and Central Michigan?
Rutgers is no patsy. But a Kentucky team with eyes set on a postseason bowl cannot afford to lose to a Rutgers team on the Wildcats' home turf.
The 'Cats fought back and won games over Kent State, Cincinnati and Southern Miss. Only the latter, however, was fashioned in an impressive way.
Then disaster struck. Ole Miss embarrassed the 'Cats. Just as past Kentucky teams have fought back, the Wildcats regrouped and staged another tough fight against LSU, only to come up empty-handed in the final minutes.
After the LSU battle, the Wildcats were drained, emotionally and physically. And as history has taught us, Georgia enjoyed the leftovers like buzzards in the desert.
If the future was last week, then what is this Saturday at Virginia Tech?
Kentucky is now in a position of having to post some pretty good sized upsets just to stay afloat. Wins against Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt are absolute musts and if the 'Cats want to harbor hopes for the future, they will also have to beat either Florida or Tennessee.
Winning the remainder of this fall's schedule isn't impossible, but very improbable. Should Kentucky rally, it would be a very exciting end with a postseason bowl a possibility. But first, there has to be a four-game winning streak.
Coach Eddie Sutton and his basketball Wildcats suffered a tragic blow to their 1986-87 hopes last week when senior Winston Bennett went down with a knee injury which
will sideline the Louisville native for the entire season.
After surgery on Saturday, team doctors said it would take Winston about six months to completely recover from the surgery. Sutton said Bennett would be red-shirted and will return for his senior year in 1987-88.
Already a depleted squad, the Wildcats now have only ten able bodies to put on the floor. Reggie Hanson is sitting out due to inadequate academic qualifying scores. Mike Scott, the 6-10 transfer from Wake Forest who is attending Lexington Community College, has said he will attend UK, but he won't be eligible until at least January or next season.
Adding insult to injury, Sutton sent a number of walk-on candidates through a week-long series of drills at 6 a.m. each day last week, then announced that none were good enough to help the squad.
What all this means is that a couple players are going to have to contribute much quicker than anticipated.
With Bennett out, Sutton will be calling on the likes of Cedric Jenkins, Rob Lock and Richard Madison more often as they will be counted on very heavily. Irv Thomas and Todd Ziegler also will have more oppor tunities to play.
Bennett's absence could force Sutton to go with his three-guard offense out of despera tion. There appears to be more depth out front. Ed Davender and James Blackmon return as starters while you can bet that frosh Rex Chapman and Derrick Miller will be called on early. And the forgotten man may be the most important of all. That could be senior Paul Andrews, one of, if not the best, shooters on the team.
Paul could wind up occupying the role Troy McKinley played a couple years ago when the 'Cats needed instant outside offense. With the new three-point rule, Andrews seems perfect for the call.
With the basketball recruiting season in full swing and the November signing date just around the corner, let's bring you up to date of some of the gossip around the country.
Noted recruiting expert Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports, says he believes Kentucky is in excellent shape to strike it rich with a couple big-times in LeRon Ellis (who has already announced for UK) and 6-11 center John Pitt-man of Rosenburg, Texas.
In his most recent newsletter, Gibbons says, "we hear that this young giant was 'awed' by his recent visit to Lexington, and former favorite, Texas Tech, is just hanging on by the skin of their teeth.'"
Gibbons says the 'Cats are also one of the finalists for second guard Jerome Harmon of Gary. Ind. Harmon supposedly is also being recruited by Louisville, Purdue and DePaul. According to Gibbons, Harmon could end up with academic problems, however.
Kentucky also is in the hunt for Oklahoma's Michael Maddox, Indiana's Rick Fox, Sean Higgins of Los Angeles and Eric Manuel of Macon, Ga., among others.
The Wildcats, according to California superscout Steve Guiremand are out of the picture with Brian Williams of Santa Monica, Calif. Williams, who has been compared to Louisville's Pervis Ellison, reportedly has eliminated both Kentucky and Louisville. Gibbons says the final five are New Mexico, Duke, Arizona, Temple and North Carolina State.
Gibbons also says Louisville may be on the verge of losing Marion, Ind., superstar Jay Edwards. Gibbons says Edwards, who has long been considered a cinch for the Cardinals, may wind up with his Marion team mate, Lyndon Jones, at Indiana.
Reportedly, the race for Higgins is boiling down to a battle among four of five schools. He has already visited Texas, Michigan and Kentucky.
His summer coach, Pat Barrett, says Sean's final two visits will be to Louisville and Syracuse, but Higgins' mother says the last two schools to host her son will be Louisville and UCLA. Supposedly, the mother would like to see him stay home and play for the Bruins according to Gibbons.
The shoe war between Converse and Nike has heated up again and looks like the Converse people have won the last two matches.
Kentucky baseball coach Keith Madison says his team is now wearing Converse shoes after reaching an agreement where Converse helps out with his camp and other promo tional activies.
"Joe Dean has always been good to us and Converse is a great company," said Madison. "We're very happy with their support of the Kentucky baseball program."
The real plum, however, was the landing of former UK All-American Kenny Walker to a contract which some insiders claim has netted Walker more than 5100,000 per year in a multi-year deal.
One close insider said that two other companies had offered Walker six figures and that Converse must have been in the ballpark to land him.
When Indiana picked Auburn's Chuck Person over Walker in the draft, little did they know it, but the Pacers did Kenny a great favor.
Said one pro official, "Kenny's shoe contract just about doubled when he landed with the New York Knicks instead of the Pacers."
Supposedly, the two finalists for Walker
were Converse and Nike. Converse officials declined to reveal how much Walker would be paid but admitted that he will be one of the top two or three highest paid rookies in the NBA this season.
Another source said Walker and former Syracuse All-American Pearl Washington will be the two highest paid players to wear shoes this winter. A new shoe company, Avia is reported to be paying Washington an estimated six-figure amount this season.
FIRST AND TENS . . . Some of the early season prep All-American football lists are making print and Dan Painter's All-Star Sports list has 6-4 tight end Jeff Ellis of Louisville Male on the first team. Ellis, son of former boxing champion Jimmy Ellis, tips the scales at 225 and has 4.7 speed. Recruiting experts believe he'll stay close to home with Ohio State, Kentucky and Louisville the early favorites, but not necessarily in any particular order . . . The Southeastern Conference will be showing off its hoop talents this week in the Big Apple as SEC coaches and players will be there for all the New Yorkers to visit. Also making the trip from Lexington will be former UK coach Joe B. Hall who will be working as a color analyst for ABC-TV this winter . . . The annual SEC Basketball Media Days will be held November 12-13 in Atlanta, site for the 1987 SEC Tournament. All 10 coaches, and players from each school will be there to be interviewed by some 200 writers and broadcasters around the South . . . Freshman redshirt Mike Pfeifer is expected to be back in action Saturday against Virginia Tech. Mike dressed out for the Georgia game, but changed to street clothes at halftime with the score reading 21-3. Mike suffered a sprained foot during practice earlier in the week.  The day following Kentucky's Midnight Practice the basketball Wildcats talked to the media about the upcoming season. Writers, and television and radio broadcasters were on hand at Wildcat Lodge to find out what the players and coaches forecasted for the 1986-87 slate. Here are some memorable photos from that day which were taken by TCP chief photographer Gary Cromwell. t/7i (jal: