xt7r7s7hr42d https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7r7s7hr42d/data/mets.xml Wildcat News Company 1977 Volume 2 -- Number 17 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 (1977-1978) coaches Hall, Joe B. Rupp Arena Rupp, Adolph players Line, Jim Phillips, Mike Claytor, Truman Stephens, Tim statistics schedules Cats' Pause Combs, Oscar The Cats' Pause,  24-Dec-77 text The Cats' Pause,  24-Dec-77 1977 2012 true xt7r7s7hr42d section xt7r7s7hr42d  PAGE 2   THE CATS'  PAUSE, DECEMBER 24, 1977
WEEKEND OF DECEMBER 24
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RICE AT LOUISIANA STATE	LSU.	14	LSU	10	LSU	18	LSU	15	LSU	10	LSU	10	LSU	13	LSU	26	LSU	17	LSU	20
I0NA AT KENTUCKY	UK	28	UK	25	UK	20	UK	23	UK	25	UK	30	I0NA 1		UK	21	UK	25	UK	12
OLE MISS AT SOUTHERN MISS	O.M.	10	O.M.	5	O.M.	8	O.M.	3	O.M.	10	S.M.	3	O.M.	13	O.M.	8	O.M.	10	O.M.	15
MARQUETTE AT LOUISVILLE	LOU 1		MARQ. 1		MARQ	2	LOU	2	LOU	2	LOU	2	LOU	4	LOU	4	MARQ 1		LOU	5
VPI AT VANDERBILT	VAND	6	VAND	3	VAND	12	VAND	6	VAND	5	VAND	10	VAND	9	VAND	9	VAND	15	VAND 8	
FLORIDA STATE AT C1NC1	C INN	3	F.S.	1:	F.S.	2	CINN	8	C INN	5	C 1 NN	5	C 1 NN	13	C 1 NN	10	C 1 NN	5	C INN	 4
KANSAS AT ARKANSAS	ARK	2	ARK	1	ARK	4	ARK	5	ARK	2	ARK	6	ARK	9	ARK	3	KANS 1		KANS	6
[KANSAS STATE AT N. TEXAS	K.S.	8	K.S.	5	NTS	6	K.S.	12	K.S.	5	K.S.	6	K.S.	15	K.S.	7	K.S.	12	K.S.	4
ST. JOSEPH AT NOTRE DAME	N.D .	20	N.D .	17	N.D.	16	N.D.	29	N.D.	20	N.D .	35	N.D .	26	N.D.	23	N.D.	30	N.D.	32
WAKE FOREST AT WASHINGTON	WASH	4	WASH	2	WASH	8	WASH	6	WASH	4	W.K.	3	W.F. 8		WASH	6	WASH	3	WASH 1	
RICHMOND AT VANDERBILT	VAND	10	VAND	7	VAND	10	VAND	8	VAND	5	VAND	6	VAND	8	VAND 11		VAND	6	VAND	12
AUBURN VS.  SOUTHERN CAL	AUB	S8f	S.C.	2	AUB	8	AUB	5	AUB	4	AUB	4	AUB	7	AUB	8	AUB	10	AUB	6
Christmas Gift? The Cats' Pause
Neiman Commissioned For UK Painting
THE CATSPAUSE
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World-famous sports artist LeRoy Neiman has been commissioned by Ashland Oil, Inc. to do a painting depicting the color and excitement of University of Kentucky basketball in Rupp Arena.
A limited edition of 300 serigraphs of the painting, numbered and signed by the artist, will be offered to friends of the University by UK Alumni Association. A serigraph is a print made by the silk-screen process.
Proceeds from the sale of the serigraphs will be used by the University of Kentucky for scholarships, professorships and other areas of great academic need at UK.
Bob McCowan, president of Ashland Petroleum Co. and chairman of the UK Annual Giving Fund, said, "LeRoy Neiman is one of the world's truly outstanding sports artists, and we are delighted to make his talents available in this unique UK fund-raising endeavor."
Neiman visited Lexington Saturday and attended the finals of the UK Invitational basketball tournament at Rupp Arena, where he began his preliminary sketch work on the painting at his seat on press row.
