xt7cz8928j1s https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7cz8928j1s/data/mets.xml Wildcat News Company 1983 Volume 8 -- Number 12 athletic publications  English Wildcat News Company Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. The Cats' Pause UKAW University of Kentucky Men's Basketball (1983-1984) University of Kentucky Football (1983) coaches Hall, Joe B. Claiborne, Jerry Hall of Fame Bowl (1983) players Massie, Rick Amerson, Glenn statistics schedules Cats' Pause Combs, Oscar The Cats' Pause,  19-Nov-83 text The Cats' Pause,  19-Nov-83 1983 2012 true xt7cz8928j1s section xt7cz8928j1s WvcMlky Archives SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS PER COPY Market I. King Library - Nortn
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SPOTLIGHTING UNIVERSITY OT KENTUCKY /WD SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE "
VOLUME 8 - NUMBER It
SATURDAY. NOVEMBER 19, 1983
tho m
ivalry
Cats Battle For The Beer Barrel
 ONE YEAR AGO
*The Kentucky Wildcats finished the 1982 football campaign with a 28-7 defeat at the hands of the Tennessee Volunteers-in Knoxville. This UK team became the first ever to not win a football game. Sophomore place kicker Fuad Reveiz kicked five field goals, including 55 and 50 yard shots to make the difference. UK's lone score came on a trick play on which quarterback Randy Jenkins passed the ball to Terry Henry, who then threw the ball back to a wide open Jenkins. He ran the ball
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28 yards for the touchdown. George Adams led UK's rushing attack with 63 yards on 19 carries.
?The Soviet National Team pulled out a three-point victory over the Wildcats in an exhibition game held before a sellout crowd of 23,541 at Rupp Arena. It was a very exciting game with lead changing hands often late in the game. UK led 86-85 with 32 seconds to go, but then Soviet guard Valdis Valters hit a jumper from the top of the key to make it 87-86. UK called timeout and set up a play to inbounds the ball. Charles Hurt took the inbounds pass and threw in the direction on Dicky Beal. However, Vol Khomicus stepped between Beal and the ball and took it in for a layup to give Russia the 89-86 victory. Derrick Hord led the Cats with 18 points and Melvin Turpin led all players with 12 rebounds; Soviet Coach Alexander Gomelski said the Kentucky team "is the best we have played."
FIVE YEARS AGO
*Much to the shock of the 23,000 fans in Rupp Arena,  the Kentucky
1. This long standing series began in 1893. Which team was the winner of that first game by a score of 56-0?
2. The Kentucky-Tennessee series has been renewed every year since 1906.
True of False?
3. Kentucky defeated the Vols in 1977 when the Wildcats scored a touchdown in the closing minutes of the game to win. Who scored the touchdown that gave the Cats a 21-17 victory?
a) Derrick Ramsey
b) Rod Stewart
c) Freddie Williams
d) Joe Dipre
4. In 1950, the Volunteers spoiled Kentucky's bid for a national championship when they defeated the Cats to give Kentucky its only loss of the season. What was the score of that game?
a) 3-0
b) 10-7
c) 7-0
d) 14-13
5. Tennessee has won 47 of the contests compared to 22 won by Kentucky, but how many have the two SEC schools tied?
basketball team opened its season with a 109-77 romp over LaSalle , which was expected to give the inexperienced Wildcats a tough battle. Kentucky, with four of its five starters gone from last year's national championship team, came out running against LaSalle. The Cats built a 50-31 lead and the rest of the game was highlighted by the officials, who whistled a record 75 fouls. Fred Cowan had 17 points and eight rebounds while Kyle Macy pumped in 16.
?The Kentucky Wildcats made it 2-0 with a record-breaking 121-67 thrashing of West Texas State. It marked the most points scored by one team in Rupp Arena, the largest winning margin in Rupp Arena, the most points scored in one half (66) and the most rebounds by one team (63). West Texas State had 29 rebounds. UK used a balanced attack with all 12 players scoring and no one playing over 25 minutes.
