Perry Stevenson

UK junior Perry Stevenson sits down with Keith Taylor to talk about the upcoming UK basketball season.

LEXINGTON - Perry Stevenson's improved play has not been a surprise to Kentucky assistant coach Glynn Cyprien. Cyprien says he noticed Stevenson's play not only last year when he was an assistant coach at Arkansas, but also during his prep career in Louisiana. "I knew he was talented. The one question was him exerting himself and playing with a lot of energy," said Cyprien. "It's not surprising that he has played well recently. Coach (Billy Gillispie) is demanding a lot of Perry.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) ? Jodie Meeks scored 23 points and Perry Stevenson added 16 points and 20 rebounds as Kentucky held off Ouachita Baptist 94-72 in an exhibition game Friday. Jaranimo Marks led Ouachita Baptist, a Gulf South Conference school from Arkansas, with 20 points. Rowan Ledbetter added 16 points. Foul trouble plagued Kentucky forward Patrick Patterson. He was limited to just 14 minutes playing time and tallied 12 points. The Tigers tied the game 24-24 in the first half, but the Cats managed to pull away to a 43-35 halftime lead and never looked back.

Terry Orcutt: Yes I like our freshmen class I been watching the Cats over 30 years they are the best freshmen class I have ever seen and I believe If they can stay together play as a team we have a chance to make it to the final 4 this year. I really like Perry Stevenson I think he could be the best shot blocker in the nation this year as a freshmen! What do you think Mr. Vaught ? Larry: I like the freshmen, too. Not quite ready to call them the best in 30 years or put UK in the Final Four, but I do think this year will be a lot more fun than the past one. And you are right about Stevenson.

LEXINGTON - Collegiate Hoops 101 is officially in session at Kentucky. Although Perry Stevenson, Jodie Meeks, Derrick Jasper and Michael Porter have been hitting the books since arriving on campus, Kentucky's top four freshmen enrolled in another class here on Wednesday night - a class that brought them to Lexington in the first place. The four earned some rave reviews following Kentucky's two exhibition games, but got their real taste of college basketball in front of a packed house at Rupp Arena.

The 10th Region needs an overhaul. Nothing against Campbell County or Pendleton, Bishop Brossart, or other teams near the 9th Region, but why in the world are those teams in the 10th Region? My good friend and neighbor Mark Scenters was named the head football coach at Garrard County Tuesday. Scenters had been serving as offensive line coach at Madison Central. Anyone else excited about the "short" drive to Montgomery County for the boys' 10th Region Tournament? Of all the times for George Rogers Clark to get a tough draw.

LEXINGTON - Kentucky freshman Patrick Patterson will miss the rest of the season because of a stress fracture in his left ankle, the school announced Friday. Patterson, a blue chip recruit out of West Virginia who leads all Southeastern Conference scorers by averaging 16 points a game, had the injury confirmed after an X-ray Friday. He will be out approximately eight weeks and is wearing a cast on his foot, the school said. The statement didn't indicate how Patterson got hurt, and a call to UK media relations wasn't immediately returned.

LEXINGTON - Get out the pen and paper. It's time to put faces with a number. If covering an exhibition basketball game toward the end of football season isn't hard enough for even a veteran sports journalist, keeping track of the newcomers on Kentucky's roster this season provided another task in the Wildcats' 94-54 rout over Lindsey Wilson here Thursday night. The best thing about Kentucky's exhibition opener was the fact that fans and others got a first look at the Wildcats against an outside opponent without all the preseason hoopla.

LEXINGTON - Get out the pen and paper. It's time to put faces with a number. If covering an exhibition basketball game toward the end of football season isn't hard enough for even a veteran sports journalist, keeping track of the newcomers on Kentucky's roster this season provided another task in the Wildcats' 94-54 rout over Lindsey Wilson on Thursday night at Rupp Arena. Oh, forgot to mention the fact that Louisville's football team was playing perhaps its biggest game of the season more than an hour up the road against West Virginia at the Pizza Palace.

LEXINGTON - If a team puts two, or even three, defenders on Kentucky sophomore center Patrick Patterson, that should leave one or two other players open. So why did Kentucky have so much trouble scoring against Mississippi State on Tuesday night when the Bulldogs did just that? "If they double Pat, we are playing four-on-three. But we did not catch the ball well enough and were not strong enough to get out of the double-team," Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie said. "Once you do get out of that double-team, you should shoot a layup or an easy shot.