Neiman is probably best known for his appearance in 1972 and 1976 on ABC-TV sketching and painting the Olympic games.
Serigraphs of the Neiman painting will be about 25 x 32 inches in size and will be sold for $800 each.
Inquiries about ordering one of the Neiman serigraphs should be directed to the UK Alumni Association.
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mail to: P  0. Box 7297 !_____        .Lex i_n jto n,_ _Ky L _4 05 0 2 PAGE 3    THE CATS'  PAUSE, DECEMBER 24, 1377
1 -    
Cats' Pause Publisher
WILDCATS #
I
Kentucky Could Be In For A Real Shocker Against Iona
Less than a month ago, basketball fans snickered and joked about a little school named "IONA" on the Kentucky basketball schedule. Some fans accused Coach Joe Hall of padding his schedule like many other major colleges.
But those same fans aren't laughing so much these days, not after what happened Saturday night when "little" Iona destroyed Auburn 105-82 and ran its season record to 7-1.
Hall earlier this season told The Cats' Pause he scheduled the game for two reasons, one because Iona has a good team and is an up-and-coming school, and secondly because he wanted to give the Kentucky fans an opportunity to watch freshman Jeff Ruland in action.
In the end, Hall may havepresented himself more of a problem than he had anticipated. Ruland, if you recall, was the target of Kentucky's biggest recuiting hunt since the days of Kent Benson [you remember him], Ruland was recruited by more than 300 colleges across the country and finally narrowed his choices to Kentucky, Indiana and Iona, not necessarily in any particular order. Experts around the country figured Iona would be the next school to be eliminated.
Surely, the number one prepster in the country would not turn his act away from either Kentucky or Indiana for tiny Iona, would he? Well, he did.
During the height of the recruiting season, Hall admitted he was more concerned about Iona landing Ruland than Indiana. Insiders said he eliminated Indiana from the race about a week from the day he signed with Iona.
Ruland visited Kentucky the weekend of the Kentucky-Florida football game in 1976 when the Wildcats were on a tear and heading toward the sensation 7-4 year and the Peach Bowl championship. Campus sports enthusiasm was at an all-time high.
I remember the day because there was this tall, muscular lad sitting in the UK press box with coach Joe B. Hall. Few people recognized the big man as the number one prospect in the nation because NCAA rules forbid any public recognition of an athlete while he is visiting a school.
Looking back to that day, you had to figure Ruland likely would stay home. He appeared to be a young guy who wasn't ready to venture some 800 miles away from home.
People close to the Ruland situation insist that's the reason he ultimately decided to attend Iona, so he would be close to home and enable his family and friends the opportunity to see him play.
Iona's gain was Kentucky's loss, make no mistake about that. Had
Ruland chosen to attend Kentucky, just think about the possible fron-court line-up of Chuck Aleksinsas and Jeff Ruland next season to go along with LaVon Williams, Scott Courts, Freddie Cowans and Tim Stephens.
Kentucky fans will be disappointed in Ruland's exhibition this weekend only because he will be wearing the opponents' uniform. Hall only hopes his Wildcats will be more successful than their SEC counterpart Auburn was last Saturday night.
For the past several years, sports writers up East have argued New York City basketball is the only real basketball played today. Well, that theory was buried once and for all Friday night by a man (not from the South), who should know.
St. John's coach Lou Carnesecca, answering a reporter's question quoting South Carolina coach Frank McGuire as saying a team would have to play New York style basketball to beat Kentucky, said, "New York basketball doesn't exist anymore. Kentucky plays as much New York basketball as the kids in New York City do. Los Angeles is the same way, because of television, the tremendous influence of pro ball on television. There are great players out of Virginia, Norfolk, Louisville, Tennessee, Washington. Basketball has been standardized."
And not to mentio a parting question, how long has it been since an Eastern team has won the NCAA?
St. John's came into the UKIT as probably the top team in the East this season and it left with a 30-point defeat at the hands of Kentucky. Maybe that's the reason the great New York press refuses to give collegiate basketball much ink.
#
#
Don't be surprised if Kentucky and St. John's hook up again, maybe in the Big Apple.