TEN YEAR AGO
?Kentucky made a furious comeback but it proved to be not enough as the
UK vs. UT
a) 3
b) 7
c) 18
d) 9
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6. There was a four-year span when Kentucky failed to score a single point against the Volunteers. Who was the head coach of the Wildcats during the stretch?
a) Charlie Bradshaw
b) John Ray
c) Paul Bryant
d) A.D. Kirwan
ANSWERS
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Cats tossed to the Florida Gators 20-18 in Gainesville.
Trailing 20-3 in the final quarter, Kentucky scored two quick touchdowns, one on a five-yard touchdown pass from reserve quarterback Ernie Lewis to Elmore Stephens, and the other on a five-yard scamper by Bill Bartos. Kentucky converted a two-point conversion after the second fourth-quarter score.
Kentucky drove in the final minute of the game, but in an attempt to improve on their field goal position, Lewis threw a pass that was intercepted at the Florida 17 to seal the game for the Gators, since Kentucky had used all of their time outs.
Kentucky plays Tennessee next week and UK's running back, Sonny Collins only needs 150 yards against the Vols to break John Dotley's SEC mark of 1,312 in a single season.
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7. Last year, Kentucky grabbed an early seven-point lead, only to watch it disappear thanks to the work of one nan in particular, Fuad Reveiz. What position did he play?
a) quarterback
b) field goal kicker
c) center
d) punter
8. In 1959, Kentucky had an impressive win over Tennessee by a score of 20-0. Cullen Wilson was one Wildcat captain, and who was the other?
a) no one, they used game captains other than Wilson.
b) Glen Shaw
c) Pascal Benson
d) Jimmy Johns
9. Jerry Claiborne has never beaten Tennessee while part of the Kentucky program both as a player and as a coach.
True of False?
10. The first game between the two was played in Lexington.
True or False?
TCP Wildcat Quiz This Time, Cats And Vols Both Go Bowling
If you're a Kentucky Wildcat fan, you can't help from being excited about the next two weekends, what with a post bowl bid hanging on the outcome of the annual war with Tennessee this Saturday.
And if that's not enough, you know what Big Blue fans will be thinking about the next weekend when Louisville's Cardinals pay their first visit to the UK campus in more than sixty years.
All this points to some hot times in the ole town.
For Kentucky, a startling upset over Tennessee would put the Cats in prime position for a more-than-minor holiday bowl. Tennessee, on the other hand, is out to win its first major bowl during Johnny   Majors' regime.
While Kentucky will be the decided underdog, one cannot help from remembering many of the previous Kentucky-Tennessee clashes. For instance, how about that 21-17 come-from -behind victory over the Vols in 1977 to cap an unbelievable 10-1 season.
Two years ago, Kentucky was the heavy underdog at Commonwealth Stadium when Majors competed for the last time against a Fran Curci team. UK left no doubt who was the stronger team that day, 21-10.
Tennessee has totally dominated the Wildcats on the .gridiron over the years, but that hasn't been the situation at UK during the Commonwealth Stadium era.
Saturday will mark the sixth meeting at Commonwealth between these two bordering and feuding states. While Tennessee owns a slim 3-2 mark, the three victories have come by a combined margin of 9 points.
It was ten years ago this week that UK missed a field goal in the final minute which would have given UK a 17-16 victory and a bowl bid.
Saturday's blood-letting will keep the spirit of the Kentucky-Tennessee rivalry on fevour pitch level. Don't be surprised if this one doesn't go down to the game's very last play.
The last time Tennessee visited Commonwwealth Stadium, Kentucky was hanging on the ropes and Coach Fran Curci was being given the ten-count. But never let it be said that Curci went down easy.
Perhaps no time before in Curci's regime had a team been so fired up. And perhaps no time in the past had Fran Curci been so fired up, yet so loose that he was able to totally enjoy the sixty minutes of action.
According to one report out of Knoxville, Majors recalls the pre game chit-chat of that cold, dreary afternoon in Lexington. As the story goes, Majors strolled to the middle of the field during pregame activities, a little uneasy and unsure of what to say
to Curci, his long-time friend.
