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PUZZLE
THE '88-'89 WILDCATS
ACROSS
i   Eric & LeRon have the _ points among
the returning Cats 5   One of many talented freshman, John
12 _resume reads "State tourney MVP'
14 Cats _ the season at Tipoff Classic
16 Overhead railroad
17 Cats will _en SEC play vs. Georgia on
Jan. 4th
18 The _'_ teans are Marshall, Arkansas
State and Bowling Green
20 Follows "alpha"
21 Sate
23 Initials of '50s Cat Tsioropoulos
24 Beautiful at UK
26 Eddie can _ the best out of his teams
27 Two per court 29 Weekday abbr.
31 Symbol for "iridium"
32 Strong 6-7 freshman Wildcat
35 Standout Cat sophomore
36 Initials of Clay Co. star turned Cat
37 Wears t12 at the forward spot
38 Double vowel
39 Very self-assured
41 Untruth teller
42 Winning ones sure beat losing ones
46 Compass abbr.
47 Could get 100th win at UK in '89
49 OT causes
50 Ice
53 Abbr. for Big Four Classic foe
54 Abbr. for a time zone
56 Lone senior on Cat squad
59 See 64 Down
60 Watch the Cats _ UKTV
61 "Above the _"
62 Star freshman of the Cats
65 Initials of #23
66 The self
68 Initials of 6 Down
69 Cats big man from California
70 _'_ high school won state
tourney in '87
73 6-10, 235 budding Cat superstar
74 Initials of Cats 6-6 sophomore
76 _spot is point guard or on
the bench
77 Namesakes of former Cat Davender
Last Week's Answers
DPI.*
1 Standout shooter/upperclassman
2 "D_": physician
3 "He took the _ from the top of the key"
' 4   "He tried to__        it in at the buzzer"
6 Will be greatly missed if he doesn't play
7 Sit for a picture
8 Abbr.  for "horsepower"
9 Univ. of Mississippi players
10 Compass abbr.
11 Still
12 Quick 6-7 Cat from Pulaski Co.
13 Wears his age on his uniform 15 Talented freshman Johnathon 19 Bench item
22 Vols school
23 _'_ high school was Mater Dei
25 Eddie for 13 Dovn, Allen for 32 Across, and LeRoy for 69 Across
27 Fiddlin' emperor
28 Curl the lip
29 Guard _# is 32
30 Masculine name
32 Hopes to Improve on fine freshman year of *86-'87
33 Rapid
34 Bonded
35 "Who will _ the Cats in scoring?"
37 Accomplished
40 Cats plan to _        revenge for 2 defeats
by Gators last year
41 Coach Sutton has _        Cats to two SEC
titles in three years
43 There's no question coach Sutton can
_ defense
44 Slang words
45 Initials of a guard of the Cats 48 Before
51 Accompany
52 Most teams have many _ upperclassmen
54 Superb 6-7 freshman Cat; C42
55 "He _ it the length of the court"
56 Tennis pro Jausovec
57 I am
58 Clock keeper's items
59 Feminine name 61 Whistle men
63 Dissolve
64 Abbr. for an KY island
66 Flightless bird
67 Cats will _ late-season national
exposure vs. Syracuse
71 Follows "Q"
72 Thus
75 Initials of the 6-11 big Cat
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Bevy of tackles corners first-team All-SEC spot for linebacker Holleran
By associate editor Nick Nicholas
B\ no means would Randy Holleran be considered a wealthy man if he had a nickel for every tackle he made during the 1988 season. But in the world of college football his pursuit of the pigskin was worth millions.
One hundred and sixty-one times opposing ballcarriers faced the wrath of Holleran's defensive knack for the football. Those tackles enabled Holleran to recently cash in on a couple of football fortunes.
ZOne. the 6-foot-l. 233-pound sophomore linebacker now is the holder of Kentucky's single season mark for most solo tackles102. Jim Kovach previously held that record when he was credited for 94 tackles during the 76 Peach Bowl season.