The relationship between the two schools is very good, especially when you consider the personal relationships of the St. John's coach with Hall and other influential people at Kentucky.
The St. John's boss noted in a press conference of his ties with such people as AD Cliff Hagan, Frank Ramsey [a member of the UK Athletics Board], and former UK athletics director Harry Lancaster.
It's no big secret Hall would enjoy playing in the East, for recruiting purposes and the UK boss for one likes to recruit the good big man in the East (apparently there's still some excellent
talent up there).
No one is saying so, but St. John's visit to the UKIT could be the renewal of a long playing relationship with the Wildcats. It certainly would be an attractive package for both clubs.
You have to figure something is in the works when an opposing coach makes the following comment so early in the season, "I certainly wish Joe and his club to go all the way,'' as Carnesecca following the championship game.
HITS AND MISSES . . . Members of the Committee of 101, one of UK's sports boosters clubs which work the UK basketball games, have been wearing black armbands in tribute to the late Adolph Rupp. Club president Bill Crowley said, "When we were first getting started many years ago, Coach Rupp went to bat for us and we won't ever forget that. He was more responsible for us getting the club off the ground than anyone. When a problem would arise, Coach Rupp would just pick up the phone and take care of it." . . . Kentucky has been bringing in some pretty good hoop recruits for visits recently, including a couple of big men from New York. Also, the Cats have had guests from such states as Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Pennsylvania . . . Todate.no more football signees have been announced by coach Fran Curci, but you can bet there will be more blue chippers before the hunt is over. Curci believes the recruits should be signed to national letters of intent before doing any boasting. Some coaches like to boast first, only to discover their stars missing when the big date arrives. . . . The "Most Appropriate Award" of the week goes to the assistant athletics director for academic affairs at UK You place a telephone call to the office and the prompt greeting is, "Academic Affairs office, may I help you?" You can bet they're taken up on that offer quite freqently .... We'll see just how popular Kentucky basketball really is during the next few months. A Kentucky oil firm has commissioned the famous Leroy Neiman to do a painting, illustrating the great Kentucky basketball tradition at Rupp Arena. There will be only 300 prints made and they will be sold at the modest price of $800 (that's right, Eight Hundred Dollars) each. Proceeds will go to scholarship and such under the direction of the UK Alumni Association. . . . Notre Dame's upset loss at the hands of Indiana last week will probably prevent the battle of the 1-2 powers next week in Louisville.
Most fans had been looking forward to the Kentucky-Notre Dame classic with the two teams being ranked 1-2. Kentucky will have its No. 1 ranking, if it can handle Iona, but Notre Dame probably will be third or fourth. . . . Tip of the week: better not bet on Kentucky beating Iona by more than 12 points this weekend. It could be the shocker of the year, and I ain't kidding. . . . Look for a couple of new books to hit the stands sometime next year about the great legend of Adolph Rupp. One such book has been in the making by Lexington Herald sports editor John McGill, and another has been in the making for several years by UK sports information director Russell Rice. . . Herald-Leader sports writer Stuart Warner came up with an excellent suggestion Sunday in proposing to rename the UKIT the "Adolph Rupp Classic." . . . Often, players have too long a Christmas lay-off and it tends to break a team's early-season stride. That won't be the case with Kentucky this season. After playing Iona on December 23, the players will have two days with their families and then it's back to the practice floor at 8 p.m. on December 26 to prepare for Notre Dame's Fighting Irish. . . . After serving last year as chairman of the Eastern Kentucky Multiple Sclerosis Hope Chest campaign, Rick Robey now is serving as the campaign's chairman of the "Read-a-thon," a program that brings in dollars for books read by children throughout the state. . . . Several of Kentucky's players feared they had lost a very close personal friend in the airplane tragedy which claimed the entire Evansville basketball team last week. Ernon Simpson, who coached Dwane Casey, Freddie Cowan