Majors knew that Curci was most likely coaching his final game at UK as newspaper reports already had him being axed by the university. So to Majors' astonishment, Curci greets him with a big grin and says, "Johnny, we're going to beat your a-- today. Good luck!" With that Curci turned around and rejoined his charges.
To which Majors returned to his charges, later admitting that "I knew right then and there we were in a heap of trouble."
Four quarters later, Curci left the Commonwealth Stadium turf for the ast time, a 21-10 winner over the Tennessee Vols.
Over the years, many so-called experts have said a sure way of sustaining a coaching career at UK is by beating Tennessee. Records seem to contradict that theory.
While Bear Bryant is considered the winning legend at Kentucky, he never managed to beat Tennessee until his final game, 27-21 in 1953, when he resigned to go to Texas A & M.
In came Blanton Collier, a man who had a brilliant 5-2-1 record over the Vols from 1954-1961, but got the axe. The only other UK coach in modern history to beat the Vols three times
was Curci who turned the trick in 1976 and.1977 prior to 1981.
This week is the all-important week for the basketball Wildcats as they prepare for their regular season opener agaisnt the Louisville Cardinals on November 26.
Over the past week, the Wildcats have been touring the state with intra-squad scrimmages and the enthusiasm from the fans has been overwhelming.
The squad's first exhibition in Ashland was one in which the coaching staff was as anxious as the fans to witness the results, not to mention scouts from future UK opponents.
There was good news and bad news. The good news was for UK fans while the bad news was reserved for scouts of opposing teams like Virginia Commonwealth.
Sam Bowie scored 30 points and hauled down 10 rebounds. No, he's nowhere near 100 percent. But Bowie was able proof that a partially healthy Bowie is worth a great deal more than the average healthy hoopster.
After the contest, Sam was almost all smiles. Only almost because he was upset with some easy shots that didn't fall for him.
"I got really tired in the second
Hall Of Fame Bowl Picks UK, West Virginia
Come December 22, the Kentucky Wildcats will tackle the West Virginia Mountaineers in Birmingham's Hall of Fame Bowl.
While the official announcement will come Saturday evening near the conclusion of the Kentucky-Tennessee battle, highly placed sources in Birmingham have confirmed that the two schools have been selected.
Bowl representatives, although not permitted to issue official invitations until 6 p.m. this Saturday, are permitted to discuss possible selections with schools.
The Cats' Pause, in an exclusive story in its October 22 edition, first reported that Kentucky was at the top of the Hall of Fame Bowl's prospective teams. Word first surfaced after Kentucky upset LSU in Baton Rouge to run the Wildcats' record to 5-1.
Although UK has been only 1-2-1 in its last four games, both losses have come against teams ranked previously in the nation's top ten. The Cats' disappointing 13-13 tie with Cincinnati never dented the bowl's interest in UK.
The Birmingham classic, with kick-off set for 8 p.m. Eastern Time, will be televised nationally by Atlanta Superstation WTBS-TV, Channel 17. In many locations, the bowl will also be available over other commercial stations, especially in large cities.
It's been no secret that the Hall of Fame Bowl wanted a Southeastern Conference team as the host school. With Auburn, Alabama, Georgia and Florida all headed to bigger bowls, Tennessee and Kentucky were the prime candidates. Tennessee has locked up a bid to the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Ole Miss, according to one source, can get a bid to the Independence Bowl with a win over arch-rival Mississippi State and finish 6-5.
Alabama is headed to the Sun Bowl against SMLI according to reports while Auburn is all set for the Sugar Bowl against the winner of the Ohio State-Michigan game. Florida will stay close to home and go against Iowa in the Gator Bowl.
half," admitted Bowie, "I felt real good until I ran out of gas. I'm just not n top shape yet."
More impressive than the statistics was Bowie's enthusiasm and hustle throughout the game. He gave Melvin Turpin more problems than any time since the famous Charles Barkley confrontation. Both Bowie and Turpin will benefit immensely from going against each other in pracice this season. You can imagine who is ultimately going to pay the price.
