Claiborne: Defense Must Make Big Plays
SEC Hoops Reach Pot Of Gold
Kentucky should have a big play offense next season with the return of talented running backs Mark Higgs, Ivy Joe Hunter and Al Baker.
However, UK Coach Jerry Claiborne also wants his defense to become a big play unit.
"The big thing our defense has to improve on is making big plays," said Claiborne Tuesday as he prepared to start spring practice today. "We need to be a more offensive defensive group. That's one big thing we are going to work on this spring.
	
i ~..  i	Larry Vaught Cats' Pause Columnist
	
'We didn't get enough turnovers last year. That's the biggest thing we need to improve on. We must have dropped 10 or 12 interceptions that were right in our hands. We just have to come up with more interceptions and fumbles."
Kentucky was 35th among 105 Division I schools in turnover margin last year because the offense did not turn the ball over often. UK, though, ranked only 83rd in interceptions.
Another area Kentucky will concentrate on this spring is putting the ball in the end zone when it reaches the 20-yard line. Last season UK attempted 25 field goals but scored only 23 touchdowns
"We were kicking the ball too much last year," said Claiborne. "A team wants to score touchdowns 75 percent of the time it reaches the opponent's 20-yard line and 90 percent of the time from the 10. We didn't do that."
Claiborne hopes to remedy that problem by having his number one offense go against UK's top defense in goal-line situations this spring.
'The coaches have already told us we are really going to concentrate on scoring inside the 20," said junior guard Brad Myers. "We are going to line up and have it.
"It's not a punishment. It is just a way to get the offense conditioned to moving the ball into the end zone. It will also help the defense."
Myers, like the UK coaches, cannot pinpoint why UK has had trouble scoring touchdowns the last two seasons.
"Personally, I think the more it happened (not scoring touchdowns) the more we started believing a field goal was okay," said Myers. "We got better last year late in the season. We have talked a lot about that problem and now we just have to mentally get it in our minds that we are going to score. We can't settle for three points this year when we have chances to score touchdowns."
Kentucky also needs a take-charge player to emerge. Kentucky needs to find another George Adams, Paul Calhoun or Cam Jacobs to exert himself and become a team leader.
"There is no substitute for leadership," said Claiborne. "We need a guy who can get people's attention. That's hard to coach. Leadership is something that just has to come out in a particular individual."
Higgs, UK's only senior riinning back, may or may not be able to supply that leadership. He plans to try, however.
"I have got to show more leadership and help the younger guys now," said Higgs. "I am the only senior in the backfield so it is up to me to show the younger players what it takes to win. That's why I won't even think about individual goals until after spring practice is over this year."
Kentucky must also find a replacement for quarterback Bill Ransdell, a three-year starter, this spring. That won't be easy because Ransdell rewrote most of the UK records during his career.
"I really wonder what he would have done if he had not been injured part of his career," said Claiborne. "Now we have to find someone else to step in because he has been our quarterback for three years.
"The fact Bill has graduated should improve the confidence of our other quarterbacks. I just hope one or two step to the front and fill the void he has left."
The quarterback candidates are: Kevin Dooley, RansdelTs backup the last two seasons; Chuck Broughton, a
redshirt freshman, who played briefly in three games last year; Bill Allen, a junior who played only in the 1986 opener; Eric Green, a redshirt freshman with no experience; and Glenn Fohr, a junior college transfer. Claiborne and his staff will carefully evaluate the talents
Claiborne: No Substitute For Leadership
of each this spring. However, it's no secret that Claiborne is looking for a player he feels is a winner.
"The biggest thing is who gets the ball in the end zone, said Claiborne. "Run it. pass it, kick it. I don't care how as
long as we score."
? ? ?
THE NCAA Tournament turned into a financial bonanza for the SEC, which had six teams in the field along with the Big Ten Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The SEC finished with an 8-6 record, collecting about $2.8 million to be distributed in various amounts among all 10 conference members.
No conference registered more upsets in the NCAA than the SEC. LSU knocked off three higher seeded teams and Florida, seeded No. 6 in the East, ousted third-seeded Purdue.
Three SEC teams lost to higher seeds  No. 2 Alabama to No. 6 Providence in the Southeast semifinals, No. 8 Kentucky to No. 9 Ohio State in the Southeast opening round and No. 8 Georgia to No. 9 Kansas State in the first round of the West.
LSU's latest success gained the Tigers a national reputation as a team that comes alive at tournament time. That's a complete reversal from what fans and the media were saying about Coach Dale Brown and LSU 13 months ago.
LSU had lost 10 straight post-season games in the NCAA, SEC Tournament and NIT before making its run to the 1986 Final Four.
LSU, which finished fifth in the SEC last season, pulled four straight upsets last year to reach the Final Four. This year the Tigers finished the SEC race in a tie for sixth place with Mississippi. If the Tigers had not reached the SEC tourney final game they probably would not have even made the NCAA field.
