Isabelle Harrison, a 6-foot-4 post player from Nashville, told ESPN’s Hoopgurlz.com that she has narrowed her college list to three schools (Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee) and that she will be taking official visits to each. Harrison is the No. 22 prospect in the nation and the fourth-ranked post player in the 2011 class. She is a member of the Tennessee Flight team coached by Tom Insell, brother of UK assistant coach Matt Insell and Middle Tennessee State Coach Rick Insell.
Calling it a “clarification” more than anything, Kentucky Coach Matthew Mitchell officially gave Kyra Elzy a new title.
The UK assistant coach and recruiting coordinator will now be the associate head coach.
It was announced as part of a 30-plus minute news conference with the UK coach and new associate head coach on Thursday.
I just couldn’t have a better person in this position. I think she’s one of the most talented people I’ve ever been around. We’re really fortunate to have her here.”
Elzy, a LaGrange native, has almost 10 years of experience as a college basketball coach, including the last two seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Kentucky.
With her assistance, UK has garnered some of the top recruits in the country, including the No. 5 recruiting class for the upcoming season, according to Blue Star Basketball.
Kentucky Coach Matthew Mitchell will be dusting off his microphone to sing at an event on Friday. The Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year, former front man for a group called Coach Mitchell and the B Team, will take the stage to sing at the new Moondance Performing Arts Amphitheater at 7 p.m. He will be performing with the Johnson Brothers.
The amphitheater is located in the middle of Beaumont Centre on Moonlight Pass. The event is free and there will be free hotdogs for kids (8th grade and under) while supplies last. There will also be additional concessions, inflatable games, UK cheerleaders and mascots, and fall sports posters starting at 6 p.m.
Kentucky announced Wednesday that sophomore center Anna Cole is leaving the program.
The 6-foot-7 center, who was the tallest player in the program’s history, averaged just 3.3 minutes in nine games as a freshman last season. She averaged one point and 1.7 rebounds.
Cole, who was hampered by a foot injury, asked to be released from her scholarship, the UK release said. Cole said she wished to be closer to home.
“I was very sad to hear of Anna’s desire to leave our program,” Coach Matthew Mitchell said in the release. “I do respect her desire to continue her college career closer to her family and her home in Wisconsin. … We wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”
In the UK release, Cole said she enjoyed her time in Lexington.
“I really loved everyone here,” Cole said. “I loved the coaches, the players and the fans and I would never take back this experience. I just want to be closer to home so my entire family can see me play. I miss my family so much.”
Kentucky will be starting its season without its senior point guard.
Amber Smith tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in a pickup game in late July and is out indefefinitely.
Smith was Kentucky’ third-leading scorer last season, averaging 9.2 points, 4.5 assists and 2.8 rebounds a game.
It is the second torn ACL of her college career for Smith, who missed the final 12 games of her freshman season after tearing the ligament and meniscus in her right knee.
She is scheduled for surgery later this month.
For the second straight year, the Kentucky women’s basketball media guide was judged “Best in the Nation” by the College Sports Information Directors of America Publications contest. The guide, all 208 pages of it, was written and edited by Susan Lax, associate media relations director, and designed by Kim Troxall, the creative director at UK.
In four of the last five seasons, the women’s basketball media guide has finished first in its district while also earning “Best in the Nation” and “Best Cover” in 2008-09. UK is in district four, which includes schools from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee and Alabama.
In the voting this season, Tennessee’s guide finished third overall and Louisville’s guide finished sixth.
Indianapolis Ben Davis guard Bria Goss, who recently committed to Kentucky and Coach Matthew Mitchell, scored a game-high 21 points for the Hoosiers’ Junior All-Stars in their second straight win over the Senior All-Stars, who will face Kentucky Friday and Saturday. Goss scored 11 of her 21 points in the final three minutes of regulation and in overtime to lead the comeback. She also had five rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Goss, a contender for Indiana Miss Basketball next season, has won 58 straight games at Ben Davis, including two consecutive 4A state championships.
