{February. 22, /pof
&7i& (do/a'
Oscar Combs
[Continued From Page 3]
Claiborne's crew signed barely a dozen players, but the lower numbers really isn't a good barometer because Kentucky was planning on signing only about 18 or so players anyway.
Kentucky has recruited so well during the previous three seasons that the NCAA overall limit of 95 scholarship players was breathing down UK's throat because Claiborne has done such an excellent job of redshirting.
Still, UK comes up loser on several players at the last minute. Kentucky experienced a couple disappointments in the East and lost a couple the staff thought it had a chance to get out of southern Ohio. The tough losses to absorb were the ones at home, especialy Colburn Clark who first publically announced for UK, then switched to Louisv ille.
Certainly, the 1986 recruiting season sent smoke signals that Kentucky has to intensify its efforts both within the Commonwealth and around nearby states.
This isn't to say Kentucky had a terrible recruiting year. It didn't because there was so little talent there in the first place. After all, Kentucky did sign Baker and had to beat off every big-time football factory in the nation to keep Al at home. That was no easy fact. And certainly many, many football powers wanted Don-nie Gardner.
Those in the know insist that this year's prep juniors are one of the better lots in a long time, so much so that UK might well keep a few of those scholarships open so the Cats can sign the maximum lot of thirty next February.
If Eddie Sutton isn't named "Coach of the Year" in the SEC, it will be the biggest crime of the SEC sports scene.
Can you imagine a coach taking a starting five predicted to be a third place team (at best) and racing out to a 22-3 start, including a 6-1 road record and having an opportunity to wrap the title up a week and half before the season's end?
Sure. LSU and Auburn have failed miserbly. but you have to give Sutton and his Cats more than token credit for upsetting Alabama in Tuscaloosa in the biggest game of the year.
Not only that. Sutton has performed the magic with a three-guard lineup all season long, a feat most everyone suggested counldn't be done.
For my two cents worth. Sutton would finish first with Alabama's Wimp Sanderson second and Florida's Norm Sloan third. Both C. M. Newton of Vanderbilt and Lee Hunt of Ole Miss deserve special recognition, just for their ability to be competitive and pull off some mighty big upsets.
And the major disappointments? You've got a ton of them. Start with preseason favorites LSU and Auburn. Both have proved they can play well as underdogs, but they're terrible when running at the front.
The other big flop this season has been Tennessee. Sure, the Vols lost Fred Jenkins to an injury early during the conference race. But UT still has no excuses for losing to Florida at home (when Jenkins was healthy) and losing not once, but twice to Vanderbilt.
Tennessee goes a long way on winning one game a year, and you know who that contest is against. Well, that game is yet to be played so the Vols will have a chance to have a great season next Thursday when they host Kentucky in K-town.
On the high school basketball front. High Potential Basketball Recruiting Service coordinator Rick Bolus says the state's top junior pro-