+ + +
HITS AND MISSES ... The results are  not  in year on the  pay cable television debut last Saturday when Kentucky and Florida were beamed throughout Kentucky, but the initial results from the Tennessee-Alabama game shown in Knoxville were anything but encouraging. The Sporting News said only about 1,200 homes picked up the game while officials had been anticipating between 15,000 and 20,000   hook-ups.   TSN   said that participating schools had been guaranteed a minimum of $125,000 for the rights  by Sports View  of Nashville, Tennessee.   That's   the   same firm which is handling the two UK football games and three Wildcat basketball games... A visitor back at UK practice sessions last week was ex-Wildcat Dirk Minniefield who is reporting this week to the Kentucky Catbirds camp in the CBA. Minniefield was cut by the New Jersey Nets but says he's going to give the   Catbirds   a   shot   because he believes he can play in the NBA. . .If you don't believe that there is all-time interest in Wildcat basketball, then consider these: at least seven major manufactures are designing and printing special Wildcat basketball t-shirts, three different firms are marketing bumper stickers (some of which are less than original), at least four books on the Wildcats are in the works for publication next spring right after the NCAA,  numerous clocks  and other products on the Big Blue are swallowing the gift sections of local businesses.   And now there   are three games   being   aired   on   pay cable television. Big business? You'd better believe it. There was a time when Kentucky press guides were distributed free to the media and friends of the university. But at recent scrimmages, even they were caught up in the action, selling for $5 each. Even the university sponsored basketball calendars were being sold like hot-cakes. . .And  a   tip   of  the   hat to assistant sports information director Randy Stacy on a superb job with the UK press guide for the reporters this year. It's top. There was a time when the UK guide ranked in the second division of the SEC, but today, it ranks right where the basketball team sits, No. 1. . . 4
Cats'1 Pause Associate Editor
Wearing The Title Well
From 0-10-1 to a winning season. The reasons are many. Start with Coach Jerry Claiborne and his staff. They got it going.
But why the turnaround in 1983? Ask around the Kentucky camp and you get one consensus answer.
Leadership.
This group of seniors put the exclamation mark on what Claiborne had been preaching. They decided it was time to do it Jerry's way or not do it. They decided the partying was over, the sacrifices had to be made.
When you talk about senior leadership, you talk about Scott Schroeder and Ron Bojalad. The title of co-captain often is nothing more than a title etched in the press guide. Not so with these two.
Much has been written about the two, especially Schroeder. Yet as the Cats close out the regular season this week, they deserve one more pat on the back. They will own no records at Kentucky but five years from now, if Kentucky is entrenched as a winner, these two helped start the foundation.
Scott Schroeder is a rare breed. I mean, what can you say about a guy who is 5-10, 208 pounds and bench presses twice that weight, a guy who is playing on a bum knee which required surgery three times; a guy whose intelligence borders on brilliance, a guy who wears a gold earing in his ear?
"He is the leader. Period," says UK linebacker Coach John Devlin. "The kids respond to him. A lot of these guys never saw him in one piece. What they have seen is a guy with a lot of courage who really has a disability and at times has played as good or better than anyone."
E.F. Hutton has nothing on Schroeder. He calls team meetings with heartbeat regularity. When he talks, people listen.
"You look at a guy like him and when he talks, you have a tendency to listen," says Devlin. "He has respect. I've had linebackers who led by their tremendous play. But I've never had an experience like this, where the guy is all crippled."
"He is highly intelligent. We are talking about a guy who makes a 3.0 grade point and does not spend much time at it. He is an enigma. He will kill on the field, but then is very intelligent off the field."
As UK Academics Director Bob Bradley once said, there is a certain 'aura' about Schroeder. He speaks his peace, he will kick teammates in the tail, he will do what he preaches. And he cares.
"Scott is different. He is emotional. He does not mind crying. He does not care if people see him cry," says Devlin.
Once an All-SEC candidate, Schroeder suffered the serious knee injury the spring after his sophomore year. Doctors said he should never play again. He didn^t heed advice. He spent an incredible amount of hours and sweat in the weight room. Written off by almost all, he made it back.