Two of Goss’s future UK teammates, Kentucky Miss Basketball Sarah Beth Barnette and Samantha Drake of Nelson County, will compete against the Indiana All-Stars this weekend. Check back later for a story on the duo and their All-Star experience.
As they did last season, the Kentucky women’s basketball team and its coaches will host an annual 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, June 19. Last season’s 5K for 5K was an event to push the Cats’ season ticket sales to more than 5,000, which they accomplished.
In a release through UK, Coach Matthew Mitchell said he hoped future participants had been training because he plans on winning the race this year. Registration is $20 and that fee will be applied to 2010-11 season tickets for season ticket holders. Info on how to buy tickets for next season has not yet been announced.
You can register online at www.ukathletics.com by clicking on the “5K Central” button on the right side. Registration forms also can be picked up at the ticket off at the Joe Craft Center.
Miss Basketball Sarah Beth Barnette of Lexington Christian and Samantha Drake of Nelson County were selected for the 12-member Kentucky All-Star Team in its annual battle with the Indiana stars. Barnette is an automatic entrant as Miss Basketball and she will wear the No. 1 jersey in the charity game. Drake was selected by a committee of coaches from around the state.
If you’re interested in seeing either player on the court before next season, the games are June 11 at Bellarmine University. Gametime is set for 5:30 p.m. and it will be immediately followed by the boys’ game. The next day, the two teams will meet again at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
We are here at the Sprint Center for the Kansas City Regional championship game between Kentucky and Oklahoma. The winner advances to the Final Four in San Antonio, Texas, where it will meet Stanford. The Cats (28-7) and Sooners (26-10) have never met in womens’ basketball.
- Kentucky’s season ends against a faster, stronger Oklahoma team that shoots 60.8 percent from the field, the best percentage a UK team has allowed this season. Nyeshia Stevenson led the Sooners with 31 points, mostly on fastbreak layups.
- Cats trail 77-56. The game is all but over.
- Now Mitchell has to call a timeout as a 6-0 Oklahoma run extends its lead back to 14, 64-50. There is 7:38 to play.
- OU’s Coach Coale doesn’t like what she’s seeing as UK cuts it to 58-50 with 9:05 left on a Dunlap putback. She has 25 points, but is really the only Cat making any big plays. She needs help.
- UK looks mentally and physically out of it and Sooners have taken advantage and lead 58-44 with 12 minutes remaining. Mathies scored two field goals early, but has struggled since with just five points.
- Cats now trail 54-44 with 13:40 to play and Mitchell calls another timeout.
- Mitchell is fiery in huddle with 15:07 to go and Cats trailing 49-42, their largest deficit of the game. They are getting beaten to a lot of loose balls. The 50-50 plays they were so dominant on versus Nebraska aren’t there today.
- With top-seeded (and closest seed) Nebraska out of the field, the crowd here is about half the size it was on Sunday, but there seems to be more blue here than before.
- HALFTIME — OKLAHOMA 43, KENTUCKY 39: Sooners are hitting 64.3 percent from the field and have scored 18 points off of UK’s eight turnovers. The Cats have scored just eight points off of OU miscues.
- It’s 34-32 Oklahoma with 3:55 left in first half. Cats have turned the ball over seven times, leading to 13 Sooners points.
- Sooners have scored on nine of their last 10 shots and have a 32-27 advantage with 6:02 to go in first half.
- Oklahoma grabbed its first lead 27-25 on a run out by Danielle Robinson. The Sooners’ big run has brought their crowd to life. It’s 7:41 until halftime.
- UK started the game with a 15-2 run, but Oklahoma has woken up and used an 11-4 run to pull within six. With 11:26 to go in first half, Cats up 21-13.
- At the 13:45 mark in the first half, Oklahoma scores its first field goal and trails 17-4.
- Four minutes in and Cats are up 12-2 and Oklahoma has yet to score a field goal. It is 0-for-4 so far with three turnovers.
- Sooners call a timeout 2:30 into the game after UK has gone up 8-0. Oklahoma has missed its first three shots and turned it over once.
- Your game officials will be Dee Kantner, Denise Brooks and Bryan Brunette, a completely different crew than Sunday night’s game.