[Continued On Page 22]
NCAA Conference Standings
SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
Conference
All Games
	W	L	Pet.	W	L	PcL
Kentucky	13	1	.929	22	3	880
Alabama ....	10	4	.714	17	6	.739
Auburn.....	9	5	643	15	9	625
Florida	8	6	.571	14	9	609
Louisiana St	7	7	500	18	8	.629
Georgia	. 7	7	.500	14	9	609
Vanderbilt  . . .	6	8	.429	12	11	.522
Tennessee	5	9	.357	12	11	522
Mississippi	4	10	286	11	12	478
Mississippi St	1	13	.071	4	19	174
	OHIO VALLEY					
Akron	8	3	.727	18	6	.750
Middle Tenn	8	3	.727	18	8	692
Murray St	7	3	700	15	8	652
Austin Peay	7	3	.700	13	10	,565
Youngstwn St	6	5	.545	10	14	.417
E Kentucky	3	7	300	8	15	.348
Tenn Tech.	3	8	.273	10	14	417
Morehead St	0	10	.000	7	16	304
METRO COLLEGE ATHLETIC						
Memphis Stale	8	1	889	23	2	.920
Louisville	6	2	750	18	7	.720
Virginia Tech	5	4	556	19	6	.760
Southern Miss	4	5	444	14	9	609
Cincinnati	4	5	444	10	12	.455
South Carolina	2	6	250	12	11	.522
Florida State	1	7	.125	8	15	.348
	SUN BELT					
W Kentucky	9	3	.750	20	5	.800
Old Dominion	9	3	.750	17	6	.739
Ala -Brmnghm	8	5	.615	21	8	.724
Jacksonville . .	7	5	.583	16	9	.640
South Florida	5	7	417	13	11	.542
Va. Cmmnwlth	5	7	417	10	14	.417
South Alabama	4	8	333	15	13	.536
N C Charlotte	1	11	083	7	17	292
ATLANTIC COAST						
N. Carolina	9	1	900	25	1	962
Duke	10	2	833	25	2	926
Georgia Tech	7	3	700	19	4	.826
N Carolina St.	6	5	545	17	8	680
Virginia.....	5	5	.500	16	7	696
Maryland	3	7	.300	13	11	542
Clemson	3	8	273	16	10	615
Wake Forest	0	12	000	7	18	.280
	ATLANTIC 10					
St. Joseph s	14	2	.875	20	4	.833
West Virginia	13	3	813	18	9	.667
Temple	11	3	786	19	4	826
St Bonavenlure	9	5	.643	14	9	.609
Duquesne .	6	8	429	11	12	.478
Geo Wash	6	9	400	11	13	.458
Massachusetts	5	9	.357	8	15	.348
Penn St	4	11	.267	10	14	.417
Rhode Island	4	11	267	8	16	.333
Rutgers .....	2	13	.133	7	17	.292
	BIG EAST					
Syracuse ...	11	1	.917	20	3	870
St. John's	11	2	.846	24	3	889
Georgetown . .	9	4	692	19	5	.792
Villanova ...	8	5	.615	18	11	.621
Pittsburgh	5	6	.455	14	8	.545
Connecticut .	3	8	.273	12	10	.571
Providence	3	9	.250	11	12	.478
Boston College	3	10	.231	12	12	.500
Seton Hall	2	10	167	12	14	.462
	BIG EIGHT					
Kansas    . ..	9	1	.900	24	3	.889
Oklahoma .	8	3	.727	23	3	.885
Iowa St......	7	3	.700	16	7	.696
Nebraska .	5	5	.500	15	8	.652
Missouri ....	5	6	455	18	12	.600
Oklahoma St.	4	6	.400	13	10	.565
Kansas St.	.3	7	.300	15	10	.600
Colorado	0	10	000	8	15	348
	BIG SKY					
Montana.....	7	4	636	17	8	.680
N Arizona   . .	6	4	.600	16	7	.696
Weber St. ...	6	5	.545	16	8	.667
Idaho St    . .	' 6	5	.545	13	11	.542
Nevada-Reno	5	5	500	11	12	.478
Montana St. . .	5	6	.455	9	14	.391
Boise St.....	4	6	400	10	13'	.435
Idaho .......	3	7	.300	10	14	.417
	BIG SOUTH					
x-Armstrng St	5	1	833	13	7	650
Baptist	5	1	.833	15	9	.625
x-N.C.-Ashvlle	3	2	.600	14	8	.636
x-Winthrop . . .	4	3	.571	17	8	.680
Radford .....	3	4	.429	10	14	41 7
Augusta . . .	3	4	.429	9	14	.391
Campbell	2	5	286	7	16	.304
x-Coast Caroln	1	5	.167	7	14	333
x-Sam Hou St 6
x-Stphn Astn. 5
NW Louisiana 4
SF Louisiana 3
Nicholls St. 2
SW Texas St 0
.571 429 286 000
8 16
9 16 7 11 5 17
GULF STAR
0 833 23 3 885 2
714     19   4 826
.333 360 389 227
x Division i eligibility 1985-86
BIG TEN
Michigan .... 10 3 .769 22 3
Indiana......            9 3 .750 17 5