and Larry Johnson in high school at Union County, is an assistant coach at Evansville, but he was on a scouting assignment rather than the team flight to Nashville. . . . Kentucky and Notre Dame may not be playing in Louisville after the present contract expires in 1980, according to Louisville Courier-Journal sports editor Billy Reed. Reed said in a recent column Notre Dame coach Digger Phelps no longer wants to play in Louisville each year, but would prefer a home-and-home series, switching from South Bend to Lexington. Phelps was quoted as saying he is getting tired of getting his teeth knocked in by a partisan Kentucky crowd every year in Louisville. Joe Hall probably wouldn't mind such an arrangement, but the Louisville fans wbuld be the real losers. It will be up to the Irish supporters in the Louisville area to put the pressure on Phelps to continue the rivalry in the Falls City, or Digger's new plan will prevail. PAGE 4   THE CATS' PAUSE, DECEMBER 2k, 1977
A Mike Phillips Hook
KENTUCKY WILDCAT
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Mike Reynolds
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LEXINGTON,  KENTUCKY 40502
As a kid in Ashland, just growing up
My idols were Kluzewski, Bryant and Rupp
On those cold winter nights when the Cats took the floor
I'd yell with glee as they ran up the score
Hagan, Ramsey and Tsioropoulos, too Boy, was I glad that they wore the big blue Then along came Currow, Bird and Gayle Rose With Rupp as their coach, I knew they'd be pros
Then in March of '58, at friendly Freedom Hall The Cats had a chance to again win it all With Rupp in command a la General Patton The Temple Owls fell, on that great play by Hatton
Seattle was next, and Rupp had a plan
Get Elgin Baylor in foul trouble, he was their main man
With Cox' long jumpers keeping us alive
The National Championship belonged to the Fiddlin Five
I then moved to Florida, land of sunshine and fun But in my heart, the Cats were still Number One On the night of a game, with my radio on the floor I'd listen to Cawood, as the Cats went to war
Last Saturday night I took my wife out to dinner
But I knew Kansas was good, would they be the winner?
So I left her alone, and went out to the car
I wondered if the Cats were playing up to par
As Cawood described the last minuted of play I knew we had won, it was another good day But on Sunday morning, I read the paper and cried The greatest coach who ever lived had just died
It just isn't fair, I wanted to say
That this great man has gone away
But suddenly I understood what this would mean
Now the Lord would have a coach for His great team
So to you, Coach Rupp, I won't say goodby 'Cause you're just moving up to the arena in the sky And I'll know that tomorrow when they lay you to rest God has chosen you because he wanted the best
Thanks for the memories, coach.
Jim Leighow Titusville, Florida
Rupp Memorial Cancer Fund Established At UK
The University of Kentucky has announced the establishment of the Adolph F. Rupp Memorial Cancer Fund to honor the memory of the famed UK basketball coach who died of cancer Saturday at the University Hospital
"This new fund will support cancer programs at the University including basic and clinical research, patient care and programs of the Ephraim McDowell Community Cancer Net-word," said Dr. Peter Bosomworth, vice president for the U.K. Albert B. Chandler Medical Center.
According to Dr. Bosomworth, donations to the fund may be made by
sending checks to Adolph F. Rupp Memorial Fund, UK Medical Center, 909 Rose St., Lexington, Ky. 40506
All gifts will be recorded and acknowledgements made to the fam-ily.
The committee which set up the new fund included Dr. Bosomworth; Dr. D. Kay Clawson, dean of the UK College of Medicine; Dr. John R. van Nagell Jr., chairman of the UK cancer committee; Dr. David Goldenberg, executive director of the McDowell network; and Dr. Ben F. Roach, chairman of the McDowell network board of directors. PAGE 5    THE CATS'  PAUSE,  DECEMBER 24, 1577
 PAGE 6   THE CATS' PAUSE, DECEMBER 2k, 1977
1978 SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE BASKETBALL SCHEDULE (Conference Games Only)
Mon. Jan. 23 U.K. at Alabama
Auburn at LSU Florida at Ole Miss Vanderbilt at Miss. State
Mon. Jan. 2 Vanderbilt at U.K
Auburn at Georgia Florida at Tennessee LSU at Miss. State
Wed. Jan. 4 LSU at Alabama Auburn at Tennessee Florida at Georgia Ole Miss at Miss. State
Sat. Jan. 7 U.K. at Florida
Georgia at LSU Tennessee at Ole Miss Vanderbilt at Auburn
Mon. Jan. 9 U.K. at Auburn
Miss. State at Alabama Vanderbilt at Florida Georgia at Ole Miss Tennessee at LSU
Sat. Jan. 14 LSU at U.K.
