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Cats, Cards And CBS-TV
Just like any other big-time promoter. CBS TV knows a good thing when it sees one. That's why the Kentucky-Louisville clash Saturday has been rescheduled for 4 p.m. Eastern Time in stead of the original 12:30 p.m. tip-off.
Actually, CBS wanted to switch the game to Sunday, but UK athletics director Cliff Hagan said such a switch would impose too great a hardship on UK fans who had made plans and also make it difficult for UK which will play VMI in Louisville next Monday.
Nevertheless, the game will go on, just as big as ever. You gotta remember, folks, CBS-TV is the network which pushed so long for this contest. So you can expect the network to really pro mote this one.
Although Louisville was ranked high in all the preseason polls, Denny Crum's Cardinals will actually be ranked behind Kentucky when this contest is staged.
Prior to this week's rankings (which were released after TCP went to press), Louisville was ranked No. 16 by the Associated Press while Kentucky occupied the No. 13 spot.
Who will win this game?
This is probably as close a match-up as you'll ever get in the Kentucky-Louisville series There's no question Louisville has more talent than Kentucky, but the game is being played at Rupp Arena.
Louisville would be a solid 14-16 point favorite at Freedom Hall while the Cardinals could ex pect to be a eight or nine-point favorite on a neutral floor. Why?
You have Billy Thompson to start with. He was the "Player of the Year" coming out of high school four years ago. You have Milt Wagner, one of the game's greatest guards returning to top form against Indiana after recovering from year's absence due to surgery. You have the stop-and-pop Jeff Hall. They're all seasoned veterans who can play for anyone in the country.
And how about sophomore Herbert Crook who is improving by leaps and bounds along with guards Mike Abrams, junior Chris West and freshman medical red-shirt Kevin Walls. That's before we get to the nation's finest group of freshmen.
You usually don't count on immediate help from rookies, but Crum was forced to go to the well early because of academic casualty Barry Sumpter who failed to meet school requirements (although he was eligibile by NCAA regulations). That's when frosh Pervis Ellison stepped front and center and has been an awesome impact on the Louisville team.
Remember the name, Purvis Ellison. This man will be the difference if Louisville beats Kentucky in Lexington.
As far as Kentucky is concerned, you start with THE man, Kenny Walker. He'll be expected to carry the lion's share of the load. But also look for Louisville to employ some old SEC defensive strategy and take him out of the game early.
That will leave UK's hopes up to Sir Winston Bennett, along with guards Ed Davender, Roger Harden and James Blackmon. Those three will do a good job, but UK will have to sneak in a surprise of its own if the Wildcats make it three , in a row over the Cardinals at Rupp Arena.
The top three candidates are Cedric Jenkins, Robert Lock and Richard Madison, not necessarily in any particular order. Jenkins and Lock have been fairly impressive at times, but
they've looked, quite frankly, terrible at times The same can be said for Madison. If one should grow up in a hurry, he could be the star of the game Saturday. If none show up, it most likely will mean a defeat for the Wildcats.
On paper. Kentucky appears to have an edge at forward with Walker and Bennett. At gaurd it's almost a stand-off with the edge going to the club which is hot. In the middle. Louisville ha. the decided advantage where Ellison will be going against either a true forward or against a pair of sophomores in Lock and Jenkins. True, Ellison is only a freshman, but he's playing like a junior and that's what counts.
Believe it or not, Kentucky's chances also could rest on how successful it can be employing an old UL tactic, full-court defensive pressure. Kentucky must score some points off its defense. If it does, UK will have an excellent shot. If not, ULs inside game will be more than UK can handle for forty minutes.
Still, it's Rupp Arena and it looks like a Ken tucky victory by three from this viewpoints.
The biggest crime on the college sports scene in Kentucky occurred at Rupp Arena Saturday night when Winston Bennett was left off the UKIT's All-Tourney team.
All Bennett did the two nights is what any coach would be proud of. He scored in double figures both nights, hauled down 16 rebounds and hit on nine of 13 shots from the field. And how about his defense. He's gets the job done night after night, and some people still don't appreciate his efforts.
No doubt this had to be one of Winston's greatest disappointments. For a youngster who has fought back so often, it seems he never gets his justice. He labored in the shadows of the twin towers (Sam Bowie and Melvin Turpin) two
Mills On Feldhaus
years ago and he's been nagged by injuries since his arrival.
And no one has been more of a target for officials than Bennett. He can breath heavy and the whistles sound like a four-alarm fire.
Perhaps, just perhaps. Winston will take out his frustration this Saturday in the biggest game of the year, as far as Kentucky fans in Louisville are concerned and you know where Winston's family lives.
Last weekend's prep action clearly indicates Kentucky was on the right track when Coach Eddie Sutton and his staff went after the likes of Rex Chapman, Terry Mills, Felton Spencer and Reggie Hanson.
Chapman enjoyed a great tournament in the King of the Bluegrass where he averaged over 20 points per game as Owensboro Apollo won fifth place by defeating Carson (Cal) 61-57.
