By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer

LEXINGTON - He sat before the media three years ago, Basketball Times' reigning national prep player of the year, smirking at the questions that prefaced his first collegiate game.

How long, Keith Bogans, before you'll turn pro?

Oh, I'm in no hurry. At least a couple of years.

He's still here.

Two years after he led Kentucky in scoring, 18 months after he submitted his name for the NBA draft, Bogans is here, playing college ball, and humble.

"I don't regret anything I've done up to this point," he said. "Everything that happens to me is something I learn from.

"I tried (entering the draft) two years ago and it didn't happen. Now I'm back for my senior year, and that's probably the best thing that could have happened to me."

The games this 6-foot-5 senior guard has struggled most at are head games. Seeming distracted after returning for his junior year - caused in part, perhaps, by a lackluster performance at a predraft camp in Chicago - Bogans endured a season-long slump that disturbed him greatly.

He had career lows in scoring (11.6ppg), shooting (39.4 percent), free throws made and attempted (61 of 91) and steals (31).

Coach Tubby Smith twice benched him, once for not following instructions in a game at Louisiana State.

"(The slump) got to me mentally," Bogans said of his season. "I didn't know what was happening. I've always been a scorer, and then I wasn't scoring. I started thinking too much instead of just playing. You can't play that way."

Bogans slumped worst in Southeastern Conference play, averaging 7.9 points and shooting 32.9 percent.

He played better in March. Bogans averaged 18.3 points in three NCAA Tournament games, shooting 38.9 percent from 3-point range - up from 31.5 percent in the regular season.

Smith credits Bogans for picking up other aspects of his game last season, including defense, deflections and passing.

Said Bogans: "I just learned that when things don't go well, you just keep fighting."

He got advice from all corners of Wildcat Nation, pretty much all of it unsolicited. Bogans wearied of the discussions.

"The only thing I listened to was my coach," he said. "And my coach knew exactly what was wrong: I was thinking too much."

Bogans said his postseason run came after he freed his mind, and the resulting success fueled his offseason workouts.

He said he trained harder than ever, lifted more weights, took more shots: "I just shot every day until I got tired, until that shoulder started burning."

He's the only returning double-figure scorer for the Wildcats, and one of 50 preseason nominees for the Naismith Award.

Smith sees both inner peace and outward leadership skills emerging in Bogans.

"He's been his own worst enemy sometimes by getting down on himself, and I see that changing now," Smith said. "He doesn't allow little things to distract him. He doesn't try to do more than he's capable of doing.

"I can see that eye of the tiger in him that he wants to go out the right way, playing to his potential. If he does that, he'll be an All-American."

The early flirtation with the NBA, followed by a subpar season, may give the impression Bogans is a falling star. But he's not the first to suffer a down year after pulling out of the draft.

"He was smart to stay in college," said Ryan Blake, the NBA's assistant director for scouting. "And you can tell a player like that, even though he may be struggling, has all the tools and plays within himself. Those are things scouts will see.

"Now he gives himself a better chance to get a guaranteed contract (by becoming a first-round pick). And first and foremost, to finish his college career and get a degree."

Bogans is 22nd on UK's all-time scoring list, and if he merely matches his sophomore scoring average of 17.0, he'll finish No.4.

Yet he says he's placing no pressure or expectations on himself. Playing confidently and relaxed, he insists, will take care of everything.

He said he craves a leadership role, and what he endured last season has strengthened his desire for it.

"When you hit a rock, you've gotta climb over it, and that's what I did," Bogans said. "The guys know what I've been through and look up to me. They give me a lot of respect.

"I'm a senior. I'm hungry. ... This is my year."

E-mail nschmidt@enquirer.com

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