"I had heard about him. I watched films from his sophomore year. I knew he could play,'' says Devlin, who joined the UK staff with Claiborne prior to the '82 season.
It was in the spring prior to last season when Devlin noticed Schroeder's leadership qualities, even though the injury was keeping Schroeder off the practice field.
"We were not tough on him at first because of the injury. Sometimes, when you do that, the other players who are busting their tails don't like it. I noticed no bad vibes. Nothing was said. You look for that kind of respect.
"He did the little things - getting the guys together to work out, talking to the guys and getting more verbal as time went on. Then when he was voted co-captain, he had a license to kill."
How important has Schroeder been to UK's turnaround?
"The whole thing," says Devlin. "We had good players here but we needed someone who had proved they could play in the SEC that the other players would listen to."
But what about the ear ring? That certainly is not out of the Jerry Claiborne mold. What was your first thought when you saw that, John?
"I don't give a damn if he wears one in his nose," said Devlin.
Bojalad is a Cat of another lifestyle. I can't help but remember the first time I interviewed him prior to his junior year. I asked, Ron did not respond. He had never been interviewed. He was almost shook up. He asked if it would be alright if we did not do the interview.
"He is not a holler guy, or a vocal leader," says UK offensive line Coach Jake Hallum. "He is a sensitive low profile person. When he was elected captain, and it was unanimous, he told me how he felt it was a great honor. But he was worried about being in the limelight and having to be a team spokesman. He just wanted to be one of the guys.
"He is unsung. He has done a super job leading. Any successful organization needs a super leader. He has been that."
Prior to that junior season, Bojalad had never played. He was a lost name on a depth chart, seemingly headed nowhere. He relates to the experiences of the younger players now.
"He has been down, on the scout team. The   other players relate to him
continued on page 22
Wildcat Grid Notes
By Russell Rice
UK Sports Information
The University Of Kentucky football Wildcats will appear before the CBS-TV regional cameras for the third time this year when they close out the regular season against Tennessee at 3:45 p.m. Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium.(The original starting time was 1:30 p.m.).
Assured of their first winning season since the 1977 team finished 10-1, Coach Jerry Claiborne's Wildcats are 6-3-1 after a loss to Florida, 24-7, Saturday at Gainesville.
Wildcat losses have been to Georgia, Auburn and Florida, all nationally ranked teams. "We have lost to three of the best teams in the country," Claiborne said,"and Tennessee was also ranked in the Top 20 before last week's games.
The Volunteers of Coach Johnny Majors are 6-3-0 after being upset by Ole Miss, 13-10, before 92,000 fans at homecoming Saturday night in Knoxville.
Both teams entertain hopes of a post-season bowl appearance; bids may be offered after Saturday's game.
Closing out an up-and-down UK career will be senior quarterback Randy Jenkins, who has set a new school record for passes attempted (669 vs. 634 for "Babe Parilli") and is nine short of Parilli's record of 354 career completions.
Jenkins has passed for 1,058 yards this season and is 55 yards short of 4,000 career passing yards. Only Parilli (4,699) and Rick Norton (4,514) have passed for more yards in UK history.
Kentucky and Tennessee are placed fifth and sixth in the Southeastern Conference, with Tennessee 2-2 and UK 2-3. The Vols will close their season next weekend against Vanderbilt.
Lindsey Nelson, perhaps the country's most popular college football play-by-play announcer, and Jack Snow, a consensus All-America wide receiver for Notre Dame in 1964, will form the announcer and analysis team for CBS Saturday.
Nelson had broadcast college football for CBS in 1962-63 and for NBC in 1964-65. He rejoined CBS in 1966 and until last year concentrated primarily on broadcasts of National Football League games. He broadcasts NFL play-off games and other major events on the CBS Radio Network.
Snow, 40, was the receivers' coach for the Los Angeles Rams last season. He played 12 years (1965-76) with the Rams, caught a school record 60 passes in his senior year at Notre Dame. Those receptions were good for 1,114 yards and nine touchdowns, each still a school record.
The producer will be Jim Silman, no stranger to UK basketball; the director is Larry Cavolina.
