Oscar Combs-
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terest in him.
In the past two weeks, no less than Indiana, Vanderbilt, LSUand yes, even UKhave called. Vanderbilt had been in the hunt earlier, but made sure it was a quiet one. It's no secret that CM. Newton didn't want to get burned again like his recruiting of John Pelphrey last season when UK snatched him at the last second.
Kentucky made its first official contact with Farmer only Sunday afternoon when Eddie Sutton and assistants Dwane Casey and James Dickey visited the Farmer home in Clay County.
A family spokesperson said the visit lasted between one and two hours during which Sutton offered Farmer a scholarship and assured him that the offer was not based on any fan or outside pressure, but Sutton's personal desire that he wants Farmer to play for UK.
Later the same day, Western coach Murray Arnold made a visit to the Farmer home and LSU's Dale Brown was scheduled for a home visit on Monday evening.
Farmer said he doesn't expect to make his decision for about two weeks. He was to leave for Louisville on Tuesday to prepare for this weekend's Derby Festival Classic on Friday night.
He told TCP he expects to make official visits to Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Western, LSU and Indiana before making his decision.
Farmer has made no secret of his desire to play for UK for the past couple years.
"I've always dreamed of playing for UK," said Farmer back in December. -It's the dream of every kid in the state. It's what basketball is all about."
There were reports early last week that Louisville was also interested in Farmer and would be in contact with him, but Farmer said Saturday he had not heard from the Cardinals.
The UK scholarship offer was a long time coming, but don't look for Farmer to pass it up. He may take his visits and wait a few days, but if there is one sure thing today, it is that Farmer certainly won't take as long to decide on UK as
Bob Watkins
UK did to decide on him.
? ? ?
HITS AND MISSES ... One of the
leading contenders for Indiana's Mr. Basketball. Shawn Kemp, scored 23 points with 13 rebounds and six blocked shots against Muncie Central in the championship game of the Indiana State High School championship last week. His effort wasn't enough as Muncie Central beat his Concord High team 76-53. It was the first loss of the season for Concord after reeling off 28 straights wins. Muncie Central also finished 28-1 on the year. Central is coached by Bill Harrell, who won his third state title in Hoosierland after winning a Kentucky title at Shelby County back in the 1970s . . . Marty Brennaman, voice of the Cincinnati Reds and television voice of the UK Basketball Network, took time out of his spring training chores in Florida to call the Southeast Regional NCAA Tourney from Birmingham for the NCAA Radio Network, put together by Host Communications. Don't be surprised if Marty someday is doing the NCAA Final Four basketball action . . . Former UK coach Joe B. Hall was a guest on CNN's popular "Crossfire" program last Saturday. The special live segment was on the NCAA Final Four and dealt with the plight of college athletes when the schools are making millions off the students. Hall appeared on the show with former coach and current television analyst Bucky Waters. Hall said he believes today's athletes deserve some form of compensation because they aren't allowed to hold part-time jobs during the year while the schools are raking in millions from gate receipts and television revenue . . . UK's Rex Chapman was the only player from Thursday's losers to make the All-Southeast Regional team in Birmingham . . .On the football front, NCAA assistant executive director Dave Cawood was in Birmingham for the Southeast Regional. And Cawood says his son Jeff, who is an outstanding high school lineman in Kansas, is being recruiting by Kentucky and Arkansas.
Nick Nicholas
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Equipped with scissors, the Bruins ended their night to remember with the traditional cutting down of the nets. It was only a year ago when they watched Clay County celebrate the same accomplishment.
Bell, a 5-8 junior guard, managed to literally pick up the championship trophy, which almost was taller than him. He summed up the evening by saying, "I'm just happy right now. I want to go and celebrate."
Sunday, March 20: LOUISVILLE & CINCINNATIThe final stop of this basketball adventure would end with Maryland and Kentucky. And by 10 a.m. we were packed and once again headed on that familiar path to Cincinnati. Whew!
Thanks to an enriching and tasty feast provided by the folks at Riverfront Coliseum, this camper was soon a happy camper.
One more game. Forty minutes and this trip made for basketball junkies would soon be complete.
Rex Chapman, much like Richie Farmer's individual showing in Louisville, gave his backers something to rave about. Not until the second half, however, did Chapman come to life, scoring 20 of his 23 points. Highlighted by a four-point play, the 6-4 sophomore proved to be the difference as UK made it into the NCAA's Sweet 16 with a narrow second-round escape.
Reporters flocked inside the UK locker room afterwards, mostly to get a quote or two from Chapman. His performance was nothing new for Kentucky media, but the national boys certainly were impressed by Mr. Chapman's efforts.
After recording postgame interviews with Ed Davender and Rob Lock, I then watched a minute or two of the Illinois-Villanova game. For some reason I was lured to another roundball contest, only to be nudged by the Sterling, who was ready to get back to Lexington.
