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August 2003 WildcatZone.Com News Archive
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(08-31-03)
Football
Wildcats Edged By Louisville
Eric Shelton rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns to lead
Louisville to a 40-24 win Sunday night over Kentucky in the opener for both teams. The Cardinals took advantage of two punt miscues by Kentucky, built an 18-point lead, weathered a rally, and drained the clock with two time-consuming drives to seal the win. First impression will need to be a good one for Brooks Haydock turns dad, an ex-U of L player, into a fan Coach Brooks anxious to see UK's Abney weave more magic
Kentucky football's family feud Without P power, Cats need to hunt for 'hidden yards'
PAKULAK, PINNER DROVE OFFENSE TO CRITICAL FIELD POSITIONS, TOUCHDOWNS Cats nix premature jocularity
Gatorade jinx nearly struck twice last season HIGH STAKES DEPTH CHARTS how they match up Newcomers make high-profile debuts
Basketball
Moeller star shuns Big Blue celebrity A reminder came last week that no program -- not even Kentucky basketball -- is for everyone. From all indications, UK basketball did not fit Josh Duncan, the forward from Cincinnati who committed to Xavier rather than UK on Wednesday.
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(08-29-03)
Football
UK offense must be productive Scoring points has not usually been a problem for the winning team in the
Kentucky-Louisville rivalry. Haydock happy to be a Cat Playing in the Kentucky-Louisville game was something linebacker Justin Haydock always wanted to
do. MSU leads state's D-I athletes in graduation- UK Second Murray State University Athletic Director E.W. Dennison
is convinced his athletics programs are poised for a record-setting year this year on the playing field. But statistics show university athletes are not doing too bad in the classroom, either. Miller continues to develop As far as Danny Hope is concerned, Matt Miller could be playing for a lot of Division I
schools. However, Hope couldn't be happier that the former Boyle County High School receiver will be in Eastern Kentucky's starting lineup tonight when the Colonels start their season. Brooks looks to give UK a fighting chance When Rich Brooks was hired as UK’s head football coach Dec. 20, 2002, many people asked, “Who is Rich
Brooks?” Secondary to get a little help from friends Leonard Burress will get some help from his friends this fall. The UK cornerback is hoping to thrive
in a new defense that will use less man-to-man coverage and more zone coverage. Hudson hopes two QBs are better than one Jared Lorenzen and Shane Boyd may laugh about it, but defending both quarterbacks at the same time could
be no laughing matter for Louisville. LOUISVILLE VS. KENTUCKY 9 down, top 10 to go It's hard to believe this is the 10th annual football game between the University of
Kentucky and the University of Louisville since the series was renewed in 1994. The first nine games and the buildup to UK-U of L X -- hey, if Super Bowls get Roman numerals, why not this? -- has produced lots of excitement, hot air and enough material for 10 top 10 lists. Kentucky Quarterback Club Meets Tonight at the K House The Kentucky Quarterback Club will hold its first annual meeting with offensive and
defensive coaches tonight in Lexington. They feature a buffet (optional) beginning at 6:00 and have an open cash bar. At 7 the coaches will discuss the upcoming season and the UL game..The Kentucky Quarterback Club meets before each home game throughout the season and features highlight game film of the
previous weeks game and a look ahead at the upcoming opponent. Lorenzen truly has become UK's immovable object He has opened himself to the media and fans. He
has endured the never-ending jabs about his weight. He has laughed at the baseless Internet rumors that had him transferring here and there. WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN?
New coaches add mystery to rivalry As far as Sunday's Louisville-Kentucky game, the only thing that's certain is the uncertain. There will be two new coaches roaming the sidelines, and both have made drastic changes from the previous
regimes. DEREK ABNEY || THE ART OF THE RETURN T
he Derek Abney punt return. D ropping back to return a punt, Abney's mind is filled with positive thoughts. "I like to say 'Let's take it to the house,'" he says. "I really believe being positive, being confident is an important part" of success. Cat backs take different paths to UK One comes from California. The other from Canada.
