The best part is the Wildcats are taking on all comers this year in an effort to show the basketball world they are the kings and fans could not be happier.  It is nirvana to start the year as Denny Crum (from the hated Cardinals up the road in Louisville) has convinced his old boss John Wooden to play in the big tip-off tourney in Indy.  The final four will be also be held in the Hoosier state in the same Lucas Arena so the season begins and ends in Indiana but no one would have ever guessed we would get Kentucky versus UCLA right out of the gate. 1 versus 2 right away.  Rupp could not be happier but Crum has a plan.  The Wildcats have been avoiding the Cardinals for several years after their mighty upset of them in the Elite eight basically set up the team’s gun to national prominence.  Crum knows he had to do something and called his old friend Wooden who gladly obliged and also wants a piece of Rupp.  You see if Louisville and Kentucky both win (or lose) then the Cardinals will get their shot at the Wildcats.  It was worth the gamble for his program.  Somehow Bobby Knight got involved so the Hoosiers will be hosting but man what a thrill this will be for college sports as a whole.  As for this year the Wildcats are the team to beat in the SEC for sure and if all goes right with this talented group of upperclassmen (supplemented by another top five recruiting class) Rupp’s team will be back in Indianapolis in early April. 

Leading the way for Rupp is a solid group of seniors.  Big men Alex ‘The Beak’ Groza and Bill Spivey have dominated at the post for the last three years.  These two Clydesdales might not be runners but they more than eat up space in the paint and know how to throw their big backsides around.  Point guard Frank Beard is the quarterback of the team.  Dan Issel is the most gifted Wildcat and is pushing to break through into the starting five at one of the posts.  This horse is every bit as talented as the two stallions in front of him and can run a little better (and longer) so Rupp might have a decision to make up front.  Cliff “Lil Abner” Hagan is a stalwart at small forward and Frank Ramsey is the first guys off the bench as was the original sixth man.  Ramsey could and probably should start at the two but Rupp loves having him come off the bench for instant offense and to guide the guys in with him including little Louis Dampier.  This senior point guard has backed up Beard since he got here is a better shooter than the starter.  Dampier gives the team a big time three point threat off the bench and combines with Ramsey and Issel to form the best bench trio in the country.  Cotton Nash is also in the mix but where?  Nash started the first game of the year last year but Rupp soon realized the once great post was too small and not quite quick enough for modern basketball and put him out to pasture on the deep end of the bench.  He would stay there until baseball practice came around but his days of contributing for the basketballers might be over.  Groza and Beard are the leaders of this team and hold the others accountable, especially Beard who has been given almost complete control of the team from Rupp.  How is that for a group of seniors.  The only thing left for this group to accomplish is to get some statues up in Lexington, stay out of trouble and win another ring for the Baron of the Bluegras.

Issel may be the best moving big man in the country.  He is a cutting machine and knows how to finish and is tough around the basket. His ability to score and board and hit open jumpers fits in perfectly with Rupp’s fast paced style.  The fact that he can guard other big men does not hurt though he is not exactly a rim protector.  The Horse (he never misses a game and never quits running) finished second on the Wildcats in scoring and rebounding and is as consistent as they come.  He is a terrific player.  Groza has got a great touch and solid low post game.  He knows how to score when he gets the ball.  His only downsize is his size. He can be overmatched at only six seven but makes up for it with his high skill set and desire.  He has a great hook shot and knows how to get to the hoop but he can get overmatched by bigger guys when he is trying to guard them.  Still, Groza led the team in scoring and rebounds and has the ultimate trust of Rupp. He would not be the one losing his job to Issel.   Size is no problem for Spivey.  Well at least height.  Spivey is a seven footer who has a great low post game but is barely 200 pounds.  He has bulked up some but cannot play huge minutes and does get bounced around some.  Rupp does not mind because when Spivey get going he can carry the team.  On the other hand, he takes way too many shots and missed too many games with little injuries and needs to get more thick-skinned if he is to succeed in the real world. Kentucky needs Spivey, even if he does not start, and he is the only true rim protector on the roster.  At least of guys who played last year. 

Beard is the leader of the Wildcats.  Adept at either scoring or ball distribution, Beard has got that toughness and desire that sets him apart from other players.  He is also as quick as any player in the country and is a shutdown defender who can guard most other point guards. As long as they are not 6’9.  Beard was supposedly the leader of the group who dubbed themselves the fab five around campus and hung together on and off the court.  When Rupp cut three of the group his buddies in his talent upgrade Beard and Groza were left as the only remaining members but they quickly brought in Hagan and Ramsey and Big Bill Spivey to finish their clan.  This is the group Rupp likes to have in at the end of games but Issel is set on changing all of that. 

Hagan and Ramsey are as good as you get for support players.  Hagan is a solid small forward who can shoot and defend and is best known for his great hook shot.  Hagan also was a true team player who accepted his role on the team and more importantly accepted the changing tide of the game and the South.  He got along better than all of the other Seniors with the incoming players and even went as far as rooming with Jack Givens on road trips.  These two actually compete for a position and Hagan’s ability to get along went along way to the way this team United.  Ramsey is instant offense off the bench and is best suited for that role.  He can defend as well but though he could have started Rupp loved having him as his sixth man.   Two other seniors got some minutes last year but lost them to younger, more athletic versions of themselves as the season progressed.  Bib Bob Burrow is not so big anymore as Rupp has brought in some seven footers and Burrow plays the post at 6’7.  He was a huge part of the rotation up front at one point but has lost most of his minutes.  Riley is a 6’4 wing who understands the game and is feisty as heck but is not a great shooter.  He needs to be with the way the game emphasizes the 3 and he knows this.  Rupp loves him and does not want to put him out to pasture and the tough Riley started a few games last year but he knows he will not get into many this year.  Rupp is actually grooming his favorite runt to coach and he will be assisting Hall with the JV kids.  Riley loves the Kentucky culture and understand what winning entails and there could not be a better guy to be ‘groomed’ for success then this cat. 

