Kelenna Azubuike

LEXINGTON - Leading scorer Gerald Fitch might be able to play when Kentucky takes on Georgia Saturday, but that doesn't necessarily mean Antwain Barbour will come out of the starting lineup. Barbour had 10 points in Saturday's win over South Carolina when he replaced Fitch, who has an injured finger on his shooting hand, in the starting lineup. He came back Tuesday with a career-high 23 points in a 66-55 victory over Alabama. "It's a very good possibility," said Kentucky coach Tubby Smith when asked if Barbour might remain in the starting lineup even if Fitch can play Saturday at Georgia.

LEXINGTON - Officiating is not something Tubby Smith discusses with his players, but he is glad that his team has enough experience to sense how a game is being called. "We don't talk about officiating. We may talk among the coaching staff, but not with the players," said the University of Kentucky coach Tuesday. "Maybe once or twice we might go into an environment where I might be concerned how a game is going to be called or was called previously. But that's it. " Smith knows his team may have to adapt to officiating when NCAA Tournament play begins.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A glance around the Kentucky dressing room Saturday showed players with ice packs taped to their bodies all around the room. Point guard Cliff Hawkins needed treatment on his back after practice. Guard Gerald Fitch needed treatment on his knee after Friday's game. Antwain Barbour (back), Kelenna Azubuike (knee), Ravi Moss (ankle) and Bernard Cote (ankle) all had ice packs on following practice. "It's really not as bad as it looks," said trainer Dave Kindy.

LEXINGTON - Kentucky, the nation's winningest team the last two seasons, will face what coach Tubby Smith calls another "challenging schedule" this season with non-conference games against Kansas, North Carolina and Louisville in addition to 16 Southeastern Conference games. The schedule was released Saturday even though no starting times for SEC games have been determined because the TV schedule has not been set. "Usually it is the conference TV package that keeps us from having the schedule ready sooner," said Kentucky associate athletics director Rob Mullens.

LEXINGTON - Unlike the last two years when Kentucky depended on a set lineup for most of the season, coach Tubby Smith says more options could lead to him using a variety of starting lineups this season. "I probably will use more lineups," Smith said. "We have a lot of guys who can do different things. " Senior forward Chuck Hayes and junior guard-forward Kelenna Azubuike, UK's two returning starters, are set in their roles again going into the season. The one other player who seems to have a set spot in Smith's rotation is junior point guard Patrick Sparks, who practiced with the Wildcats last year after transferring from Western Kentucky where he was a two-year starter.

LEXINGTON - Not having a starter over 6-8 would hamper most Division I teams. However, it hasn't stopped Kentucky's Erik Daniels, Chuck Hayes and Kelenna Azubuike from more than holding their own against opposing teams. The Wildcats will face another big challenge Sunday when the they travel to LSU. Kentucky completely shut down Tennessee center Brandon Crump Wednesday night when it limited the junior center to just six points and six rebounds, and the Wildcats will need the same type of effort Sunday against the Tigers (17-7, 7-6 in SEC)

Kentucky hopes to add a center tonight when Atlanta prep standout Randolph Morris announces whether he'll sign with Kentucky or Georgia Tech or possibly put his name into the NBA draft. The Wildcats already know, though, that they are losing an interior player because Bernard Cote announced Wednesday that he was leaving Kentucky. Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said Cote, a 6-9 sophomore forward-center who played in 52 games, had been granted a release from his scholarship. "Bernard's decision certainly came as a surprise to us, and we're sorry to see him go," Smith said in a statement released by UK. "We certainly support Bernard's decision to do what he feels is in his best interest.

Rajon Rondo will soon know if he made the right decision by entering the NBA Draft rather than returning for his junior season at Kentucky. He's not one of the 15 players invited by the NBA to attend Wednesday night's draft, but that doesn't mean he could not be among the top 15 picks - or at least a first-round pick and instant millionaire. There's also no consensus that Rondo will even be a first-round pick. It seems likely that he will be, but the NBA Draft is almost as unpredictable as a roulette wheel in Las Vegas.

Randolph Morris might be ready to play basketball for Kentucky again, but the Wildcats obviously are not getting overly excited about having the sophomore center on the roster. Morris' entry into the NBA Draft in June jeopardized his college eligibility even though he went undrafted. He's applied to the NCAA for reinstatement to Kentucky. The best case scenario seems likely that he would miss UK's first six to nine games for accepting expense money from NBA teams that he has now repaid.

People and things. Travis Leffew . The Louisville All-America offensive lineman has been put on the early 2005 Rotary Lombardi Award watch list. The award goes annually to the college football lineman, either offensive or defensive, who exhibits outstanding ability as well as exemplifies the discipline of former NFL coach Vince Lombardi. A panel of 400 college football coaches, football writers, broadcasters and previous Lombardi Award winners picks the winner.