College Basketball

RICHMOND — Steve Payne never thought he’d be at his current job this long. Then again, he never thought he would enjoy it so much. Assistant coaches are a nomadic lot, with many of them thinking about how they can best position themselves to run their own program someday. Payne said he thinks about those things, too, but the Liberty native said he also thinks he’s got it pretty good at Tennessee Tech. A combination of special circumstances and a special affinity for the community where he and his family have settled has led Payne to put down roots in Cookeville, Tenn.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Chris Wright went from 0 points to 24 in two days, keeping Georgetown’s winning streak alive and finally lifting the Hoyas into the top half of the Big East standings. After going scoreless in a win over Villanova, Wright had a season-high 24 points Monday night as the 13th-ranked Hoyas overcame a major dose of Big East ugly to get their fifth straight win, blowing an 11-point second-half lead before pulling out a 62-59 victory over No. 15 Louisville.

LEXINGTON - Even though he's not been the dominant player some Kentucky fans hoped he would be this year, Randolph Morris has still had his name surface as a player who likely will not spend four years in college. While the 7-foot Kentucky freshman center won't deny he has professional aspirations, he always wants to make it clear that he likes being at Kentucky. "I feel college is definitely a steppingstone for my life. I like the college level and I am enjoying everything going on here now," Morris said.

Stanford native Ethan Spurlin has been named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball player of the week after leading Transylvania to a pair of league wins last week. Spurlin, a sophomore guard, averaged 19.5 points in Transy’s wins over Franklin and Defiance. He shot a combined 15 for 23 from the field and had seven rebounds. The 2009 Lincoln County graduate ranks second in points per game (10.6) and first in rebounds (5.3) for the Pioneers (15-6, 9-5 HCAC)

Transylvania University sophomore Nicole Coffman of Liberty has been named to the Women's DIII News All-America fourth team. Coffman, a 5-8 guard who played at Casey County, is one of only two sophomores among the 25 players recognized by Women's DIII News. She was previously named the HCAC's most valuable player after leading the conference in scoring with 20.3 points per game and helping Transy win its fourth league title. Centre forward Paige Baechle, a junior, received honorable mention on the Women's DIII News All-America team.

Spencer Perrin certainly made his presence known last season at Eastern Kentucky, but not to the extent that he’s doing it this year. Perrin is already asserting himself in practice, and the former Boyle County High School star plans to do the same on game nights in his second season with the Colonels. He is more at ease in his surroundings and more comfortable on the court than he was a year ago. And with only one season remaining in his collegiate career, he is more determined to do all he can to succeed and to help his team do the same.

The Centre College men trailed by 10 points early Friday, but took control and routed host Birmingham-Southern 77-53. Matt Nestheide scored all 15 of his points in the first half as the Colonels won their 11th straight game. T.C. Thomason added 13 points and Thomas Britt and Ryan Crowdis had 10 points each. "We played our best basketball of the year," Centre coach Greg Mason said. "We got good play in the post, especially defensively, the last 35 minutes. We outrebounded them 37-15 and I never would have expected that.

The 2009-10 Southeastern Conference (SEC) men's college basketball schedule across ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN360.com and the ESPN Regional Television syndication package (the SEC Network) will feature 91 regular-season and 11 SEC Tournament games, including 14 University of Kentucky regular season games. The 102 total telecasts is the most ever for the conference on the ESPN networks. The increase in games is the result of ESPN's landmark 15-year agreement ? the longest national rights agreement in ESPN history ?

SUNDAY, JAN. 29 Men's college basketball Arkansas at Kentucky, 1 p.m. (WRNZ-FM 105.1) Centre at Rhodes, 2 p.m. Women's college basketball Centre at Rhodes, 4 p.m. MONDAY, JAN. 30 Girls high school basketball Danville at East Jessamine, 7:30 p.m. Casey County at Garrard County, 7:30 p.m. (WRNZ-FM 105.1) North Laurel at Lincoln County, 7:30 p.m. Rockcastle County at Mercer County, 7:30 p.m.

St. Catharine College gave Kourtney Belcher a shot, and the Lincoln County senior is making the most of it. Belcher tried out for the school a month ago, and today she is signing with the Patriots. She first got in contact with the school a month ago, and she quickly knew it was the right school for her when she visited. “By spring break, I had gotten no offers from anybody, and my dad said go on the Internet and look around,” Belcher said. “And I went online and found St. Catharine.