One arrived at the University of Kentucky via the junior college route. One came when he was discovered at a recruiting combine in Montreal.
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(08-28-03)
Football
Hudson getting ready for unknown Because he's not sure exactly what to expect from Louisville's defense, Kentucky
offensive coordinator Ron Hudson isn't positive about what will work best for the Wildcats Sunday. Kentucky Football Scrimmage Coach Rich Brooks made several announcements following
Thursday's practice, including news about the starting punter, starting kicker, and injured players returning to practice. Shane Boyd will not be parking cars Shane Boyd will not be parking cars in the
yellow lot or hawking Papa John's pizzas on the concourse or manning the public address microphone Sunday night when Kentucky entertains its good friends from Louisville. UK's White ready to get back in game
SIDELINED LAST YEAR, LINEBACKER MAY START SUNDAY This time a year ago, Durrell White was sitting at home in Middlesboro wondering when and if he'd be able to step on a football field again. Sweet Pea blossoms His teammates see it every day. They voted him the defensive captain
because of it. Burns expressed surprise, but his roommate, cornerback Warren Wilson, said he never doubted it. John L. will be be fine – but Morriss? John L. will be fine. But Morriss must wonder whether jumping to
wacky Waco was the worst football coaching career move since Howard Schnellenberger left Miami Lorenzen among 26 Unitas nominees The University of Kentucky's Jared Lorenzen is one of 26 nominees announced
yesterday for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, presented to the nation's top senior quarterback by the Frank Camp Chapter of the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Educational Foundation. Lorenzen up for award University of Kentucky quarterback Jared Lorenzen, a Highlands High
(Ky.) graduate, was among 26 quarterbacks announced Wednesday as candidates for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. Touted ends lead UK's defensive line Kentucky's defensive linemen already have made a believer
out of a quarterback who must face them every day in practice.
Basketball
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(08-27-03)
Football
Defensive line gives Kentucky much-needed experience on defense
Kentucky's defensive linemen already have made a believer out of a quarterback who must face them every day in practice. Off The Record- This UK fan will be on a couch Sunday for the Big Game
Abney has no fear going into opener
Brooks knows significance of playing an in-state rival He's coached in the Rose Bowl and the Super Bowl, but Rich Brooks still
understands the significance of Kentucky's season-opening game against Louisville Sunday. Fan's Game Day Information for Commonwealth Stadium
New Gametracker Provides Wildcat Fans With Ultimate Online Experience 2003 Wildcat Gameday Central
Pinner could return after Week 6
Cats streamlining their complicated offense
Getting facts and fiction straight Brooks calls on deep experience to solve Cards
Cats ready to share the pain
AFTER ENDURING STRENUOUS CAMP, UK LIKELY TO TAKE IT OUT ON U OF L Could Hall's 'B' stand for 'Beat UK?'
FAMILY'S TIES TO U OF L TEST EX-COACH'S LOYALTIES
A look at the Southeastern Conference
Rivalry big deal for coach, Kentucky
Brooks goes back to the past to search for clues on Petrino
In-state rivalries are big deal for UK's Brooks
Basketball
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(08-26-03)
Football
Basketball
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(08-24-03)
Football
Kentucky Football Notebook After having the day off on Sunday, the Kentucky football team
will return to the practice field Monday afternoon from 4:45 to 6 p.m. On Saturday night, the Wildcats rehearsed their pregame routine, then held a one-hour, 15-minute scripted scrimmage in Commonwealth Stadium. Cats focusing on conditioning The Tons of Fun Club was down to two members at the University of Kentucky's practice on Friday. Cards and Cats won't be bad; IU will be Today we provide one of our most appreciated annual services to the readership. Brooks wanted one last challenge Around Eugene, Ore., everybody who knows Rich Brooks knows the caboose. New coaches can win with old talent SEC HISTORY
