LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Cats have nine lineups.
If Kentucky basketball coach Rick Pitino doesn't change his mind before Friday night, when his team begins play in the Southeastern Conference Tournament, the Wildcats will have their ninth starting lineup this season.
The Kentucky coach said Monday on his radio call-in show that he plans to make two changes for the game against the winner of Thursday's Tennessee-Auburn contest: sophomore Wayne Turner at point guard instead of senior Anthony Epps, and fifth-year senior Jared Prickett at center instead of freshman Jamaal Magloire.
''We're going to go with a little different lineup,'' Pitino said. ''I'm convinced right now that I've given Anthony Epps every opportunity to run that position.''
Pitino added that he plans to use Epps ''a lot'' at the two-guard position.
In the regular-season finale, a loss to South Carolina on Sunday, Epps made his 30th consecutive start of the season but played a season-low 14 minutes. Pitino instead stuck with Turner, who is quicker than Epps, to combat South Carolina's guards.
''(Turner) gets in the lane more and gets fouled more,'' Pitino said. ''He's better on the break. He's better defensively. That's not taking away from Anthony at all. Anthony is great with great players.''
As for the decision to leave centers Magloire and Nazr Mohammed on the bench at tipoff - only the third time that will have happened this season - Pitino said it is being done in hopes of producing better passing and more offense.
None of the Kentucky players has been available to the media for comments since Sunday. But that doesn't mean things have been quiet in the commonwealth.
Ever since Pitino mentioned the change, Wildcat fans have been taking sides in the Great Lineup Debate.
Those who oppose the move can point to the fact that the starting lineup of Epps, Magloire, Allen Edwards, Ron Mercer and Scott Padgett had a 7-0 record - including a 37-point rout of Villanova and a successful three-game trip to Alabama, Vanderbilt and Tennessee - before the loss to South Carolina.
They can also point to Pitino's own introduction of Epps before Senior Day: ''Let's meet the biggest winner Kentucky's ever seen.''
Those who support the decision can point to the two losses to South Carolina with Epps in the starting lineup, or to Turner having eight more steals than Epps despite playing 131 fewer minutes, or to Pitino's words from Monday night.
''Certain people won't like the changes you make,'' he said. ''But I'm in practice every day and see it. ... We'll see what happens. As you know, starting hasn't meant too much to me. It's finishing that counts.''
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