Rupp’s group of underclassmen have much to live up following in the paths of that great Wildcats who have made this program legendary. Givens is a junior who is a true small forward but is competing not just for leftover minutes by Hagan but for the starting two spot.  Fellow junior Kevin Grevey has that role right now and has flourished as a catch and shoot guy.  The lefty can flat stroke it and loves the three point line but does not bring much athletically, or defensively.  Givens is a corner shooter who has not expanded his game to the three but can score in bunches. Ramsey plays more minutes then these two combined but Rupp will rotate often and with most games being 20+ point blowouts, the backups most definitely get their share of minutes.  And this is not against JV level competition, but the big time of D-1.  Junior Kyle Macy is the heir apparent at point guard and is Mr. Consistent.  He has earned his role in the Wildcat hierarchy after backing up Beard and Dampier last year. He transferred in from Purdue (another Wooden connection as John wanted him to come west) and played JV for a minute but is too good to keep down on the farm even with the two stellar seniors in front of him.  He is a gifted shooter especially from the free throw line and can run a team.   Sophomore Rex Chapman proved he was ready for the big time and got more PT than he was expecting at the two.  A gifted athlete who may even have more range than Grevey, Chapman quickly became a fan favorite because of his style of play. Whether launching one from the rafters or cutting though two defenders for a reverse slam, Chapman is half showman and half incredibly gifted player who seems to get better in bigger situations.  His buzzer beater against Kansas may have been the highlight of the season (on the night they renamed the arena for the Baron by the way) as Chapman drained  a turnaround 30 footer in overtime to beat the Jayhawks off an inbound pass over his head with under a second left.  Rupp does not like to play freshmen but as he showed last year with Rex, he will if the talent and attitude is there.  That bodes well for another incoming class of Kentucky kids that Rupp’s sidekick, Joe B. Hall, has done most of the leg work in bringing to Lexington.  Rupp is getting up there in age and does not have many shots at winning another title and has already made it public that Hall will replace him.  But the Baron does have a few more ticks in his sleeve and he wants more than anything to prove to college basketball that he has a few more tricks up his sleeve.  

The Wildcats have just about as many options up front but none of them are going to take many minutes away from the Big 3.  Unless of course there are injuries. Speaking of injuries, Sophomore big man Sam Bowie is back for his second sophomore year. Bowie missed all of last year with a leg injury he got in the last game of the regular season as a freshman versus Vanderbilt.  Bowie has got unlimited potential, especially on the defensive end.  This 7’1 235 pounder from Lebanon PA was a High School All-American and was the biggest recruit Rupp has ever brought to Lexington. Figuratively and almost literally.  He can score, defend, pass and rebound and can really block shots.  But he must stay on the court.  Junior phenom Tom Payne has the same kind of game.  Payne is not related to the actor or the founding father but he has something they don’t.  He is 7’2 235 and this Louisville kid was the first black athlete Rupp ever brought in to Lexington.  He has tried before but another pair of Louisville kids turned him down the year before to go play for the Cardinals.  Wes Unseld and Butch Beard (no relation to Ralph) do not regret their choice but I think one of the reasons Rupp has never played them is because of those two.  The Baron is known to hold a grudge but he also wants to show Unseld and Beard and especially Crum who the King of Kentucky is.  And besides that Big Red horse that won the triple crown a few years back, Rupp is the most popular Kentuckian on the planet.  Sorry McConnell but you are not in the top 10.  Payne has missed way too much time for off the court stuff but is still on the roster and Rupp needs all the size he can get at least in Game 1. Payne has not got much of a chance to play in Rupp’s hierarchy but he did show when he got the opportunity after the suspensions he has got mad game.  Sophomore Kenny ‘Sky’ Walker is the type of player this team needs to compete in today’s modern basketball.  Sky is a leaper who can and will score.  At 6’8 210, Walker was the star of the JV leading that vaunted team in scoring and rebounding and getting a call-up when Payne was suspended once again.  

Adolph Rupp is going through a transition.  The preseason number one Wildcats had another terrific season in Lexington and the fans were every bit as fanatical as ever.  The Wildcats will lose a great senior class that achieved much for acclaim for this historic program.  Rupp has won with teaching and Coaching (and intimidation) and that just won’t work anymore.  You have to have players.  He has started that process and the Wildcats are bringing in a bunch of young super talented players to bring the team into the 21st century.  One thing is for sure the Wildcat fans will not tolerate not winning and this program cannot afford to rebuild, it must reload.  And there are several Coaches who are waiting for the ‘Baron’ finally to step down and take a shot at coaching the most prestigious program in college basketball history.  You know what they say, ‘be careful what you ask for.”  Joe B. Hall will be that next coach with senior Pat Riley waiting in the wings but like his fellow seniors coming back for one more season in Lexington, Kentucky has a way of life to defend.  And that way of life is Wildcat basketball.  And the Baron wants to prove to the world one more time that Kentucky basketball is just as good as it has ever been.  And will always be!!!