Cincy, Kentucky programs not exactly opposites
And this, unfortunately, was the meat of Hayes' answer:
"I know their players attend all the AAU camps as we did," he said. "Coach Huggins and his staff and Coach Smith and his staff were there, scouting players. I don't know what Coach Huggins looks for in his players, but Coach Smith likes to bring in players that are respectful, who know the game and are good kids."
You mean like Mike Southall?
Sorry. Cheap shot. But why, in this neighborhood rivalry that's not a rivalry at all -- more on that in a minute -- are the cheap shots usually saved for Cincinnati?
The NCAA has looked at Cincinnati, yes, but it has never found anything remotely close to what it found at Kentucky in 1989.
DerMarr Johnson is held against Cincinnati as the ultimate one-and-done renegade with no interest in a degree. Do you know the difference between DerMarr Johnson and NBA-hungry Kentucky center Randolph Morris? Johnson had the chance to turn pro after his freshman season. Morris won't.
If Kentucky and Cincinnati were as morally far apart as the typical media coverage would have you believe, Smith and Huggins wouldn't be friends. They are. When Huggins hosted his annual coaches clinic this past fall, Smith was his keynote speaker. They have hosted a charity golf tournament together. Both have volunteered for the other's charity foundation.
"Tubby is what I think all coaches ought to be," Huggins said. "His players have great respect for him, he works extremely hard, he's involved in his community, he's involved in the betterment of basketball. I don't know what else a guy could do. If they have the word 'coach' in front of your name, I don't know what more anybody could expect."
On the Ohio side of the Interstate 75 corridor that separates the campuses by roughly 80 miles, there is much clamoring for the 'Cats and 'Cats to sign a long-term series contract. That's been done before, actually. It was 1987, when the schools had a six-game deal that lasted two games. After Kentucky beat Cincinnati in 1990, Cincinnati people say, Kentucky asked out of the deal. Cincinnati agreed. The teams haven't played since.
They play Saturday. Neither team has a choice.
The people watching the game will form opinions of both programs. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is your choice.