Michigan St   .   8  5 .615 17 6
Purdue......             8 5 615 19 7
Illinois.......              8 5 .615 17 7
Ohio St.....            6 6 500 12 10
Iowa ........                6 6 .500 16 9
Minnesota ...   5 7 .417 1510
Wisconsin ...   2 11 .154 1013
Northwestern     1 12 .077 7 17
COLONIAL ATHLETIC
Navy........              11 1 .917 21 4
Richmond    .11 1 .917 20 4
George Mason   8 4 .667 14 10
Eas1 Carolina     6 6 .500 11 13
N.C.-Wilmngtn   5 7 .417 14 11
William & Mary  3 9 .250 7 16
American U.  .   2 10 167 8 15
James Madison 2 10 .167 4 20
EAST COAST
Hofstra ......              8 3 727 14 10
Drexel ......             8 3 .727 13 11
Lafayette ____          7 4 .636 12 11
Bucknell    ...   6 5 .545 1410
Lehigh ......             5 6 .455 12 12
Rider .......                4 7 364 7 16
Delaware ____         3 8 .273 10 13
Towson St.   . .   3 8 .273 6 17
ECAC METRO
F Dickinson 9
Marist....... 8
Loyola. Md. ... 8 Wagner ... St Francis. P. St Frncs. NY Long island U Monmoth, N J Robert Morris
818 .667 .615 .538 .500 364 .333
8 .333 8 .333
16 6 13 10 13 9 12 12
8 14
9 13 9 14 7 15 7 15
ECAC NORTH ATLANTIC
Canisius   ...   12    2   .857 18 5
Northeastern .10    2   .833 17 4
Siena .......               9    4   .692 17 5
Boston U   . . .   8     4    667 14 7
Niagara .....           9    5   .643 13 10
x-Harrford ...  9    6   .600 10 11
New Hampshir   5    9   357 11 11
Maine......              3   11   .214 5 17
Vermont.....           3   12   .200 6 17
Colgate .....           0   13   .000 1 19
x-not eligible for conference title
IVY LEAGUE
Brown ......              7 3 .700 13 9
Cornell .....            7 3 .700 12 10
Princeton   ...   5 4 .556 11 10
Yale ........               5 5 .500 .1111
Dartmouth ...   5 5 .500 9 12
Pennsylvania     4 5 .444 10 11
Columbia .4 6 .400 10 12
Harvard .....           2 8 .200 6 16
METRO ATLANTIC ATHLETIC
.880 .773 .739 .731 .708 .554 .640 600 .435 .292
840 .833
583 .458 .560 .304 .348 ,67
.583 .542
522 .583 .500 .304
435 .261
727 565 591 500 364 409 391 318 318
.783 .810 .773 .667 .565 .476 500 22" .261 .050
.591 .545 .524 .500 .429 .476 .455 .273
x-Fairfield ....	11	1	.917	18	6	.750
lona ........	7	5	.583	11	14	.440
Holy Cross  . .	6	5	.545	10	14	.417
St Peter's . . .	J	6	.538	14	10	.583
La Salle	7	6	.538	12	13	.480
Fordham ....	5	7	.417	11	16	.407
Army .......	4	7	.364	8	14	.364
Manhattan , .	1	11	.083	2	22	.083
x-clinched regular-season title						
MID-AMERICAN						
Miami. Ohio . .	13	1	.929	20	4	833
Ohio U.	10	4	.714	1 7	6	.739
Ball S1.......	7	7	.500	14	9	609
No Illinois . . .	7	7	.500	12	10	.545
W. Michigan	7	7	.500	12	11	.522
Toledo ......	6	8	.429	9	14	391
Cent. Michign	5	9	.357	9	14	.391
E Michigan . .	5	9	.357	9	14	391
Kent St......	5	9	.357	9	14	.391
Bowling Green	5	9	.357 '	7	16	.304
MID-CONTINENT						
Cleveland St .	9	1	.900	20	3	.870
SW Missor St..	6	3	.667	17	5	.773
E. Illinois ....	6	3	.667	15	8	.652
W. Illinois____	6	4	.600	12	11	.522
III -Chicago . .	4	5	.444	9	13	.409
Valparaiso . . .	4	6	.400	8	15	348
N Iowa .....	2	8	.200	7	15	.318
Wis.-Green Bay	1	8	.111	3	18	.143
MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC						
Howard .....	9	0	.000	16	6	.727
N Carolina A&T	7	2	778	15	7	.682
Coppin St. . .	6	4	600	9	14	.391
Morgan St	5	4	556	5	16	.238
