Rajon Rondo

LEXINGTON - Before all the time ran off the Rupp Arena clock, Ramel Bradley had to start celebrating. While the rest of his Kentucky teammates were content to sit and watch the end of the Wildcats' shocking 73-61 win over No. 4 Louisville, Bradley was ready to savor the win. He stood, faced the UK student section and started waving a white towel. Then he slowly turned to the rest of the arena to encourage fans to show their appreciation for what Kentucky had done. "This game was so big for us," Bradley said.

Not long after Kentucky lost by 26 points at Indiana, sophomore point guard Rajon Rondo was citing a "couple of ego problems" on the team as one reason for the Wildcats' embarrassing performance. What Rondo didn't say is that maybe he's one of those so-called ego problems. Or at least that's how it could appear after comments in Wednesday's Lexington Herald-Leader from Doug Bibby, Rondo's former high school coach at Eastern. Bibby says Rondo is "uncomfortable" in his new role at Kentucky and that is having an impact on his game.

LEXINGTON - Shagari Alleyne may not have developed into a consistent inside presence for the University of Kentucky basketball team, but he does consistently emphasize that no one can look back. Considering the way the 23rd-ranked Wildcats were no match for Indiana in last week's 79-53 loss, maybe that's a good thing going into this Saturday's game with visiting Louisville. "We can't focus on the past. That doesn't help anyone," said Alleyne, a junior center. "A loss like Indiana, we can't dwell on that.

LEXINGTON - Rajon Rondo and Ramel Bradley both remember what it was like for them as freshman guards to play at North Carolina last season. Now they are glad Carolina's young players will get a taste of Rupp Arena Saturday. "I don't take it personally how they beat us last year, but it was a learning experience for me. It was so loud and it was really our first time to play where all the fans were against us. It was definitely a new experience," said Rondo. North Carolina will start freshmen guards Bobby Frasor and Marcus Ginyard in Saturday's nationally televised game.

LEXINGTON - For a lot of teams, a nine-point, four-rebound performance by a 7-foot center would not be a reason for optimism. For a team desperate for a consistent inside presence like Kentucky is, the play of junior Lukasz Obrzut against High Point here Tuesday was nothing short of miraculous. "I've never felt like I played too hard because basketball is hard," said Obrzut. "I just sometimes felt like I wanted to do so well and things just were not working. Today I just decided to play loose and look for opportunities to do the things I can and the things the coaches wanted me to do. " Obrzut was 4-for-5 from the field and 1-for-1 at the foul line while scoring a career-high nine points in the 75-55 win over High Point.

LEXINGTON - No one enjoys playing in the national spotlight more than Kentucky sophomore guard Ramel Bradley. "I love the big games. It's what I came to Kentucky for. All the fans, the TV guys, the media. I love it all," said Bradley. Kentucky plays No. 20 Iowa at 9:30 p.m. in the Guardians Classic in Kansas City. The Cats will face either No. 2 Texas or No. 14 West Virginia Tuesday depending on who wins and loses tonight's two games. Bradley had 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting, three rebounds and one assist in 22 minutes in Kentucky's 67-49 win over Lipscomb a week ago. Coach Tubby Smith used a second-half lineup that featured Bradley and sophomore point guard Rajon Rondo playing together in that game to spread the floor.

LEXINGTON - One night after saying his team's energy level had been fine, Tubby Smith had a change of heart. The Kentucky coach watched too many players make mistakes and play with a lack of emotion the first half here Monday against Lipscomb in the Guardians Classic. Finally, enough was enough. He decided to turn to players he knew would play at least with the energy he wanted the second half. Instead of running players in and out of the game, Smith made just one substitution in the final 15 minutes of the Wildcats' 67-49 win. Smith benched starters Joe Crawford and Patrick Sparks in favor of Ravi Moss and Ramel Bradley.

LEXINGTON - Considering South Dakota State is making the transition from Division II to Division I and was playing against No. 9 Kentucky in hallowed Rupp Arena, a 17-point loss would seem to have been a moral victory. Guess again. Rather than praising Kentucky - which he eventually did - South Dakota State coach Scott Nagy ripped into his team for playing "nervous and jittery" after the Wildcats won 71-54 in the first round of the Guardians Classic here Sunday. "Under no circumstances should we be happy," Nagy said.

LEXINGTON - Rajon Rondo set a new single-season record for steals as a freshman last year at Kentucky. "I tell my players that when you better worry about Rondo is when you can't see him," said LSU coach John Brady during last month's Southeastern Conference Media Days. "As long as you can see him, you can keep the ball away. But when you don't know where he is, he can take the ball from anyone. " While that philosophy made Rondo one of the SEC's best defenders last year, UK coach Tubby Smith wants to see more fundamental defense from all his players here tonight when they open the season against South Dakota State in the Guardians Classic.

LEXINGTON - Certainly there were things Kentucky coach Tubby Smith had to dislike about Wednesday's exhibition game. The main one, obviously, had to be the Wildcats' 24 turnovers, including four by normally sure-handed point guard Rajon Rondo However, there was also a lot for everyone to like about UK's 82-63 victory over nearby Georgetown College. The feisty Tigers didn't back down one bit from No. 9 Kentucky and with about eight minutes left in the game, they trailed only 66-56.