Auburn at Florida Miss. State at Georgia Ole Miss at Vanderbilt Alabama at Tennessee
Mon. Jan. 16 Ole Miss at U.K.
LSU at Vanderbilt Miss. State at Tennessee Alabama at Georgia
Sat. Jan. 21
U.K. at Miss. State
Auburn at Ole Miss Florida at LSU Georgia at Tennessee Vanderbilt at Alabama
Sat. Jan. 28 Tennessee at U.K.
Miss. State at Florida Georgia at Vanderbilt LSU at Ole Miss Alabama at Auburn
Mon. Jan. 30 Georgia at U.K.
Miss. State at Auburn Tennessee at Vanderbilt Alabama at Florida
Sat. Feb. 4
Florida at U.K.
Alabama at Miss. State
Auburn at Vanderbilt
LSU at Georgia
Ole Miss at Tennessee
Mon. Feb. 6 Auburn at U.K.
Florida at Vanderbilt Ole Miss at Georgia LSU at Tennessee
Sat. Feb. 11 U.K. at LSU
Florida at Auburn Georgia at Miss. State Vanderbilt at Ole Miss Tennessee at Alabama
Mon. Feb. 13 U.K. at Ole Miss Vanderbilt at LSU Tennessee at Miss. State Georgia at Alabama
Sat. Feb. 18 Miss. State at U.K.
Alabama at Vanderbilt Ole Miss at Auburn LSU at Florida Tennessee at Georgia
Mon. Feb. 20 Alabama at U.K.
LSU at Auburn Ole Miss at Florida Miss. State at Vanderbilt
Sat. Feb. 25 U.K. at Tennessee
Florida at Miss. State Vanderbilt at Georgia Ole Miss at LSU Auburn at Alabama
Mon. Feb. 27 U.K. at Georgia
Florida at Alabama Auburn at Miss. State Vanderbilt at Tennessee
Sat. Mar. 4 Alabama at Ole Miss Georgia at Auburn Tennessee at Florida Miss. State at LSU
Mon. Mar. 6 U.K. at Vanderbilt
Alabama at LSU Tennessee at Auburn Georgia at Florida Miss. State at Ole Miss
Sat. Mar. 11 First round of NCAA Tournament
ALL-SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE
(55 Players Chosen 98 Times)
Shelby Linville (F) ........ 1951
Bobby Watson (G) .....1951,'52
Frank Ramsey (G) . 1951, '52,"'54
Cliff Hagan (C)........ 1952, '54
Bill Evans (G-F) .......... 1955
Bob Burrow (C) ....... 1955, '56
Johnny Cox (F)  ... 1957, '58, '59
Vernon Hatton (G)........ 1958
Don Mills (C) ............ I960
Bill Lickert (F-G) . . 1959, '60, '61
Larry Pursiful (G)......... 1962
Cotton Nash (C-F) . 1962, '63, '64
Ted Deeken (F) .......... 1964
Tommy Kron (G)...... 1965, '66
Pat Riley (F).......... 1965, '66
Thad Jaracz (C-F)......... 1966
Larry Conley (F) .........1966
Louie Dampier (G) . 1965, '66, '67
Mike Casey (G)____ 1968, '69, '71
Dan Issel (C)...... 1968, '69, '70
Mike Pratt (F)......... 1969, '70
Larry Steele (F) ..........1971
Tom Parker (F)........1971, '72
Tom Payne (C)........... 1971
Jim Andrews (C)....... 1972, '73
Kevin Grevey (F) . . 1973, '74, '75
Jack Givens (F)........ 1976, '77
Rick Robey (F) .......... 1977
KENTUCKY ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICANS
Louie Dampier............... Guard...................... 1966-67
Dan Issel ................... Center ....................... 1970
Mike Pratt .................. Forward...................... 1970
Mike Casey.................. Guard........................ 1971
Bob Guyette ................ Forward...................... 1975
Jimmy Dan Conner ........... Guard........................ 1975
ALL-NCAA TOURNAMENT
*Alex Groza (C)........ 1948, '49        Johnny Cox (F) .......... 1958
Bill Spivey (C) ............ 1951        Pat Riley (F)............. 1966
Shelby Linville (F) ......... 1951        Louie Dampier (G)........ 1966
Vernon Hatton (G)......... 1958        Kevin Grevey (F) ......... 1975
*Chosen Most Valuable Player 1948, '49.