SHOWS PLENTY OF QUICK TURNAROUNDS WITH EXISTING PLAYERS Give Rich Brooks a break. After all, new coaches can't win now. New schemes. New assistants. Too much transition. Not enough continuity. Too little inherited talent. SEC figures into many of nation's must-see games Aug. 30 If Auburn is going to win
the national championship, the road starts here. A loss to visiting USC would be tough to overcome in the polls. Even without departed quarterback Carson Palmer, the Trojans figure to be tough customers. If 5-7 sounded too good last year, how does it sound this year? One year ago, I had
a rare experience. After I picked Kentucky -- which had then lost 22 of its last 27 games, was coming off back-to-back 2-9 seasons and was facing a bowl ban thanks to NCAA probation -- to go a better-than-most-expected 5-7, my e-mail box filled up. THIS MAN WILL CUT YOU 'The Turk' chills the hearts
of NFL players former UK tight end who was waived by the Bengals on Monday In the darkness just before dawn, a grim reaper stirs. Armed with a small flashlight, a large satchel, a master key and a list of the damned, he makes his appointed rounds. A YEAR OF NEW BEGINNINGS FOUR COACHES TAKE OVER
STATE PROGRAMS STILL IN GOOD SHAPE If the scientists are right, the Earth is about 4.6 billion years old. Conversely, if the Creationists are correct, the mother planet checks in at "only" some 6,000 years old. Lorenzen's life plows common ground MANY
KENTUCKIANS CAN IDENTIFY WITH QB'S STRUGGLES, TRIUMPHS Sometime early in the 2003 season — maybe in the opener vs. Louisville — Jared Lorenzen will amass the 303 yards he needs to surpass Tim Couch as Kentucky's all-time career passing leader. Linebackers learning A-B-C's of 3-4 scheme When UK defensive coordinator Mike Archer
arrived for his first spring practice and implemented his 3-4 defense, it didn't take him long to realize that he was no longer the linebackers coach with the Pittsburgh Steelers. GUESSING GAMES On one hand, six wins; on the
other, six losses in season of contradictions Back when Harry Truman was president, the commander in chief grumbled about his economists. They would present one theory, then immediately contradict it with another. Playing toward the post-season UK'S SENIORS HAVE A
BOWL IN MIND, AND A COACH WHO WANTS TO GET THEM THERE Jared Lorenzen and Derek Abney think back to December 1999. At the time, they were wide-eyed redshirt freshmen travelling to Nashville to watch the Cats play Syracuse in the Music City Bowl. Daring and different BOYD, LORENZEN GIVE CATS
UNIQUE OFFENSIVE OPTIONS If you're a Kentucky football fan or an opposing defensive coordinator, try this offensive series on for size: Quarterback Jared Lorenzen, lined up in the shotgun, completes a pass over the middle to Derek Abney. Starting from scratch ARCHER'S NEW-LOOK DEFENSE
HOPES TO DEVELOP PLAYMAKERS Kentucky defensive coordinator Mike Archer would love to tell you what to expect this year. Problem is, right now he doesn't even know. Scouting the linebackers The main man: With all of the linebacking corps
inexperienced or new to the position, there really isn't one. Dustin Williams has some game experience but has been limited by headaches. Raymond Fontaine has the speed and wingspan to potentially develop into a playmaker outside. KEY NOTES: 10 THINGS TO WATCH THIS YEAR To say Kentucky Athletics Director Mitch
Barnhart (above right) has a lot invested in the 62-year-old Rich Brooks (left) would be an extreme understatement. Following the high-profile departure of Guy Morriss and a coaching search that left a lot of people scratching their heads, Barnhart needs Brooks to come through big-time. If Brooks can guide
the Cats into a bowl game, Barnhart could breathe a big sigh of relief. Defensive scouting report Offensive depth chart Offensive scouting report Defensive depth chart UK football's bowl history
Basketball
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(08-22-03)
Football
Kentucky Football Kickoff Luncheon Quotes Opening remarks... "It's a pleasure to be here. I think Dr. Todd and Mitch Barnhart have given the football program a
very serious chance to be competitive at the top level of this conference. I know the commitment is here to have every program be competitive in the Southeastern Conference. Eclipsing planet hoops Kentucky football now casts longer
