Quick Breakdown of Kentucky Wildcats Basketball

UK Wildcat basketball is in a New ERA! Billy Clyde has come to town and should be here to stay for a long while!

UK is back, and in a big way. This year’s team is improved, more athletic, deeper, and more well rounded than any recent Cats team has been in years.

There are three key losses from last year’s scrappy squad—two seniors, Ramel Bradley and Joe Crawford, and one transfer, Derrick Jasper. Though Bradley and Crawford were leaders on the court and scored most of the points, they will not be as big of a loss as people are thinking. Yes, their leadership will be missed. However, UK will survive.

With Patrick Patterson and Jodie Meeks starting off the season healthy, plus the addition of top 50 recruits and a Junior College transfer, you have a bit more experience than first meets the eye.

Your 2008-2009 University of Kentucky Wildcats

No.   Name         Ht./Wt. Class/Exp.          Hometown (Last School)

1 Darius Miller 6-7/223 FR/HS Maysville, Ky. (Mason County)

2 Matt Scherbenske 6-1/178 JR/TR Lexington, Ky. (Oak Hill Academy)

3 Kevin Galloway 6-7/215 JR/TR Sacramento, Calif. (Southern Idaho)

10 Landon Slone 6-3/188 FR/HS Paintsville, Ky. (Paintsville)

11 Adam Delph 6-1/161 FR/HS Louisville, Ky. (Pleasure Ridge Park)

12 Mark Krebs 6-5/207 JR/1L Newport, Ky. (Newport Central Catholic)

13 Michael Porter 6-3/198 JR/2L Modesto, Calif. (Modesto Christian)

14 Mark Halsell 5-11/182 FR/TR St Charles, Mo. (SW Illinois College)

15 A.J. Stewart 6-7/218 SO/1L Jacksonville, Fla. (Arlington Country Day)

20 Jarvis Walker 6-3/215 JR/TR Chicago, Ill. (John A. Logan CC)

21 Perry Stevenson 6-9/207 JR/2L Lafayette, La. (Northside)

22 Ramon Harris 6-7/218 JR/2L Anchorage, Alaska (West Anchorage)

23 Jodie Meeks 6-4/208 JR/2L Norcross, Ga. (Norcross)

25 Donald Williams 6-3/205 FR/HS Baton Rouge, La. (Progressive Christian Academy)

30 Dwight Perry 6-1/173 JR/2L Durham, N.C. (Southern)

33 Matt Pilgrim 6-8/233 JR/TR Cincinnati, Ohio (Hampton)

34 DeAndre Liggins 6-6/202 FR/HS Chicago, Ill. (Findley Prep)

43 Jared Carter 7-2/270 SR/2L Georgetown, Ky. (Scott County)

54 Patrick Patterson 6-9/235 SO/1L Huntington, W.Va. (Huntington)

55 Josh Harrellson 6-10/265 SO/TR St. Charles, Mo. (SW Illinois College)

Did I mention Kentucky was deep this year? You see correctly—that is 20 players available to have on the bench at any time. That’s not a bad “pool” to pull from.

OK, let's break this monstrous thing down.

We all know Patrick Patterson, co-freshman of the year in the SEC last year despite missing the last five games, and Jodie Meeks, oft-injured but effective when he played last year. Those two are looking healthy and strong so far in the new season this year.

Let us not forget about Perry Stevenson, a key sixth man and occasional starter last year who stepped it up in Patrick Patterson’s absence.

Key Freshmen

DeAndre Liggins

Out of Findlay Prep in Chicago, Illinois, DeAndre is a solid sized guard at 6’6", 200 lbs. for a freshman. So far he has seen limited action in preseason play. However, against Ouachita State, in 14 minutes he had seven points, four assists, and five rebounds.

Darius Miller

Out of Mason County High in Maysville, Ky, highly touted, Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball 2008, and a small forward. Much will be expected down the stretch.

Donald Williams

Two-time Louisiana all-state in HS, from Baton Rouge, La.

Key Transfers

Josh Harrellson

SW Illinois College, averaged 14.8 points and eight rebounds per game. He had 21 points and 12 rebounds in the preseason's first game against Missouri-Saint Louis.

Kevin Galloway

College of Southern Idaho—ranked fourth in the nation last year in assists, 8.4 per game.

So far the starting roster in the preseason games has been:

Michael Porter - G

Perry Stevenson - G

Ramon Harris - F

Jodie Meeks - F

Patrick Patterson – F/C

The starting lineup will not likely change for the better part of the year, as they are the “experience” of this team, unless one of the new additions steps up and wins a starting spot. With the additions of Josh Harrellson, Kevin Galloway, DeAndre Liggins, and Darius Miller, the experience of the transfers and the potential of the freshmen make them key reserves.

Patrick Patterson will actually get a “blow” for a change. Michael Porter will get a chance to shine. Perry Stevenson will get the chance to show that his stepping up during Patterson’s absence was not a fluke.

With 10 players at least 6’6" and 13 at least 200 lbs, size will not be much of a factor in matching up against other teams' big men. Billy G. has the Cats in excellent shape, so expect this team to have a look and feel of the old “Pitino’s Bombinos” of the early '90s, just without the three-point barrages.

The whole basketball nation has this team barely making the NCAA tourney this year. Why? This writer doesn’t know. Kentucky is not getting the “love” it deserves.

As of this writing they are ranked 40th in the country, preparing for their first game, which is Friday, Nov. 14 against VMI. I feel sorry for the Cadets. It’s going to be a long game.

Then on Tuesday the Wildcats travel to the confines of the Dean Dome to face off with the No. 1-ranked UNC Tar Heels. Though the Heels are somewhat depleted with Marcus Ginyard out and returning National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough probably out, if not playing tentatively, the Cats have a chance to prove they can either pull off the upset, or at least hang with the top rated team.

In conclusion, out of 29 regular season games, this team—newly reformulated, with people who have experience and talent, with some promising freshmen, who all have a chance to be good enough to start by the end of the year—should not hit double digits in the “L” column this season during the regular season.

The losses of Joe Crawford, Ramel Bradley, and Derrick Jasper, though key, will not affect this '08-'09 UK team. The team is dominated by 10 juniors, and there are only three sophomores and six freshmen. So, lack of experience? Where?

Don’t be surprised to see this year's Cats in the top 10 by January.