LSU reached the regional final by beating seventh-seeded Georgia Tech, second-seeded Temple and third-seeded DePaul before just losing to heavily favored Indiana.
? ? ?
HIGH SCHOOL basketball will have the three-point goal next season from the same distance of 19-9 that colleges used during the 1986-87 season.
"My first thought is that it will put the little man back in basketball," said Tom Mills, commissioner of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association. "It will open the middle more and eliminate a lot of pushing and shoving.
"A lot of teams have a hot-shot guard. Now he can pop in that shot and win some games a team has been losing Games decided in overtime or by one or two points will
[Continued On Page 22]
Final SEC Stats
INDIVIDUALS
SCORING
G Pta. Avg.
White, Term .......             29 711 24.5
Maxwell, Fla .......             34 738 21.7
McKey, Ala........              33 615 186
Moore. Aub.......              31 538 17.4
Pefdue. Variety .....          34 592 1 7 4
A Wilson, LSU.....          38 632 16 6
Farmer. Ala .......             33 546 16 5
Moten, Fla ........              33 528 16 0
Chapman, Ky .....          29 464 16.0
Anderson. Ga......           30 476 15 9
REBOUNDING
G   Rate. Avg.
Nix, Term .........                29 294 10.1
Moore, Aub .......              31 293 9.5
Henderson, MSU ...   28 253 9 0
Perdue. Vandy .....          34 295 8.7
Smith. Miss........              29 232 8 0
Ansley. Ala ........              33 259 7 8
McKey. Ala........               33 247 7.5
Macflton, Ky ......            29 216 7.4
Brown, LSU .......              38 279 7.3
Morris. Aub .......              31 225 7.3
ASSISTS
G No. Avg.
Coner, Ala ........              27 171 6 3
Barnes. Miss .....            29 175 6.0
Jenkins, Term......           25 134 5.4
White, Aub ........              24 124 5.2
Anderson. Ga......           30 150 5.0
Moten. Fla ........              33 146 4.4
Maxwell. Fla .......             34 121 3 6
Chapman, Ky .....          29 105 16
DavamJar, Ky .....          29 101 3.5
Taylor. MSU .......             27 92 3 4
FIELD GOALS
Capers, Fla ......
Perdue, Vandy ...
Ansley, Ala ......
McKey, Ala ......
Lock, Ky.......
Morris, Aub.....i
Madeon, Ky
Moore. Aub.....
Nix. Term ......
Sms. Miss......
J. Lawrence, Fla Booker, Vandy .. Gottfried, Ala
Moten, Fla.......
Draud, Vandy 
Millar, Ky.......
A. Wilson, LSU
White, Tenn .....
Farmer, Ala......
Chapman, Ky
White. Tenn ... Farmer, Ala 
McKey, Ala ____
Coner, Ala.....
Jackson, Ala ... Goheen, Vandy . Blakley, MSU .. Moore, Aub Anderson, Ga . C. Kessler, Ga
FGM	FGA	Pet
110	175	629
233	389	59 9
145	243	59.7
247	425	58.1
91	161	56.5
170	304	55.9
109	197	55.3
208	383	54 3
153	283	54.1
110	209	526
IT FIELD GOALS		
FGM	FGA	Pet
64	127	50.4
85	170	50.0
81	167	48.5
61	137	44.5
54	123	43.9
35	81	43.2
95	224	424
28	68	41.2
36	93	38.7
S8	176	38.6
THROWS		
FTM	FTA	Pet
165	183	90 2
118	133	88.7
100	116	86.2
91	107	85.0
66	78	84.6
114	135	84.4
62	77	80.5
120	150	80.0
77	97	79.4
90	118	76.3
TEAMS SCORING OFFENSE
G Pta.
Florida............ 34
Alabama .......... 33
Auburn........ 31
Tennessee ........ 29
Georgia........... 30
Vanderbilt......... 34
LSU .............. 39
Mississippi ........ 29
Kentucky ......... 29
Miss. St........... 28
SCORING DEFENSE
G Pta.
Miss Si........... 28
Kentucky ......... 29
LSU .............. 39
Mississippi ........ 29
Georgia........... 30
Alabama .......... 33
Tennessee ........ 29
Florida............ 34
Vanderbilt ......... 34
Auburn .......... 31
OFFENSIVE STATISTICS REBOUNDS
G Rab*.
Auburn ........... 31
Florida............ 34
Tennessee ........ 29
Georgia........... 30
Vanderbiri ......... 34
Alabama ........ 33
LSU .............. 39
Mississippi ........ 29
2864 2641 2477 2181 2218 2499 2787 2037 1965 1612
1834 1944
2663 1981 2070 2297 2033 2444 2471 2324
1228 1280 1056 1075 1180 1141 1334 975
Avg.
84.2 80.0 79.9 752 73.9 735
71.5 70 2
67.8
57.6
Avg.
65.5 67.0
683
68.3
69.0 69 6
70.1
71.9
72.7 750
Avg.
396
37.6 36 4 35.8
34.7 346 34 2 336