shadow As historians, our quest is to pin down specifics. The exact dates, the precise sites, of momentous events. So this is the task: When specifically was it that high school football surpassed high school basketball in the commonwealth? Defensive front solid in new 3-4 scheme BURNS, CAUDILL EXPECT TO
'END' UP MAKING BIG PLAYS FOR CATS Kentucky defensive coordinator Mike Archer has plenty to worry about before the Aug. 31 opener against Louisville -- like whether his young linebackers will be able to make plays in his new 3-4 alignment and whether the secondary can make more
big plays than they have in the past. Scouting the defensive line Abney's violation shouldn't cause lost time
A minor NCAA violation committed by Kentucky football player Derek Abney and other members of the Playboy All-America team will not result in lost eligibility and should be resolved quickly, a Southeastern Conference official said yesterday. Pat James, UK player for Bryant, dies at 75
LINEMAN IN 1948-50 WENT ON TO COACH
Pat James, who played football at the University of Kentucky under the legendary coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and went on to coach at several universities, died Wednesday at a Birmingham, Ala. hospital. Mr. James, who had been battling cancer, was 75. New wrinkles await UK faithful Football fans need only see Jared Lorenzen lined up in the slot to notice that things have changed in Lexington. THIRD AND LONG- BRING IT ON Miami's Roethlisberger, a fourth-year junior; Kentucky's Lorenzen, a fifth-year senior; and Cincinnati's Guidugli, a true junior, have made this
area a mecca for prolific passers this season. Together, the three quarterbacks have passed for 20,592 yards and 147 touchdowns during their college careers. They've set 18 school records. Wildcats looking to build off winning season The 61-year-old Brooks was hired to replace Guy Morriss, who led the Wildcats to a winning season, though the team was ineligible to go
to a bowl game. Morriss bolted for greener pastures at Baylor, and Brooks, who has been a head coach with the NFL's St. Louis Rams and in college with the Oregon Ducks, was hired to take his place.
Basketball
UK Women's Basketball Announces 2003-04 Schedule The Cats will play 14 homes games - 12 at Memorial Coliseum and two at Rupp Arena UK puts Winthrop in opener after court ruling
'EXEMPT' TOURNAMENT OFF THE SCHEDULE
Kentucky's recently released basketball schedule for the 2003-2004 season appears headed for a revision. An ongoing legal battle has UK officials ready to cancel a season-opening tournament sponsored by the Black Coaches Association. Instead, the Wildcats would play Winthrop on Nov. 21 to start the season.
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(08-20-03)
Football
Kentucky Football Scrimmage The Kentucky football team had its second scrimmage of preseason practice with a one-hour, 20-minute
session Wednesday afternoon in Commonwealth Stadium. 2003 Heisman hopefuls Jared Lorenzen QB Sr. Kentucky 2,267 yds, 24 TDs, 5 INTs The Round Mound of Touchdown is going on his third coach. J-Lo should win some kind of award just for
hanging on. For Abney, inactivity is the enemy Derek Abney is all dressed up with no place to go. As the
pads crack without him, Kentucky's senior All-American stands to the side. He shifts from one foot to the other. He confers with the coaches. He watches another drill. He waits. Hey, who shrunk the Big Kat? LINEMAN TAKES COACH AT WORD,
DROPS MORE THAN 30 POUNDS At the conclusion of his first spring practice at the helm, Kentucky Coach Rich Brooks let senior offensive lineman Sylvester "Big Kat" Miller know he expected a much smaller cat when the team reported for two-a-days in August. Receiver Cook has surgery, will be out three weeks University of Kentucky wide receiver Tommy
Cook underwent surgery yesterday morning to remove bone spurs from his ankle and will be out three weeks, UK Coach Rich Brooks said yesterday. Fearless phenom "To me, that fearlessness or that confidence is something you have to acquire," said UK's Derek Abney, returning a kickoff
for a touchdown against Vanderbilt, above. He used that tough mental approach to break five NCAA records last season.
