Rupp Arena

If it isn't broke, don't fix it. Rupp¿Arena isn't ready to be changed from sacred ground to a hollow one. City and athletic officials at the University of Kentucky have pondered whether to renovate the structure or simply build a new one during the past decade. When it comes to dollars and common sense, renovating the current arena is the best course of action to take, considering the history of the building and its stature in the college basketball universe. Throughout its 35-year existence, the arena has experienced numerous upgrades and hasn't fallen victim to hard times.

Kentucky's non-conference schedule is complete. The Wildcats will play 15 games outside the Southeastern Conference, including home games against North Carolina at Rupp Arena. Kentucky went 29-9 last season before losing to eventual national champion Connecticut in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. It was the school's first appearance in the Final Four since 1998. The Wildcats open the season with a pair of exhibition games. Kentucky will meet Transylvania on Nov. 2 and closes out the exhibition slate five days later against Morehouse on Nov. 7. Kentucky officially opens the season on Nov. 11 against Marist and will follow the opener with a contest against Kansas on Nov. 15 in the Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York.

LEXINGTON - Give Kentucky coach John Calipari for understanding just how sensitive either redesigning Rupp Arena or building a new downtown arena will be. It seems that spending maybe $150 million to renovate versus $300 million or so to build a new arena - can you say KFC Yum! Center in Louisville - is the more practical way to go in today's economy. Besides, what's wrong with Rupp Arena now? Doesn't team after team come into Rupp Arena talking about the amazing experience of playing there and how much they enjoyed it?

LEXINGTON - John Wall went back in time, and it was like old days, with the exception of the outcome. Although it's been almost two years since he played at Rupp Arena, the former University of Kentucky guard noticed little difference during the Kentucky Pros exhibition game against the Dominican Republic. Wall never lost a game in the arena while at Kentucky, but that all changed Monday night when the Dominican Republic national team, led by Wall's former college coach John Calipari, defeated the Pros 106-88.

LEXINGTON - The hometown guy got the loudest ovation, then Tyler Bowers of Danville rode away with the top prize. Bowers was introduced during the opening ceremonies for Saturday's AMA¿Arenacross event with Montgomery Gentry's hit, “My Town,”¿blaring from the Rupp Arena speakers and had the crowd was on its feet. That was just the start of a great night for Bowers, who collected his 10th win of the season and maintained his points lead. “I was just so pumped to see how many people were out here.

A large contingent of former University of Kentucky standouts are among those expected to return to Rupp Arena for an exhibition game next month. Kentucky coach John Calipari confirmed the names of former players who have been invited to participate in an exhibition game against the Dominican Republic national team on Aug. 15 at Rupp Arena. According to the Kentucky coach, John Wall, the school's first top NBA draft pick, will be joined by DeMarcus Cousins, Eric Bledsoe, Jodie Meeks, Nazr Mohammed, Keith Bogans, Tayshaun Prince and Rajon Rondo.

As much fun as it will be to see Christian Laettner in Rupp Arena, he's no longer the person I'm most anxious to see on the court Oct. 24. Not that it won't be fun to see how Kentucky fans boo him for hitting that game-winning shot for Duke in the 1992 epic NCAA Tournament overtime win over UK after he stomped on Aminu Timberlake's chest earlier in the game. But it's going to be even more fun to see the ovation the die-hard Wildcat fans at the game matching the Big Blue All-Stars against the Villains coached by Laettner giveEnes Kanter.

Robbie Stenzel hasn’t forgotten  the last time he played at Rupp Arena. “I remember the first shot I made,” he said. “It was a three in the corner against Christian County in the second quarter. I remember making it. I yelled and jumped up and down.” Stenzel, the school’s all-time leading scorer and now a senior, opened his prep career as an eighth-grader at Rupp Arena and will play his last game on that same floor this week when the Cardinals compete in the four-day event for the first time since 2007.

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.

With the loaded non-conference basketball schedule that Kentucky has, not playing Samford during the 2013-14 season is barely noticeable. Kentucky has neutral site games with Michigan State, Baylor and Providence. It plays at North Carolina. It will host Louisville, as well as two other potential NCAA Tournament teams in Belmont and Boise State. But what happened to the game that seemed all but set with Samford in Birmingham? Martin Newton, Samford's athletics director and John Calipari's former director of basketball operations at UK, worked out an apparent three-year deal with Kentucky last year after he got the job at Samford.

Kentucky will renew a traditional rivalry and honor the late Bill Keightley next season. The Wildcats unveiled the non-conference portion of their men's basketball schedule Wednesday, a slate that includes contests against Michigan State, Baylor, North Carolina, Providence and defending national champion Louisville on Dec. 28 at Rupp Arena. “It's once again an elite schedule, but that's the standard here,” Kentucky coach John Calipari said on his Facebook page Wednesday. Kentucky coach John Calipari's squad will officially open the campaign on Nov. 8 against UNC-Ashville and then will play Northern Kentucky University on Nov. 10 in two straight home games to begin the season.

I'm a fan of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, but not in favor of the organization's decision to play the boys and girls state basketball championship games on Sunday beginning next season. The KHSAA is top notch when it comes to supporting and honoring high school student-athletes its coaches, administrators and the tradition of high school sports in Kentucky, but made a bad call earlier this month by moving the finale to Sunday, simply based on the results of last month's state finals that was moved to Sunday to accommodate a scheduling conflict with the University of Kentucky and Rupp Arena.

Mark Dec. 28 as the day where anyone who is a college basketball fan will be paying attention to the Bluegrass. Sources have confirmed that's the date for the Kentucky-Louisville game in Rupp Arena. Kentucky won the national championship in 2012 and Louisville won this year. With the return of veteran guard Russ Smith and a talented recruiting class, Louisville should go into the season as a top five team. With the return of Alex Poythress, Willie-Cauley Stein and Kyle Wiltjer to go with six McDonald's All-Americans and two-in state recruits, Kentucky seems set to go into the season ranked No. 1 despite playing in the NIT and losing to Robert Morris to end last season.

LEXINGTON - Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel said his injured knee is “doing good” and that his physical therapist tells him he's ahead of schedule recovering from the torn anterior cruciate ligament he suffered in UK's loss at Florida Feb. 12 that ended his season - and college career since he's put his name into the NBA draft. Noel said he is trying to “take things slow” as he focuses on his therapy but being patient has not been easy. “It's hard to be patient, especially during the season seeing my teammates out there playing and just wishing I was out there playing with them.

LEXINGTON - Louisville is back in the Sweet Sixteen. The Cardinals, who lost to Kentucky in the national semifinals last year and the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, punched their ticket to the Midwest Region semifinals with a dominating 82-56 victory over Colorado State Saturday night at Rupp Arena. Unlike their previous appearance in the postseason at Rupp Arena, which resulted in a loss to Texas A&M in 2007, the Cardinals looked the part of a top seed during the two contests, with double-figure wins over North Carolina A&T and Colorado State in front of a crowd that transferred Kentucky's home floor into an obvious homecourt advantage.

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.

Former Kentucky high school coach Maurice Dixon is glad to see that Kentucky is interested in Dante Sawyer, a defensive end he now coaches at North Gwinnett (Ga.) “Dante is upper echelon. He is a legit big-time player,” said Dixon, a former coach at Hazard who is now the defensive coordinator at North Gwinnett. “My talk to him is keep your mind open and see this Kentucky offer as an opportunity, and I think he is very interested in Kentucky. Being from Kentucky, I would love to see some of our kids get a chance to go to UK. “Kids down south have a lot of opportunities, and they just don't know about Kentucky unless they get a chance to go and see the facilities.

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.