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This is part two of the March 31, 1998 celebration honoring the NCAA Champion Kentucky Wildcats
Tubby Smith:
Our video coordinator, Gary
Foxworth, where's Gary? Gary
and Tim Asher...Tim, where's Tim? All right, Tim--doing a
great job, there he is.
And two of the greatest fans who really do a great job
in running the
program, running
the 101 Club that goes with us everywhere. Van Florence
and Bob Wiggins. Bob, and where's Van? I know Van's been
under the weather, but
he's been here for us, and I know he's been here for
us.
I want to thank the media, certainly. I want to thank everbody who's been a part of this successful season, because we couldn't do it without the fans. And I want to get to the players, but we couldn't do it without our cheerleaders, our band. You were wonderful. Our pep band, everybody... super all year long. Stand up, stand up, give us a bow, we appreciate it. The pom squad, where's the pom squad? Stand up girls, ladies, take a bow. I know they all want to see you. (gestures toward the players) I'm going to get to you guys pretty soon. Thank you cheerleaders. Now I just want each one of these guys that have meant so much this year and I can't say--we started the year off, and whenever there's a change in the coaching, there's always going to be some stress, there's always going to be a little anxiety between--and you're going to have to learn one another. It's like a family when somebody's been gone for a while. I've always felt like I was a part of the University of Kentucky, having worked here previously with Rick Pitino, when he first started, for two years. And then to come back has just been a remarkable--it's been unbelievable getting back here this year. And there are a lot of people in the Lexington area that we knew, that have welcomed Donna and I back into your homes and your lives, and we appreciate that. |
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All right, the freshmen. these guys, these young men have learned a lot this year. They've experienced a lot; they've grown and their skill level has just blossomed throughout the year, and they've meant so much. And they're the key to the success we've had this year, because their development has made the other players, the upperclassmen, work that much harder in practice. Because when you have four players that have never played at this level, it's really an adjustment period. But these guys made that adjustment very well. And I can't thank them enough for their accomplishments on and off the court. And that's Myron Anthony... Ryan Hogan... Mike Bradley...and Saul Smith! Stand up here, fellows. I tell you what; we had the most enthusiastic and the most energetic freshmen and bench in America, I can tell you that. They come every night ready to play, every day ready to practice, and they've done a remarkable job. The sophomores in the program, although there are few...there's only two of them in the program, they have meant an awful lot to us, and I've got to thank them publicly for all the things they've done to help this program along this year. First, Steve Masiello! ... and Jamaal Magliore! All right!! Jamaal gave us a tremendous lift last night, as he has all year long. He played great defense, shut down Mike Doleac when we had to shut him down, and shut down the big boys from Stanford when we had to shut them down, did a super job. Okay, now for the juniors. These young men have had the potential to play anywhere in America, and I'm just thankful that they decided to be a part of the University of Kentucky basketball program. And we're fortunate to have them here. (Erick's note: Many people in the crowd, anticipating the introduction of Heshimu Evans, began to yell "Moo" in appreciation. "Moo" sounds a lot like "boo", and there were probably some folks taken aback for a second until they realized what was going on. This same thing used to happen when Sam Bowie was playing. I remember one nationally televised game where the announcers were speculating why the crowd was so upset with dear old Number 31. Finally one said "Oh, I get it. They're not booing; they're saying "Boo" for "Bowie." To borrow a phrase from the young people of today: "Well, Duh!" Tubby Smith: (to those yelling 'Moo') You're right! This first young man transferred here, and you hadn't seen him play until this year, but he's been unbelievable coming off the bench, and he's been a real warrior...Heshimu Evans! Moo! This next young man (motions for the juniors to remain standing) Stay up, stay up. This guy really came on. You know the story behind this young man, the sacrifice and the discipline he made. to get himself in shape to become a top player in the country, an outstanding player for us all year long, did an outstanding job for us in the tournament, and we certainly wouldn't have been able to win this national championship without him. That's Nazr Mohammed! The Mountain! Nazr The Mountain Mohammed! This next player, he's one of your own, home-grown. I tell you he's been the most consistent player all year long. He has such a competitve spirit, he and I wanted-- he wanted to play me one-on-one sometimes in practice but he knew I'd beat him out every time. He played great last night. Stepped up to the free-throw line, and made big threes against Duke and all year long. One of the top players in the SEC and in the country, from Louisville, Scott Padgett! This next young man accepted the role of leading this team. I think it took him a while this year to accept and realize that he was going to be the general; he was going to be the man that was running this ship. And he accepted that role, and accepted that responsibility, and has been magnificent throughout the tournament, and throughout postseason play, not only this year, but last year also, and I don't know what we would have done with out..Wayne Turner! Thank you, fellows. Thank you.All right. Last but not least, these guys. You know what they've meant to this program; you've watched them play now for a number of years and they -- you know, their loyalty and their dedication and the inspiration that they've shown all of us, the commitment that they've made to...to come to Kentucky, stick it out and persevere is just remarkable. I can tell you that I have the utmost respect for these young men, and I know they're going to be succesful in everything and anything they attempt in life. Our senior tri-captains...and when I came here, that was one of the things I wanted to do is make sure that we had outstanding leadership. You can't win championships unless you have tremendous leadership within your team. And that's what these young men gave to us all year long was outstanding leadership on and off the basketball court. Their beliefs, their values transcend all of basketball. I can tell you, it transcends anything you want to do. These are great human beings that you would love to have as sons, that you would love to have your daughters marry someday. The first young man, you know about what he went through this year, but he persevered and a lot of us didn't realize how sick an illness his mother --what she was going through, and you can imagine the feeling that he had. But he played extremely hard. He fought through it and really responded unbelieveably after...after his mother passed. So we really want to, you know, thank him for doing what he did for us this year, and the years past.
Allen Edwards! I can tell you about this group of young men. We haven't had a bad practice all year long, and I can't say that about any other team that I've ever been around in all my career. We've never had a bad practice. We've had some tough early morning practices, but we've never had a bad practice all year long. The next young man, you know, he was MVP in the tournament, this past tournament. And he came on. The last month of the season, he's been the best player in the country. I'm going to tell you right now. He's been the best player. I mean, he rose his level of play...he raised his level of play and went beyond anything that we could have-- any of our expectations. And that's what we needed at this point in time. We needed players that could make great plays, that would step up and make the big plays, make the big stops defensively, score in the clutch, and I thought he did that remarkably. And I can't say enough about this young man, and I know he's going to have a super career in the NBA. Jeff Sheppard!
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