Basketball
Can SEC rise up to challenge Kentucky- When last we saw the Southeastern Conference, it wasn't pretty. The league was little more than a grease
spot in the middle of the road, flattened into a road-kill patty by the Kentucky Wildcats. Former Kentucky Wildcat Surfaces in the Sunshine State New Chipola JC head coach Chris Jans got a good transfer in the former SEC player. For Jason Parker it has been a long and bumpy road, but now it
appears as though he's seeing the light.
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(08-18-03)
Football
- College career has helped Lorenzen learn about more than just football If life is about learning from different experiences, then Jared Lorenzen figures he's already
lived a full life when it comes to football.
- Abney's no Playboy, he's a playmaker Confidence was never a problem for Derek Abney, but even Abney never envisioned the type of college football career he’s had at
Kentucky.
- Changing attitudes key for Brooks Two seconds from a head-turning victory over LSU, the Kentucky football team failed to deliver the knockout blow. What came to be
known as "The Bluegrass Miracle" was also voted play-of-the-year at the ESPY Awards this summer, but for Big Blue fans, it became another entry in an all-too-sorrowful book of gridiron "almosts."
- Answers to UK questions Everyone has questions about the upcoming University of Kentucky football season. The difference here is that you get answers - or at least
educated guesses.
- A short Q & A with DJ for those interested... I went back to Lexington, Kentucky where I have a house up until the off-season workouts began at the end of March. I came back and stayed
through all the two mini camps and then I went back home and worked out there for the last few weeks before training camp.
- Brooks, Shula quietly calm 'Cats, Tide They took over scandal-scarred programs and preached commitment. Togetherness would get them through probation. Buying in would ease the pain of a
postseason ban.
- Brooks ready for another rebuilding job Rich Brooks is happy. He is we-just-signed-a-blue-chip happy, we-just-recovered-a-fumble-on-their-five happy. He is
all-my-players-passed-their-classes happy. After eight years out of college football, at an age (62 on Aug. 20) when many of his colleagues have moved to the golf course, and with a football field at Oregon named in his honor, Brooks is wearing the blue and white of Kentucky and thrilled to do it.
- Browns pick Holcomb over Couch Kelly Holcomb is the Browns' starting quarterback, and Coach Butch Davis said the choice came down to a "gut decision."
- Scouting the receivers The main man: The Cats lose their go-to-receiver from a year ago in Aaron Boone, but senior Derek Abney is more than equipped to step
into the role of No. 1 wideout. After seeing his production slip a little in 2002 (40 catches), Abney should be closer to his 2001 numbers when he caught a team-high 66 balls for 741 yards and six touchdowns. Offensive coordinator Ron Hudson will look to get the ball in Abney's hands on more screens and
reverses this season and would also like to get Abney's yards-per-catch average up to around 18 or 19.
- Kentucky Football Notebook There was good news at the Kentucky football practice Monday morning as several players who had been out
because of injury were back for the three-hour workout at the Nutter Training Facility ... The annual University of Kentucky Football Kickoff Luncheon will be held Friday, Aug. 22, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Lexington.
Photo Gallery
- Cats' injuries have Silver lining Abney's hamstring strain
gives other receivers chance to shine You could hear a gasp circulate through the Nutter Field House when Kentucky receiver Derek Abney pulled up with a strained hamstring after making a catch during one-on-one drills last week.
- The main man: The Cats lose their go-to-receiver from a year ago in... The main man: The Cats
lose their go-to-receiver from a year ago in Aaron Boone, but senior Derek Abney is more than equipped to step into the role of No. 1 wideout. After seeing his production slip a little in 2002 (40 catches), Abney should be closer to his 2001 numbers when he caught a team-high 66 balls for 741 yards and six
touchdowns. Offensive coordinator Ron Hudson will look to get the ball in Abney's hands on more screens and reverses this season and would also like to get Abney's yards-per-catch...
- Concussions make UK's Williams cautious University of Kentucky linebacker Dustin Williams knows the risk he takes every time he steps on the football field.
Basketball
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(08-17-03)
Football
Basketball
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