In the consolation final, Pulaski County lost a tough 52-50 decision at the hands of Mem phis (Tenn) Kirby but UK-bound Reggie Han son exploded for 32 points and scored a whopping 109 points in the four-game tourney. He hit 13 of 18 from the field in the final game and 20 of his 32 came in the final half.
Spencer, whose team did not make the final day's list of four games, had a fine tournament including a 20-plus exhibition in the opening round.
Pleasure Ridge Park almost won the tourney, but dropped a 60-51 decision to Gonzaga (DC.) in the championship battle.
Named to the all-tourney team were Perry Carter. Gonzaga: Rex Chapman, Apollo: Reg gie Hanson. Pulaski County: Mark Tillmon. Gonzaga: Derrick Wilcox. Pleasure Ridge Park; Anthony January, Carson; Robert Peyton, Seneca: Felton Spencer. Eastern; Mark Short, Memphis Kirby; Desmond Porter, Pleasure Ridge Park; Greg Baughn. Apollo; David Hogg, Owensboro; and Brian Jointer, Pleasure Ridge Park.
In the fifth annual Hillbrook Classic, Lex ington schools once again proved they can go with the nation's best as both Lexington schools won against out-of-state competition.
Tates Creek turned back South Aiken (SC.) 64-50 in relative easy fashion as Brian Lane scored 26 points and Jerome Coles added 17.
Don Harville's Lafayette Generals made it a clean sweep for the Fayette Countians as the Generals upset Southwest Macon (Ga) 54-51 although star guard Prince Stewart played only three minutes and had to leave the contest after spraining his ankle.
Mike Gay popped in 21 points and Darrell Hill added 11 in a game which was as close as the score indicates. Both teams shot 44 percent from the field. Each club was credited with 34 rebounds and each team shot exactly 19 free throws. Macon, though, made 24 mistakes to 17 for Lafayette and that was the difference in the contest.
Mason County, with the talented Deron Feldhaus, raced out to an early six-point lead over Romulus (Mich) 23-17 but fell behind by seven (39-32) at half before rallying for a 70-64
win with a 21-13 comeback in the fourth period.
This showcase game gave Kentucky fans a glimpse of what might have been if superstar Terry Mills had signed with Kentucky. Mills exploded for 29 points and clearly illustrated why he is one of the nation's top two players. In addition to his 29 points, he also hauled down 15 rebounds.
But it wasn't enough to turn back Mason County which got double figure scoring from Feldhaus, Jay Jones, Jerry Butler and Tony Jackson. They scored 25, 15, 13 and 12 points respectively.
It was almost a clean sweep for the Kentucky teams, but Scott County blew a late lead to enable DeMatha to take home a 61-59 victory. DeMatha was led by John Gwynn with 18 points but game scoring honors went to Scott County's Frank Persley who scored 25 points and certainly improved his stock with the major college coaches.
HITS AND MISSES ... One of the juniors
Kentucky has been looking at recently is Macon Southwest's Eric Manuel, a 6-6 forward who played in the Hillbrook Classic. Manuel didn't have one of his better games, scoring only seven points and hitting two of eleven from the field, but he did have six rebounds in his 24 minutes of action . . . The field is shrinking rapidly in the Al Baker Sweepstakes and now comes word that Baker has narrowed his choices to Kentucky, Ohio State, and Florida although there is a chance he will still visit a California school. . . A couple really nice guys who have been familiar with Kentucky football over the years passed away recently and they'll be missed by everyone. Frank Hare is one of the nicest people who ever walked the face of the earth. He was the father of Frank. Jr. who played on the 1984 Hall of Fame Bowl team. Frank, 56, died of cancer last week. It was many years ago. when Frank. Jr. was in junior high that Frank. Sr. was first operated on for cancer. He recovered and got to see his son earn a scholarship at UK and become a member of the first UK bowl championship team since the early fifties. I'll never forget that night last December in Birmingham when Kentucky overcame all odds and upset Wisconsin. Just minutes after the game, Frank, Sr. was in the UK locker room, celebrating with his son. Tears were streaming from his eyes as his voice quivered, "I'm the happiest man in the world. This proves that something good will happen to you if you do things the right way." When I think of Frank Hare, I'll always remember those words because those words best describe one of the nicest people in the world . . . Another of UK football's finest passed away Sunday   in   Spring,   Texas. Clarence 'Buckshot" Underwood died of a heart attack at the age of 72. Buckshot was an assistant coach for 22 years under five head coaches at Kentucky. He came to UK in 1948 under the legendary Paul "Bear" Bryant and went on to serve under Blanton Collier. Charlie Brad-shaw, John Ray and Fran Curci before retiring in 1978. UK sports information director Russell Rice said "he was a tough, tough person, but the kids loved him. He had great rapport with the kids. He paid his dues in the coaching profession. Buckshot will be missed by all those fortunate enough to have known bint.