(REGIONAL)
Larry Pursiful (G).......... 1962      *Pat Riley (F)............. 1966
Ellis Johnson (G) .......... 1933
Forest Sale (C) ............' 1933
John DeMoisey (F)...... 1933, '34
Bill Davis (G) ............. 1934
Leroy Edwards (C)......... 1935
Dave Lawrence (F)......... 1935
Ralph Carlisle (F)....... 1936, '37
Warfield Donohue (G) ...... 1937
Bernie Opper (G) ....... 1938, '39
Layton Rouse (G).......... 1940
Lee Huber (G) ............ 1941
James King (C)............ 1941
Marvin Akers (F) .......1941, '43
Ermal Allen (F) ........... 1942
Melvin Brewer (C).......... 1943
Bob Brannum (C).......... 1944
Jack Parkinson (G) . . 1944, '45, '46 Jack Tingle (F) . . 1944, '45, '46, '47
Kenton Campbell (C) ....... 1945
Ralph Beard (G) . 1946, '47, '48, '49 Wallace Jones (F) 1946, '47, '48, '49
Joe Holland (F) ........... 1947
Alex Groza (C)......... 1948, '49
Kenny Rollins (G) ...... 1947, '48
Jim Line (F).............. 1950
Bill Spivey (C) ......... 1950, '51
Walt Hirsch (F)............ 1951
*Alex Groza (C)........ 1948, '49
Bill Spivey (C) ............ 1951
Bob Burrow (C) ........ 1955, '56
Gayle Rose............... 1955
Vernon Hatton (G)......... 1958
Johnny Cox (F) .... 1957,'58,'59
Bill Lickert (F)............ 1961
Cotton Nash (C-F) ......... 1962
Louie Dampier (G)......... 1966
Mike Casey (G)............ 1968
Dan Issel (C) . :..... 1968, '69, '70
Jim Andrews (C)........ 1972, '73
Mike Flynn (G)............ 1975
Jimmy Dan Conner (G) .....1975
Jack Givens (F)............ 1977
*Chosen Most Valuable Player.
The Goose Connects
ALL-SOUTHERN CONFERENCE
Paul Jenkins (G)........... 1926
Carey Spicer (G)........ 1929-'31
Louis. McGinriis JF)............ 1931.
George Yates (G) ......... 1931
Ellis Johnson (C-F)........ 1932 PAGE 7    THE CATS'  PAUSE,  DECEMBER lk, \377
Mike Phillips Scores 22
Phillips Named MVP As Cats Regain UKIT Title, 102 - 72
With Mike Phillips playing perhaps his finest game in two years, Kentucky's Wildcats became the awesome team many have expected in rolling over highly regarded St. John's 102-72 to regain the UKIT title the Cats lost a year ago.
Phillips, one of Kentucky's twin 6-10 giants, poured in 20 points and gathered eight rebounds in leading a balanced scoring attack which featured five double-figure scorers and a torrid 53.7 shooting percentage from the field.
The outstanding play caused coach Joe B. Hall to admit his Cats "are now out of my doghouse."
Although undefeated at 5-0 entering the game, Kentucky had not played anywhere near its potential in the previous five games. Hall earlier in the week said he didn't like what he had been seeing from the bench.
But all that changed against the Redmen from the East. The passing was crispt and unselfish, the shooting phenomenal, the rebounding awesome and_ the defense sticky. Add it all up, and Kentucky breezed to a thirty-point victory.
Playing before a packed house of 23,472 for the second straight night and the fifth time in as many tries this season at home, the Cats raced out to an early 6-0 lead and the Redmen made only a couple of minor runs at the Cats.
