Cats' depth a post-season plus

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky basketball coach Tubby Smith has a theory about why the Wildcats do so well in tournaments.

It's right there on the stat sheet -- nine players average more than 10 minutes a game, and four others average between 6 and 9.3 minutes. Smith said the team's efforts to develop depth usually pay off during postseason play, when quick adjustments have to be made, sometimes with the season on the line.

Kentucky, playing in its 46th NCAA tournament, will bid for its 28th appearance in the Elite Eight on Thursday, when the second- seeded Wildcats (27-5) play sixth-seeded Utah (29-5) in a regional semifinal in Austin, Texas.

Of Kentucky's 15 players, only two have not seen significant action with a game still in doubt. Six of the eight most-used reserves are freshmen or sophomores. Of the two upperclassmen, one, junior Ravi Moss, is a walk-on.

Because of that depth, no Kentucky starter is averaging more than 29.3 minutes a game.

"We try to develop depth and make sure that when you get into a tournament that a guy like Ravi Moss has the confidence and he knows I have confidence in him," Smith said. "Anybody we bring off the bench has had enough experience and playing time in game situations that they can step up and perform."

Sophomore center Lukasz Obrzut is an example of that. Seldom used for much of the season, he played a career-high 22 minutes in a 78- 71 win at Alabama that clinched the Southeastern Conference regular- season title.

The 7-foot sophomore from Gliwice, Poland, only scored two points against the Crimson Tide, but he grabbed four rebounds and set numerous screens that freed up teammate Patrick Sparks, who had 26 points and seven 3-pointers.

In a 72-64 first-round NCAA tournament win over Eastern Kentucky, Obrzut scored five points in five minutes as Kentucky held off the Colonels.

"I always try to give my best on the court and just keep improving every day," Obrzut said. "Confidence comes from practice and I just keep going during the game and let it go."

Obrzut's emergence gives the Wildcats two potentially productive 7-footers off the bench, as 7-foot-3 Shagari Alleyne shined early in the season for Kentucky.

At power forward, Bobby Perry and Sheray Thomas have subbed capably for starter Chuck Hayes. There's depth on the perimeter, too, with Moss, freshman point guard Ramel Bradley, Joe Crawford and Josh Carrier. The Wildcats' top eight bench players have combined for 15 double-figure scoring games this season.

Moss said it's important for the bench players to be ready to go in a game on a moment's notice.

"I think we can wear teams down and we won't get worn down because we don't play as many minutes, so hopefully that will pay off for us," Moss said. "We all come in off the bench ready to do whatever we can to help the team." Depth has proven critical in previous postseason runs by the Wildcats. In 1998, Smith's first season as Kentucky's coach, Cameron Mills -- a former walk-on -- capably stepped in after the mother of key reserve Allen Edwards died right before the SEC tournament.

During that tournament, Jeff Sheppard, the team's leading scorer, sprained an ankle. Reserve Heshimu Evans replaced Sheppard "and we moved right on," Smith said. "That's what you have to have."

Kentucky went on to win the NCAA title that season, beating Utah 78-69 in the championship game.

Smith realizes that by limiting everyone's minutes, some players won't be happy. Crawford, a much-hyped freshman, left the team briefly in January because of disappointment over playing time, but then returned to the team.

"They all want to play more," Smith said. "Each individual has to do their part in order for us to be successful. It's like a piece of a puzzle. Everybody has to fit together, and coordinating that is a challenge ... Some guys have to learn to submit and sacrifice sometimes for the betterment of the team."

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