LEXINGTON - It had to be difficult for Ramon Harris and Perry Stevenson to be recruited by Tubby Smith and play for him one year, spend the next two years playing for Billy Gillispie and then having John Calipari come to Kentucky for their final season and bring the nation's No. 1 recruiting class with him. But think about everything that Darius Miller has been through. The Kentucky senior was a prep standout at Mason County who decided to play for Gillispie despite his shaky first season at Kentucky and then has had to watch Calipari bring in three straight No. 1 recruiting classes.

Former Kentucky basketball player Mark Krebs shared his thoughts on a variety of subjects Saturday during his time at the Ohio UK Convention in Middletown, Ohio: * Josh Harrellson. Krebs admitted he was as surprised as anyone by the success his former UK roommate had last season and what a key role he had in the Wildcats' Final Four run. “I did not think he would ever do all he did,” Krebs said. “But after Enes (Kanter) was not allowed to play, I knew Josh would pick up his game.

LEXINGTON — Not only is Josh Harrellson the Southeastern Conference Player of the Week, but he’s also leading the conference in rebounding at 9.3 per game and field goal percentage at 65.0 going into the start of SEC play Saturday at Georgia. Harrellson admits he was as surprised as any fan that he could earn a weekly SEC honor like he did after his superb play against Louisville — 23 points, 14 rebounds. “I was actually pretty shocked. I didn’t even hear about it until Coach (John Calipari)

LEXINGTON — This Kentucky team won’t have five first-round NBA draft picks come June like John Calipari’s first UK team did. However, as strange as it seems, this Kentucky team might be even more fun to watch — or at least it has been so far. Calipari’s Cats dismantled Winthrop 89-52 here Wednesday thanks to a fun-filled formula of terrific 3-point shooting, fast-paced play and unselfish teamwork. Guards Doron Lamb (32 points) and Brandon Knight (21 points)

LEXINGTON — A little over two years ago, Josh Harrellson had a double-double in one of his first games at Kentucky. It looked like then-UK coach Billy Gillispie had uncovered a junior college gem when Harrellson had 12 points and 10 rebounds Nov. 29, 2008, against West Virginia. Instead, Harrellson eventually found himself in Gillispie’s doghouse, had to worry about whether new UK coach John Calipari would keep him on the team and then played behind two NBA first-round draft picks — DeMarcus Cousins and Daniel Orton — and a senior — Perry Stevenson — last season.

LEXINGTON ? Daniel Orton and Perry Stevenson did not have a field goal in a combined 26 minutes of play against North Carolina Saturday. Yet their play was what Kentucky coach John Calipari highlighted for his players to watch Monday. "They won the game for us," said the UK coach. "Their effort and energy was unbelievable. Neither one scored, but they ran the court, blocked shots. They did everything to make us win. They were our highlight tape. " Orton was 0-for-2 from the field in 18 minutes, but had four rebounds and two blocked shots.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Luke Harangody had 30 points and 11 rebounds and Notre Dame hit 12 3-pointers to end a 10-game losing streak to Kentucky, beating the Wildcats 77-67 Wednesday night to advance to the National Invitation Tournament semifinals. Note: The Advocate-Messenger sports editor Larry Vaught was interviewed on South Bend's NewsTalk 960 WSBT prior to the University of Kentucky's NIT quarterfinal round game at Notre Dame Wednesday. Click here to hear the audio from that interview.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - By the time Jodie Meeks got going for Kentucky, Notre Dame was all but packing its bags for New York. The Irish were up by 15 points before Meeks made his second basket, on just his fourth shot with 12:18 left in the game, and the Irish survived a 17-5 run late by the Wildcats to end a 10-game losing streak to Kentucky with a 77-67 victory Wednesday night to advance to the National Invitation Tournament semifinals....

OMAHA, Neb. - It made sense that Kentucky would want either Jodie Meeks or Patrick Patterson to take the shot that would determine if Kentucky's season would continue or not. Coach Billy Gillispie designed a play when he called timeout with 17.9 seconds left Monday night and his team trailing Creighton 63-62 in the National Invitation Tournament with that in mind. Patterson set a pick for Meeks and then the UK guard had the choice to shoot, drive or throw the ball to Patterson depending on what the defense did. "Guys make plays.

LEXINGTON - Early in the second half Perry Stevenson found himself with an open path to the basket. The Kentucky junior started to drive into the lane and saw UNLV's Joe Darger in front of the basket. But rather than stop or be tentative as he has had a tendency to do, Stevenson leaped high in the air, threw down a powerful dunk and drew a foul from Darger. It was probably the highlight reel play of the game for the Cats in their 70-60 victory over the Runnin' Rebels at Memorial Coliseum in the National Invitation Tournament.