Prickett is Kentucky's most pivotal player

Sporting News, The, Nov 4, 1996 by Mike DeCourcy

In the midst of all that Kentucky blue during the march to the 1996 NCAA championship, there was Jared Prickett wearing red, sometimes seeing red. The Wildcats were exactly where he dreamed they'd be when he signed a letter of intent five years earlier. He was not. He was on the bench, wearing street clothes.

"It was tough," Prickett says. "It was tough sitting and watching the team play, especially winning the championship. Every minute you're sitting there and watching, you're wishing you could get in."

A 6-9, 230-pound power forward, Prickett opened last season as the 11th man in a 11-man rotation that was, perhaps, the deepest collection of talent ever gathered on one team. He played in five games, but not a lot, before it was determined he was not making adequate progress following offseason knee surgery. So, Prickett sat out 1995-96 and applied for a redshirt year.

"He's a shell of his former self," coach Rick Pitino said then.

Pitino now says his Wildcats need quality play from their rebuilt frontcourt to have a chance at repeating. One could make the argument, then, that Prickett is this season's most pivotal player. Not just for Kentucky, but for any team.

With the Wildcats losing three NBA draft choices from their front line (Antoine Walker, Walter McCarty, Mark Pope), they are practically starting over on the inside. If Prickett can't give Kentucky consistency in the frontcourt, nobody may. If Prickett plays well, Kentucky will be a serious threat to win it all again. No team has more depth on the perimeter. No team has 6-7 Ron Mercer, who will be the nation's best small forward.

Although sophomores Oliver Simmons and Nazr Mohammed were members of last season's champions, Prickett is the one inside guy who truly has competed in the Final Four. In 1994, he was a significant force as Pitino (and Jamal Mashburn) led the Cats to the Final Four. In four tournament wins, Prickett shot 18-of-24 from the field. Against Florida State, he scored 22 points and got 11 rebounds. He was filled with promise.

He started 25 games as a sophomore, averaging a career-best 8.2 points and 7.0 rebounds. Prickett always has been an effective rebounder; he once got 20 in a game against Arkansas. But his minutes began to slide when Mark Pope transferred in from Washington and Antoine Walker signed. They were quicker and fit the system better.

Then came the redshirt season, which wasn't always calm. Prickett and Pitino occasionnally clashed. Prickett wasn't invited to join the team at the Southeastern Conference Tournament. There was considerable surprise when he joined the team at the Final Four.

"Sometimes, you just have different views on everything, but the main thing is, he's always right," Prickett says. "That's just the way it is, the way it's got to be, and the player's got to understand that. Coach works you hard, has a lot of discipline on the team. You might not like it, and you might have difficulties, but every player that's come out of here has been better off.

"When I first got here, my first semester was probably the hardest three or four months of my life. Getting up, going to class every day, going to study hall, working out ... I was just physically exhausted. It makes you mentally tought."

Freshman Jamaal Magloire is going through that now. A 6-10 center from Toronto, Magloire has the physical ability to improve UK's post play over last season, when Pitino basically played three forwards. The Kentucky defense is extremely demanding, however. If any player steps out of position, the entire operation may break down. Magloire is learning.

Prickett has been around this system four years and knows where to go. "I feel I'm better now than I was back as a freshman. I was just going on emotions all the time. I didn't have too much of an impact on the team. I was just feeding off what Mash did. I feel I'll be more of a factor now."

Parting shots

Hold your cards on TSN's pick for Syracuse as the nation's preseason No. 7 team. The Orangemen could drop to 27th or 37th if 6-9 freshman forward Winfred Walton, one of the nation's top five recruits, is unable to compete. His score on the SAT is being questioned by Syracuse. ... For Saint Louis coach Charlie Spoonhour, this season's MVP may be athletic director Doug Woolard. Counting a first-round game in the Conference USA Tournament, scheduled for the Kiel Center on March 5-8, the Billikens will play at least 18 home games--and that figure could grow with some CUSA tourney success. SLU was 13-3 at home last season, 1-10 on the road.

Mike DeCouracy cover college basketball for the Commercial Appeal in Memphis. E-mail him at tsnmike@aol.com and see his responses on our AOL site (keyword; TSN).