The "Beer Barrel", symbolizing supremacy in the Kentucky-Tennessee grid series, had its original in 1925 when UK alumni Guy Hugelet and Rollie M. Guthrie decided that if other teams could have an "Old Oaken Bucket " or a "Little Brown Jug", then the UK-UT rivalry deserved an equally impressive symbol.
Since moonshine whisky seemed to be symbolic of both states in those days, they started searching for a whisky barrel. The Women's Christian Temperance union protested so vigorously that the two Wildcat boosters settled for a beer keg. Due to increased pressure from the WCTU and the Anti-Saloon League in those days of national prohibition, the key was carried onto Stoll Field on Thanksgiving Day 1925, incognito, with "Ice Water" painted on it.
For the first beer barrel ceremony, Kentucky's blue-and-white clad band marched from one end of the gridiron and the Tennesseans, in orange and white, came from the opposite goal. Six representatives from each school met at the 50-yard line, where a representative from each side drank from the barrel, filled with water. Then, to the tune of "How Dry I Am", the traditional ceremony was completed.
(Continued on page 14)
FOOTBALL WILDCATS ON "THE TUBE' Record: Won 6, Lost 5, Tied 1
Year	Opponent	Network-Coverage	UK	OPP	
1956	Georgia Tech	NBC-National	6	14	L
1969	Indiana	ABC-Regional	30	58 .	L
1974	Vanderbilt	ABC-Regional	38	12	W
1974	Florida	ABC-Regional	41	24	W
1975	Maryland	ABC-Regional	10	10	T
1976	Maryland	ABC-Regional	14	24	L
1976	Peach Bowl				
	N. Carolina	Mizzou-National	21	0	W
1979	Indiana	ABC-Regional	10	18	L
1981	Clemson	ABC-Regional	3	21	L
1983	Indiana	CBS -Regional	24	13	W
1983	Tulane	CBS-Regional	26	14	W
1983	Vanderbilt	TBS-National	17	8	W
 Tfovwitvi 19,19X3
Cats Go North and South To Ink Two
Blue-Chippers
"Ed is a serious competitor who excells in al phases of the game," Hall said. "He is a winner who will bring with him the desire to be a champion. We look forward to having him join our team.''
Madison is another high school standout who has been named to nearly all preseason prep All-America teams. He averaged 18.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game last season for Northside High School. Also an outstanding football and baseball player, this fall he has led Northside to a 8-1 record as a quarterback in football.
"It is a dream come ture for me to
sign with an outstanding college basketball program like Kentucky," Madison said. "I like the school, the fans, and the coaches. I hope to be able to contribute to great basketball seasons at Kentucky."
"In Richard Madison, the University of Kentucky will have one of the finest athletes in the country," 'Hall said. "A three-sport star, Richard has the physical ability to be a great basketball player. He's a fine young man with a perpetual smile who will be an outstanding addition to our program."
Two outstanding high school standouts in basketball signed a national letter-of-intent with the University of Kentucky at their homes Wednesday morning, November 9. The newest Wildcats are Ed Davender, a 6-2, 165-pound guard from Brooklyn, NY, and Richard Madison, a 6-8, 217-pound forward from Memphis, TN.
Davender, an all-city performer last season at Alexander Hamilton High School, will attend Boys and Girls High School this year after it was announced that Hamilton High would be phased out. He averaged 29 points, six rebounds, and seven assists per game as a junior. Davender has been named to most preseason prep Ail-American lists.
' 'I'm looking forward to playing four years at a great school like the University of Kentucky," Davender said. "I feel like I'm stepping into a good opportunity, and I hope to take advantage of it. I believe signing with the University of Kentucky was the best decision for me, and I'm very
excited about it."
Wildcat Coach Joe B. Hall called
Todd Ziegler Makes It Offical...lt's UK
Richard Madison
Davender "a truly exciting basketball player.
Todd Ziegler, a 6-7, 195-pound forward from Jeffersontown (KY) High School, signed a national letter-of-intent with the University of Kentucky at his home November 9, and became the third high school standout to sign with the Wildcats on the first day of the early signing period.
