Tuesday, November 30, 1999
This isn't why Wildcats came up here
BY PAUL DAUGHERTY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The University of Kentucky didn't figure it would be like this when it signed that 10-year deal last year to play one game a year at Firstar Center. The Wildcats guessed they'd come to Cincinnati, beat up a designated tomato can, then allow the local chapter of loyalists to genuflect in the refracted Wildcat glory.
They didn't count on Dayton winning.
Dayton coming from 10 down in the second half. Dayton players celebrating all over the wood as Tayshaun Prince lay on the floor, his last-second 3-point try a failed memory.
Dayton — Dayton? — taking out the 'Cats 68-66.
November basketball is like baseball in March and football in July. Nobody knows anything except recruiting experts, and what do they know?
Maybe by March, Kentucky will have found some shooters. Maybe Dayton will play well enough between now and then that a UK loss to the Flyers won't seem the disaster to the Big Blue faithful that it does now.
But what about now?
Oh, my, but won't the Cat-chatters have something to talk about now. The Big Blue Line will about blow a fuse, don't you think?
The sight of UK running around trying to foul Flyers as the clock struck 12 is not going to go over well across the river.
“It kinda hurts, you know?” said Saul Smith.
UK has work to do
The 60-second UK review: The Wildcats aren't great outside shooters. Aren't great? They couldn't hit the pantry from the kitchen. They haven't seen many zones. Yet. Dayton played them straight up all game, even as the 'Cats dented the rims at both ends.
The defense is good enough. Dayton was down 6-0 before the Flyers even took a shot. In the first 90 seconds, UK's pressure forced a 10-second violation, a Dayton timeout (so the Flyers could avoid another 10-second call) and a turnover.
Ultimately, Kentucky should have had too many players for Dayton. That happens a lot to teams playing the 'Cats. When you can look down your bench and see a McDonald's All-American drive-thru — “one high school stud to go, please” — your warts are less obvious.
Kentucky had the lead and the momentum after Jules Camara took an alley-oop delivery from Prince and dropped it through the hoop. That made it 52-42 with 14:30 to play. You figured it was time to hand the Flyers their lovely parting gifts.
But the Wildcats have some serious offensive issues. UK's scoring effort the next nine minutes amounted to two free throws. They went 13:17 without a basket.
This was Dayton they were playing, not the Berlin Wall.
UK coach Tubby Smith blamed it on his team's lack of grit. “People were getting up on us, being physical. When people get aggressive, you've got to be aggressive. I didn't see that tonight.”
Still had chance
Still, Kentucky had a chance. Saul Smith rebounded a missed free throw with 7.9 seconds left, dribbled the length of the floor into the Dayton lane, then dished to a wide-open Prince, waiting on the left, behind the 3-point arc.
“I thought it was in,” Prince said. “I knew it was in.”
Prince's shot clanged off the rim. It wasn't an unfamiliar sound for UK, which came into the game shooting 39 percent and made just 5-of-20 in the second half.
Said Saul Smith, hopefully, “Even though our offense is about as (bad) as it's ever going to be, we still had a chance to win.”
(By the way: Is there a tougher job in college basketball than being Saul Smith? It's not enough he's the coach's kid. He's the Kentucky coach's kid. We're with you, son, win or win. And we'll decide what winning is. It's like being a Wallenda. What do you do in the crib? Handstands?)
“We know we're going to be one of the best defensive teams in the country,” Saul said. “We need to worry about knocking some shots down.”
The last one Monday night would have been nice.
Paul Daugherty welcomes your comments at 768-8454. Fair Game, a collection of his columns, is available at local bookstores.
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