Five days, 16 games, 565 miles of travel all for the sport of basketball. Was this crazy or what?
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piece of sports journalism. You can enjoy this sparkle in sports for $2.25 and a bit of your quiet time.
NCAA observations
^ Most "beat to death" cliches I heard during the NCAAs: "This team is on a mission." and "higher level of intensity."
v What senior in the NCAA's first two rounds saw his NBA draft stock go up the most0 Kentucky's Ed Davender. Underclassman? J.R. Reid.
Winston Bennett will be sorely missed when the Kentucky Wildcats assemble next for Midnight Madness. Who will replace him? In 1988-89 probably nobody. But UK has a Bennett-tough heir apparent already on board. Deron Feldhaus.
^ Pittsburgh Coach Paul Evans didn't have as much success as his look-alike in Kentucky, but the physical resemblance is remarkable. Ballard High School Coach Scotty Davenport and Evans could pass for brothers.
All Americans
'Tis the season for All-American teams and everybody has one, and the team presented this week by Basketball Times looks as good as any.
First team Danny Ferry. Duke: Danny Manning, Kansas; J.R. Reid, North Carolina; Mark Macon. Temple; and Hersey Hawkins. Bradley.
Second team Sean Elliott. Arizona; Michael Smith, BYU: Harvey Grant. Oklahoma; Gary Grant. Michigan; and Sherman Douglas, Syracuse.
Third team Mitch Richmond. Kansas State; Todd Mitchell. Purdue: Will Perdue, Vanderbilt: Rex Chapman, Kentucky; and David Rivers. Notre Dame.
The ballot I mailed in for All-America this year included:
First team Dann Manning. Hersey Hawkins, J.R. Reid, Steve Kerr; and Rex Chapman.
Second team Sean Elliott, Pervis Ellison, Danny Ferry, Mark Macon and Ed Davender. All Rookie team
Everyone has a college all-freshmen team. If anybody asked me, these would be my picks. Brian Williams (Maryland), Jay Edwards (Indiana), Mark Macon (Temple). Livingston Chatman (Florida) and (captain) Eric Manuel (Kentucky).
Quotables
* Kentucky basketball coach Eddie Sutton two days after his team beat Maryland to qualify for the NCAA's Sweet 16. "I told our squad yesterday that there will be teams here at Kentucky that will be more talented than we are, but this team has an excellent chance to win it all. You don't know that about next year's team or ones to come.
v Ralph Carlisle, legendary high school basketball coach at Lexington Lafayette and one of 26 inductees into the KHSAA Hall of Fame last week: "I'm not sure why I'm being honored here. We're so old we can't remember what we did to get here."
Comment Carlisle's distinguished contribution to high school basketball in Kentucky included 488 coaching victories at Lafayette and three state titles  1950, '53 and '57.
<. Paul Hornung, Heisman .Trophy winner and Green Bay Packer legend, also attended the Hall of Fame banquet. He remembered when Coach Ralph Dorsey's Caverna team, led by all-stater Kenny Sidwell, upset Flaget in the State Tournament. Quipped Hornung: "We were supposed to win that year. Where was Caverna anyway? I've hated Kenny Sidwell for 35 years. Someday he'll be standing up here (accepting induction into the Hall of Fame)."
Richie Farmer of Clay County High School had a record breaking performance in the state tournament, eclipsing Wah Wah Jones' points scored record. When it was over one expert fan wondered why Kentucky has not recruited Farmer and offered a "backhand analysis" of how good the kid is. Noting that UK gave Eddie Sutton's son Sean a scholarhship, quipped, "I don't think Sutton could make Clay County's team. Both their guards (Richie and Russ) are better than he is."
And so it goes.l
Todd Hallum.
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never given the full backing from the entire athletic program when all the rumors about his status always remained in question.
The final thought that comes to mind is why did the UT athletic program want another so-called Earl Bruce situation to arise in the possible firing of DeVoe? After all, DeVoe has a winning record, eight postseason tournament appearances and numerous Coach of the Year honors. In addition, DeVoe is mostly respected by his peers as being one of the soundest coaches in the country and an outstanding defensive tactician. Did the athletic department want to fire a former Knight assistant who obeyed NCAA rules, but catches heat from those among the collegiate athletic community to preach integrity in their respective programs? Or did they not want the label of a "win at all costs despite what have you done for me in the past" reputation that has clearly created numerous college coaching vacancies.
Whatever the reasons, some of thes questions may or may not be answered as DeVoe receives the chance to continue as coach at Tennessee. The jury still remains out on DeVoe as to whether he can get the UT program back into the routine of consistent NCAA tournament appearances. Obviously, he hasn't recruited as well as he would have liked during the last couple of years. But despite all that has happened, certainly DeVoe will remember 1987-88, as Washington Post sportswriter John Feinstein puts it, "A Season On The Brink."