Ziegler averaged 19 points and 8.9 rebounds per game as a junior and hit better than 50 percent from the field. An outstanding student, he has a 3.8 (on a scale of 4.0) grade point average in high school. He toured Europe with a group of Kentucky all-stars this summer.
"I'm happy to have the privilege to
sign with an outstanding college basketball program like Kentucky," Ziegler said. "I look forward to my four years at the University. Signing with UK was something I've wanted to do ever since my family moved here from Indiana.''
Coach Hall calls Ziegler, "One of the outstanding high school prospects in the nation."
"Todd gets better every time he steps on the court," Hall said. "A left-handed forward with a good shooting touch is an ingredient we have lacked since the graduation of Lee and Givens. He is certainlv an outstanding prospect."
Kentucky Lands One Of New York's Finest In Ed Davender
Coach Hamilton. His mother fell in love with their whole presentation. After we looked at all the schools, it was Kentucky and nobody else. Kentucky was heads and shoulders above the rest."
Davender cared little Kentucky was also recruiting some other great guards. Recruiters pointed it out but it scared him none.
Ray Haskins, who has coached Ed Davender since Ed was eight-years-old, calls the Kentucky signee "a triple threat. He is an excellent player, an excellent person, and an excellent student. He is the best kid I've ever had. By that, I mean a combination of top-flight player, student and person."
Haskins is the coach at Brooklyn Alexander Hamilton High School His relationship with Davender goes back much further. Davender says Haskins is "like a father to me." Haskins says Davender "always had potential. He could always shoot."
As a freshman, Davender was a rarity in that he played varsity ball at Alexander. The team was 28-2, with a city title to cling to. Davender has started the past two years and is being called by many as the best prospect in New York this year.
"He could be the best player in New York," says Haskins. "There is no question he is the best guard. There are some good players but Edward is so fundamentally sound."
Davender has scored nearly 1400 points at Alexander. He was nearing the school scoring record of now LSU star Jerry Reynolds. Davender will not break the record. An announcement several months ago was that Alex-
ander would close. Davender since enlisted at Boys & Girls School. Since that time, Alexander has re-opened. However, since it was too late to complete a full schedule for Alexander, Haskins advised Davender to stay at Boys & Girls.
Last week, Davender said he had no qualms about leaving New York to head south, saying "Going to UK was an opportunity to leave New York, although I have nothing against New York. And my mother will be moving to North Carolina anyway."
Davender was recruited by all the eastern schools and many others across the country. Haskins said the list was initially narrowed to 12 schools including Lousiville, Georgetown, N.C. State, Iowa and Syracuse. The elimination process continued.
Davender visited LSU and Virginia.
"I visited LSU because of my friend Jerry Reynolds. I liked it but I did not feel like it was the place for me," said Davender.
All along, Kentucky was seemingly in   the   lead   for   the blue-chipper.
UK coaches Joe Hall and Leonard Hamilton visited the Davender home.
"I was not surprised he chose Kentucky," says Haskins. "He was very impressed with Coach Hall and
Ed Davender
"He was sold on Kentucky," says Haskins. "A lot of people tried to use the fact that Kentucky always has a good recruiting year and that he will have to fight to play. He just said T will play and they will have to fight me'. He is a very aggressive kid."
Davender's reputation as an offensive machine is well spread. He shot 93 percent from the foul line and 56 percent from the field a year ago. His friends call him 'Bug-eyed', because of his deadly shooting eye.
"He is both a shooter and a scorer," says Haskins. "He has excellent range. He very seldom takes a bad shot. If the defensive player backs off, he will stick it in. If they play up on him, he will blow by them. He is very fast. On a scale of ten, I would rate him an eight in speed."
Haskins thinks Davender may still be growing. He says he was 5-9 as a freshman and now is 6-2V, one inch taller than a year ago. Davender is just 17-years-old and Haskins calls him "Thin but strong."
While it is Davender's offensive exploits that are well-known, it is his defensive play that Haskins most raves about.
"He is very unique in that he has the ability to play defense as hard as offense. He will really go after it. He is great on defense. You have to work for points against him, then