Phillips, for his outstanding play which included a slam dunk that brought the roaring crowd to its feet and some of his best one-on-one work since he arrived at Kentucky, was voted the classic's Most Valuable Player by the media representatives.
Two other Kentuckians joined Phillips on the All-Tournament team. Junior guard Truman Claytor and senior Jack Givens were also accorded the honor. Rounding out the five-man squad were Freeman Williams of Portland State and George Johnson of St. John's.
Ironically, neither Phillips nor Clay-tor played in last year's UKIT because both were serving out a two-game suspension meted to them and Jay Shidler for breaking curfew earlier in that week.
Kentucky lost to Utah in the finals a year ago on a last second shot.
After the game, both Phillips and Claytor admitted this UKIT was something special to both, especially after last year's event.
The Wildcats exploded early, firing a sizzling 61.3 percent from the field in the opening twenty minutes as they opened up a 46-28 halftime lead as Kyle Macy, Claytor and Phillips broke the double-figure barrier with 12, 10 and 10 points, respectively.
St. John's fought back briefly late in
the first half and sliced what had been a 10-point deficit to four points at 26-22 when Johnson hit a six-footer from the side. That was with 6:07 left in the half.
Then Kentucky's defense went to work. The wildcats limited the Red-men to a mere six points the final six minutes and the Wildcats blazed away at the other end, lay-up after lay-up with some of Kyle Macy's 20-footers spiced in for good measure.
Macy was a house afire near the end of the half and personally accounted for eight consecutive points as the Cats broke the game wide open.
As has been the situation in several games this year, Kentucky left no doubt in anyone's mind with the first
five minutes of play in the second half.
The Cats came out of the locker room and outscored the Redmen 24-6 during the first 6:41 of the second half, and it was all over.
Kentucky again cleared its bench early and every Kentucky player ghot at least five minutes of action.
"This team is awesome," said St. John's coach Lous Carnesecca. "They were a tremendous team tonight. They are very, very good."
While Kentucky was getting a balanced scoring attack, St John's likewise got a balanced attack from its team, but just couldn't match up with the bigger Wildcats on a hotter night.
John led the losing cause with 17 points followed by freshman Wayne
McKoy (a rookie recruited by Kentucky at one time) and Bernard Rencher with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Gordon Thomas and Tom Calabrese scored 10 points each.
Phillips was the big gun all the way for the Cats.
"I figured I owed 'em one for last year, and this partially makes up for it," said Phillips in reference to last year's absence from the UKIT.
.Mike also admitted the MVP honor will be a big boost to him, personally.
' 'This couldn't have come at a better time," said Phillips. "I was kind of getting down on myself and winning this award really gives me a good feeling. It's good to see the team come out of its slump tonight."
Behind Phillips in scoring were Macy and Claytor with 16 points each followed by reserve James Lee who drove home 12 in a fine performance with seven rebounds.
Kentucky's two leading scorers on the season were below par as Rick Robey scored only 10 points (but had eight rebounds) and Jack Givens tallied only 8 points (with seven rebounds).
Robey has been suffering from an unknown illness for the past three weeks and Hall said the big 6-10 senior from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, would be visiting the doctors early in the week for another check-up. He played 25 minutes but tired easily.
Givens played 27 minutes and hit 3 of 7 from the field, but his patented jumpers just weren't needed with the other Wildcats being so hot.
Kentucky won the game just about any way you look at it. The Wildcats shot 53.7 percent to 38.4 percent for the Redmen, outrebounded the visitors from New York 46-34 and hit, believe this, 90.9 from the free throw line on 30 of 33 attempts. St John's connected for 66.7 percent on 16 of 24.
Kentucky was credited with dishing out 19 assists to 15 for St. John's, and the Wildcats committed one less turnover than the visitors, 18 to 19.
Phillips and Macy led the Cats in assists with five each. Phillips' exhibition was a thing of beauty and it came in only 22 minutes of playing time. Likewise, Lee contributed his 12 points and seven rebounds in only 18 minutes of playing time.
Chuck Aleksinas had another good night, scoring 8 points and grabbing four rebounds in IS minutes. UK coaches feel the big man is right on target for his role to step in as a starter next season when Robey and Phillips depart.
