BY TIM SULLIVAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Ron Mercer | ZOOM |

CHICAGO - Perhaps the real measure of how good Kentucky was is how good Ron Mercer is.

He shoots. He rebounds. He finds the open man. He makes himself the open man. He does all of these things at a mighty lofty level. Yet Mercer was a largely wasted weapon on UK's NCAA Championship team last year; a brilliant light beneath a big blue bushel.

Those Wildcats were better than we knew, and this year's bunch may be better than we have suspected. Ron Mercer is reason for reassurance.

''Derek Anderson is our best player, we know that,'' UK coach Rick Pitino said after Tuesday's 101-87 victory over Purdue. ''Ron is a super sophomore. Ron is just going to get better and better. He's a special young man. I think he's going to have one of the best careers ever for a Kentucky basketball player.''

Pitino turns Mercer loose

This much was made clear when Mercer scored 20 points in UK's NCAA Championship victory over Syracuse last spring. It was a fine, if not a fitting end to a freshman year in which his primary role was that of a spectator. Mercer had been among the nation's most heavily recruited high school players, but circumstances have made it necessary for him to re-establish his credentials.

Pitino rationed his playing time last year - Mercer averaged eight points and 18 minutes per game - and his skills were often overshadowed by those of Antoine Walker, Tony Delk and Walter McCarty.

Now, Mercer is on center stage, and seems intent on seizing every available spotlight. Last weekend, he was named the Most Valuable Player of the Great Alaska Shootout. Tuesday, he turned in the most dazzling individual performance during the opening night of the Great Eight festival.

This was no small achievement, what with Wake Forest All-America Tim Duncan's dominating exploits earlier in the evening. But Mercer was even more marvelous. He scored 30 points, seized seven rebounds, made four steals and three assists.

More than that, he demonstrated exquisite timing. Whenever Purdue would create some suspense, Mercer came on like Sherlock Holmes. The Boilermakers moved within five points with 12:05 to play, and Mercer personally padded the lead to 11 points with two free throws, and successive jump shots. He solved Gene Keady's defenses for 13 field goals in 16 tries.

In short, Mercer was merciless.

''I made a couple of baskets in a row coming off screens and things just started falling into place,'' he explained. ''Everywhere I was going, the ball would be right there.''

Spectators may remember things differently. They should have been struck by Mercer's aggressiveness on the offensive end, and his relentless pursuit of the ball in the backcourt. Thirty-three seconds before the final buzzer, with UK ahead by 15 points, Mercer threw himself on the floor head-first while chasing a ball headed out of bounds.

You can win a lot of games with guys like that. Especially when they're 6-foot-7 and run the floor like a turbocharged rabbit. Kentucky fans surely sensed this last year when Mercer was on the floor for prolonged periods. This year, the impression he has made is indelible.

No more role playing

''I had to play a role (last year),'' Mercer said. ''It was just a matter of time before my time was going to come. It wasn't really bad because I learned a lot from Tony (Delk) and the guys, and I think it's paying off right now.''

Mercer was working hard at not getting all worked up about his progress, but he picked a bad setting to be blase. The Great Eight was held at Chicago's United Center, and Kentucky was assigned the Chicago Bulls' dressing room. When Ron Mercer was surrounded by the media following the game, several wondered whether he was moved by the chance to perform on Michael Jordan's home court.

Mercer said the arena looked smaller than it had appeared on television. He did not encourage any other comparisons.

''I would not want to mention him in the same breath as Michael Jordan,'' Pitino said. ''On the collegiate level, he had a Michael Jordan type of game.''

Published Dec. 5, 1996.