Delaware St. .	4	6	.400	6	15	.286
S Carolina St	3	7	.300	8	15	.348
Bethune-Ckmn	4	10	286	5	20	.200
Md -East Slior	2	7	222	3	18	143
MIDWESTERN COLLEGIATE
Xavier. Ohio	7	2	.778	19	4	826
Detroit ......	7	3	700	13	12	520
St Louis ....	5	4	.556	13	11	54 2
Loyola. Ill	5	4	556	9	14	391
Oral Roberts .	4	5	.444	9	15	.375
Butler .......	2	7	.222	9	14	391
Evansville	2	7	222	7	16	304
MISSOURI VALLEY						
Bradley .....	13	0	1 000	26	1	962
Drake .......	8	3	.727	16	6	.727
Tulsa .......	7	5	.583	1 7	7	.708
Illinois St .	7	6	538	12	12	500
Creighton	5	7	.417	9	13	409
Wichita St ...	4	8	.333	11	12	478
Indiana St	4	8	.333	10	12	455
So. Illinois	4	8	.333	8	16	333
West Texas St.	3	10	.231	9	14	.391
PACIFIC COAST ATHLETIC						
Nev-Las Vegas	12	1	923	24	3	.889
New Mexic St.	10	4	.714	16	7	.696
Cal-lrvine ....	9	5	643	13	10	565
San Jose St. .	7	8	.467	14	10	.583
Fresno St.	7	8	.467	14	12	538
Pacific ......	6	8	429	13	12	520
Fullerlon St . .	6	8	429	13	13	.500
Cal-Santa Barb	6	8	.429	11	12	.478
Utah St......	5	8	.385	g	13	.409
Long Bech St.	2	12	.143	6	19	240
	PACIF1C-10					
Arizona .....	9	3	.750	18	7	.720
Washington .	10	3	759	16	9	.640
California	7	5	583	15	7	682
UCLA.......	6	6	.500	11	10	524
Washington St	6	6	.500	13	12	.520
Stanford ..	6	6	.500	12	12	.500
Arizona St .	6	7	.462	12	11	5?2
Oregon St ...	5	6	.455	9	11	.450
Southern Cal .	3	9	250	9	13	409
Oregon .....	3	10	231	8	15	.318
	SOUTHERN					
Tn -Chrlnga .	10	3	769	17	7	708
Davidson . . .	9	4	692	16	8	667
Marshall.....	8	c	.615	17	g	654
East Tennesse	8	7	.533	11	13	.453
Appalachm St.	7	6	538	14	10	583
Western Cartn	6	8	.429	10	13	.435
Furman .....	5	10	.333	10	15	400
VMI.......	4	9	308	10	13	435
Cftadel ......	4	9	30a	8	15	318
	SOUTHLAND					
McNeese St .	6	3	667	16	8	.667
Arkansas St. .	6	3	667	15	8	652
NE Louisiana .	6	3	.667	15	8	.652
Louisiana Tch.	4	4	.500	13	10	565
Lamar.......	4	6	.400	14	10	583
North Texs St	4	6	.400	9	15	.375
Texas-Arlingtn	2	7	222	12	14	.462
	SOUTHWEST					
Texas Christian 11		2	846	19	5	792
Texas .......	11	2	846	16	8	.667
So Methodist	8	4	667	16	7	.696
Texas A&M ..	8	4	667	14	10	.583
Houston .....	6	6	.500	12	10	.545
Texas Tech . .	6	6	.500	11	12	.478
Arkansas	3	10	.231	11	13	458
Rice ........	2	10	.167	9	14	.391
Baylor	1	12	.077	9	15	.375
SOUTHWESTERN ATHLETIC						
Southern U	8	2	.800	15	5	.750
Alcorn St ...	8	2	800	12	11	522
Jackson St .	8	2	.800	12	11	522
Miss. Valley .	6	4	600	12	9	571
Texas Soulhrn	4	6	400	6	15	.286
Alabama St.	4	7	364	8	13	381
Grambling . .	2	8	200	13	9	591
Prairie View .	1	9	.100	1	19	.050
WESTERN ATHLETIC
Brigham Yong Wyoming . Texas-El Paso.
Utah ........
San Diego St. Colorado St New Mexico Air Force . . . Hawaii ......
2
3
4 4
7
6
7
12
.833 .750 692 .667 .500 500 .462 .143
15
15 2!
16 8
11 14
9 9 5 8 16 13 11
13 071
INDEPENDENT
Notre Dame .............17
Chicago St...............19
E. Washington............18
Pan American ............16
Dayton ..................16
Marquette ..............14
New Orleans .......... 14
5
6
7
7
8
625 6?5 .808 667 .333 458 560 .320 .160
DePaul .........
Miami. Fla ......
SW Louisiana Tennessee St Florida A&M
Utica........
U S Internatnl
Brooklyn ......
Cent. Florida Texas San Amnio
13 13 13 12 9
9 10
10
11
12
15
16 19
17 19
773 .760 .720 696 667 636 6.36 591 565 .565 542 500 375 304 269 721 208