?And second, on Nov. 29. Holleran was named first-team All-SEC. selected by the Associated Press.
When the final AP votes were tallied he
"/ want to be real good, I want to be all-conference. You think about being All-American, All-SEC. For me it's like one step. You know, you finally made that goal and now you've got to go on."
Randy Holleran
was the lone Wildcat who captured first-team honors. On the AP's second-team were Kentucky's Oliver Barnett (defensive tackle) and Chris Chenault (linebacker).
"It was a big shock." said Holleran of the honor, who joined Auburn's Quentin Riggins and Tennessee's Keith DeLong as first-team inside linebacker recipients. "If you would have told me that a few days ago (before being selected). . .1 was shocked to see it that morning in the newspapers. Then. I realized what I had done.
"It's the kind of thing you dream about."
And it doesn't take a master of the Xs and Os to figure out Holleran's past season is what coaches dream about, too.
Each Saturday the Wildcats took the field Holleran's defensive prowess proved worthy of All-SEC accolades. Double-digit tackles were evident in every game he played. He also tallied two sacks, three tackles-for-losses, one fumble recovery for a touchdown and one interception.
When it came time to strap on the gear against SEC teams, Holleran shifted the intensity to a higher level. The Wildcat sparkplug turned in 18-tackle performances against LSU, Georgia and Vanderbilt. Overall, he was in on 106 tackles in league play15.1 per game.
"Randy just had an amazing year for us," said head coach Jerry Claiborne. "He surpassed all of our expectations this season. He does an outstanding job of getting to the football and making tackles."
"As far as for Chris (Chenault), it could have gone either way," said Holleran of his senior sidekick. "He could have very easily been first-team and I could have been second-team. Both of us could have been first-team. It was just one of those things that happened."
He went on to add the absence of another upperclassman's nameBarnettfrom first-team nomination also was a mistake.
The difference in Holleran is that two years on the college level remain to be tackled. That's not to say he's arrived at the mountain top.
Yes, even first-team All-SEC players have
1st-team All-SEC Randy Holleran
to improve.
"There's going to be some extra pressure now." Holleran admits. "People will be out to get you. And you're going to hear if you mess up in practice. "You're supposed to be All-SEC
"Immediately, people come to me and say. 'OK. now you're going to win the Butkus Award. All-American. and repeat (All-SEC).' Hey. I didn't ask to be All-SEC; I didn't ask for the pressure. But that's what it's all about. When people are saying that stuff you can't let it go to your head, thinking you're All-World.
"It is just a name on your tag. I'm no different than I was when I wasn't All-SEC."
Comparing himself to other linebackers in the conference prior to the start of the '88 season. Holleran had doubts about his ability.
He shouldn't have worried.
Redshirted in 1986. the following campaign Holleran played in all 11 of Kentucky's games. He patiently watched and learned from senior Jeff Kremer, the team's leading tackier, and Chenault. Late in the year he turned in an 11-tackle day against then-Heisman Trophy candidate Emmitt Smith and the Florida Gators.
"I didn't know what the competition would be like," he said. "I didn't know if it was a fluke that I played well (at Florida) or what was going on. There was that uneasy feeling of not knowing what my competition was like, other players around the leaguehow good they were and how good I was compared to them."
Although he said he played "half decent" in Gainesville, Holleran had arrived as a mainstay in Terry Strock's defense. And since the rain-soaked victory over Central Michigan. Holleran harnessed enough ballcarriers in one season to rank fourth on the school's total tackle chart.
The man he replaced, Kremer, collected 180 total tackles in '87. With improvement Holleran has the opportunity to surpass Kremer's single-season record.
"I want to be real good, I want to be all-conference," he said. "You think about being All-American, All-SEC. For me it's like one step. You know, you finally made that goal and now you've got to go on."
Records, preseason and postseason prosperities come to those who earn them. Sure, Holleran will take those gridiron laurels. His main goal, however, is contributing to pushing the program over the hump.
"I think this team showed some character," said Holleran. "That's the biggest thing we did this year, and we're going to have that going into next year."