But there's a lot of basketball before that happens, maybe even the most exciting moment in UK basketball. There's a lot of collegiate basketball on tap for the next three months.
	ST. JOHN'S			-72				
PLAYER	FG	FT	REB	PF	TPS	A	TO	MIN
K. Winfree	2-10	1-2	4	4	5	1	4	25
G . Johnson	7-15	3-3	9	5	17	1	5	26
W. McKoy	6-15	1-5	4	4	13	0	1	25
T. Calabrese	4-7	2-2	4	3	10	5	3	35
B. Rencher	4-9	k-k	2	2	12	6	2	26
R. Plair	o-i	0-0	2	1	0	0	1	5
G. Thomas	3-7	4-5	0	3	10	1	0	19
F . Gilroy	2-3	0-1	1	0	4	0	1	4
R. Wright	0-2	1-2	1	2	1	1	2	20
P. Berwanger	o-4	o-o	3	0	0	0	0	15
Team Rebounds			4					
TOTALS	28-73	16-24	34	24	72	15	19	200
KENTUCKY102								
PLAYER	FG	FT	REB	PF	TPS	A.	TO	MIN
J . G i vens	3-7	2-2	7	2	8	2	3	27
R. Robey	]-k	8-8	8	1	10	2	1	25
M. Phi 11i ps	10-14	0-0	8	4	20	5	3	22
K. Macy	5-9	6-6	3	2	16	5	1	31
T. Claytor	7-10	2-2	0	1	16	2	1	27
D . Casey	0-2	2-2	0	1	2	0	1	8
J. Shidler	2-2	o-o	1	1	4	1	2	9
T. Stephens	0-1	0-1	2	1	0	2	1	5
J. Lee	5-9	2-4	7	3	12	0	3	18
F. Cowan	1-3	2-2	2	1	4	0	0	6
C . A1eks i nas	2-5	4-4	4	4	8	0	2	13
L. Willi ams	0-1	2-2	2	3	2	0	0	9
Team Rebounds			2					
TOTALS	36-67	30-33	46	24	102	19	18	200
ST. JOHNS UNIVERSITY			28		44	-	--	72
UNIVERSITY OF	KENTUCKY		46		56			102
Officials:    Julius Sneec		and	Ben	Dunn				
Attendance:	23,472 (Rupp Arena Capacity)							
 PAGE 8   THE CATS' PAUSE, DECEMBER 2k, 1977
Joe Hall Visits With Coach Fran Curci During UKIT
Balanced Attack Paces St. John's To 77-60 Win Over Seattle
THE OLYMPIANSPosing for posterity with Coach Adolph Rupp are Wildcats Ralph Beard (12), Cliff Barker (23), Kenny Rollins (26), Joe Holland (14), Wallace Jones, Alex Groza (15), Jim Line (25) and Dale Barnstable (18), who were national champions and champions of the collegiate division of the 1948 Olympic Trials. The "Fabulous Five"Beard, Barker, Rollins, Jones and Grozaparticipated in the 1948 Olympic Games in London.
UNDEFEATEDSweeping through a 25-game schedule without a defeat was the 1953-54 Wildcat squad featuring "Skippy" Whitaker (32), Bobby Watson (38), Billy Evans, Frank Ramsey (30), Lou Tsioropoulos (16), Cliff Hagan (6) and Shelby Linville (11).
St. John's advanced to the finals of the University of Kentucky Invitational Tournament by blowing out Seattle 77-60 in the opening game of the 25th annual event Friday evening at Rupp Arena.
With an attack which featured balanced double-figure scoring from all five starters, St. John's leaped out to a 36-22 intermission lead and never looked back as the Redmen upped their record to 7-1 on the season.
The Redmen clearly were the superior team, whipping Seattle in virtually every department.
George Johnson, St. John's Ail-American candidate, and Bernard Rencher shared team scoring honors with 14 points each while freshman sensation Wayne McKoy added 13, Kevelin Winfree added 11 and Tom Calabrese put home 10 more.
Seattle's best effort came from Jawann Oldham, who scored 22 points and had seven rebounds.
St. John's hit a blazing 63 percent the fir