The University of Minnesota doesn't deserve to have Tubby Smith as its men's basketball coach. The former University of Kentucky coach was fired Monday, less than 24 hours after the Gophers lost to Florida in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. The unexpected exit came nearly six years after he resigned as coach of the Wildcats to take a similar post in the Twin Cities, and three days after his team dismantled Pac-12 regular-season champion UCLA in the second round of the tournament, a loss that cost Bruins coach Ben Howland his job. Smith took over a program that had been marred by academic troubles that stripped the team of a Final Four appearance in 1997 and guided the team to three NCAA Tournament appearances despite competing in the Big 10 against the likes of Indiana, Michigan State, Michigan and Wisconsin.

LEXINGTON - When he was suspended for a game against Pittsburg in late January, Kevin Ware had a conversation with Louisville coach Rick Pitino about what exactly was expected of him on the court. Whatever Pitino told him worked, because the 6-2 sophomore guard has become a spark off the bench, increasing his scoring, rebounding and minute while adding to Louisville's already potent backcourt of Russ Smith and Peyton Siva. “Me being suspended when I had an attitude problem with Coach kind of woke me up. He basically just told me I had to go out there and play basketball, and that's what I did,” said Ware, who had a team-high five assists, two steals, four points and had no turnovers in just 17 minutes in Saturday's 82-56 win over Colorado State.

LEXINGTON - It was Russ Arena indeed this week. A Louisville fan held up a sign Saturday's for the Cardinals' Russ Smith that read “Russ Arena.” And Smith has certainly made himself at home in Rupp Arena, Kentucky's home court. The junior guard scored 27 points in the Cardinals' 82-56 third-round victory over Colorado State. That after he scored 23 points Thursday in a 31-point win over North Carolina A&T. Smith was 17 for 31 from the field in Louisville's two games in Lexington, making 11 of 14 free throws and five of 11 3-point shots.

LEXINGTON - Peyton Siva showed how to dominate a game without scoring in the first 20 minutes Thursday. The Louisville point guard did not got his first bucket until there were 2 minutes, 36 seconds left in the first half. But by that time, he had already collected five assists, had three steals and helped the Cardinals force 14 turnovers and take a 16-point halftime lead. He finished with six points, eight assists and four steals in 26 minutes as the top-seeded Cardinals rolled over North Carolina A&T 79-48 in their NCAA Midwest Regional opener at Rupp Arena.

LEXINGTON - Colorado State came into its NCAA tournament game Thursday ranked fourth in the country in rebounding. The Rams displayed their dominance on the glass in their 84-72 win over Missouri in a second-round game at Rupp Arena, outrebounding the Tigers 42-19. And senior Colton Iverson said it is going to take a similar effort on the glass and on defense Saturday when they face top-seeded Louisville to help negate the Cardinals' pressure. “Obviously, they're a great team, talented, big, physical.

Transylvania University sophomore Nicole Coffman of Liberty has been named to the Women's DIII News All-America fourth team. Coffman, a 5-8 guard who played at Casey County, is one of only two sophomores among the 25 players recognized by Women's DIII News. She was previously named the HCAC's most valuable player after leading the conference in scoring with 20.3 points per game and helping Transy win its fourth league title. Centre forward Paige Baechle, a junior, received honorable mention on the Women's DIII News All-America team.

LEXINGTON - Greg Edwards is making up for lost time this week. The Boyle County girls coach and die-hard Louisville fan had to miss most of the Cardinals' games this season. But he was on hand Wednesday for their open practice at Rupp Arena, and he plans to return tonight when Louisville plays North Carolina A&T in the NCAA Midwest Regional. “With me coaching and our games I think I saw two regular season games this year,” Edwards said. “So any chance you get to come out and see the team up close and get to watch them, it's always exciting.” And the fact Louisville is playing in Rupp Arena makes it that much better for Edwards.

LEXINGTON - Kasey McRay went to Louisville as a student manager hoping to parlay that into a college coaching job one day. But the Mercer County graduate gotten so much more than just an insight into coaching, more than he could ever have imagined. McRay was in Rupp Arena on Wednesday as No. 1-seeded Louisville held an open practice in advance of tonight's NCAA Midwest Regional game with North Carolina A&T. “Words really can't describe it. It's something that growing up I always dreamed about being part of a college program.

Ask your typical blue-collar Kentucky basketball fan where the pinnacle of college basketball is located and more often than not, their finger will point you north along Lexington Road, toward Rupp Arena in Lexington. A few local alumni have even ventured there during the years, but East Jessamine High School spawned its own hard working athlete, and the only from his team to play varsity college basketball. Located in Grayson, Kentucky Christian University watched on as its big man on campus, Clay McKinzie, recently closed the book on his basketball career.