2007–08 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2007–08 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the college basketball season of 2007–08. The team's head coach was Billy Gillispie. It was his 1st year as Kentucky's head coach. The Wildcats played their home games at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. The highlights of the season were the unranked Wildcats upsetting the #3 ranked Tennessee Volunteers 72–66, and pushing the then ranked #1 Vols to the final seconds in a 63–60 loss at Tennessee.

2007–08 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Round of 64
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEastern
Record18–13 (12–4 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaRupp Arena
Seasons
2007–08 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
No. 5 Tennessee 14 2   .875 31 5   .861
Kentucky 12 4   .750 18 13   .581
No. 19 Vanderbilt 10 6   .625 26 8   .765
Florida 8 8   .500 24 12   .667
South Carolina 5 11   .313 14 18   .438
Georgia 4 12   .250 17 17   .500
West
Mississippi State 12 4   .750 23 11   .676
Arkansas 9 7   .563 23 12   .657
Ole Miss 7 9   .438 24 11   .686
LSU 6 10   .375 13 18   .419
Alabama 5 11   .313 17 16   .515
Auburn 4 12   .250 14 16   .467
2008 SEC tournament winner
As of April 7, 2008
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

edit
2007–08 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 3 Ramel Bradley 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 191 lb (87 kg) Sr IMG Academy Brooklyn, New York
G 5 Derrick Jasper 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 213 lb (97 kg) So Paso Robles Paso Robles, California
G 12 Mark Krebs 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 207 lb (94 kg) So Newport Central Catholic Newport, Kentucky
G 13 Michael Porter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 198 lb (90 kg) So Modesto Christian Modesto, California
F 15 A.J. Stewart 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Fr Arlington Country Day Jacksonville, Florida
F 21 Perry Stevenson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Lafayette Lafayette, Louisiana
G 23 Jodie Meeks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 208 lb (94 kg) So Norcross Norcross, Georgia
C 25 Moraykinyo Williams 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 270 lb (122 kg) Fr Bishop Ireton Alexandria, Virginia
G 30 Dwight Perry 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 187 lb (85 kg) So Southern Durham, North Carolina
G 32 Joe Crawford 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 207 lb (94 kg) Sr Renaissance Detroit, Michigan
F 34 Ramon Harris 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) So West Anchorage Anchorage, Alaska
F 42 Mark Coury 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 238 lb (108 kg) So Detroit Country Day Detroit, Michigan
C 43 Jared Carter 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 277 lb (126 kg) Jr Scott County Georgetown, Kentucky
F 54 Patrick Patterson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Huntington Huntington, West Virginia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

2007 signees

edit
College recruiting information (2007)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Alex Legion
G
Beverly Hills, Michigan Oak Hill Academy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 199 lb (90 kg) Apr 24, 2007 
Star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A
Patrick Patterson
F
Huntington, West Virginia Huntington High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) May 16, 2007 
Star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A
A.J. Stewart
F
Jacksonville, Florida Arlington Country Day High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Oct 15, 2006 
Star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A
Mike Williams
C
Alexandria, Virginia Bishop Ireton High School 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 270 lb (120 kg) Sep 28, 2006 
Star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A
Morakinyo Williams
C
Alexandria, Virginia Bishop Ireton High School 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 270 lb (120 kg) Nov 14, 2006 
Star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 11   Rivals: 26
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "Kentucky 2007 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  • "2007 Kentucky Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved June 28, 2011.
  • "2007 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 28, 2011.

2007–08 schedule and results

edit
Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2007*
8:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 23 Central Arkansas W 67–40  1–0
Rupp Arena (20,335)
Lexington, Kentucky
November 7, 2007*
9:00 pm, ESPNU
No. 23 Gardner-Webb L 68–84  1–1
Rupp Arena (19,845)
Lexington, Kentucky
November 21, 2007*
7:00 pm, FSN
Liberty W 80–54  2–1
Rupp Arena (21,298)
Lexington, Kentucky
November 24, 2007*
7:00 pm, FSN
Texas Southern W 83–35  3–1
Rupp Arena (21,445)
Lexington, Kentucky
November 27, 2007*
7:00 pm, FSN South
Stony Brook W 62–52  4–1
Rupp Arena (19,269)
Lexington, Kentucky
December 1, 2007*
2:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 1 North Carolina L 77–86  4–2
Rupp Arena (24,252)
Lexington, Kentucky
December 8, 2007*
3:45 pm, CBS
at No. 15 Indiana L 51–71  4–3
Assembly Hall (17,410)
Bloomington, Indiana
December 15, 2007*
2:00 pm, ESPN
UAB L 76–79  4–4
Freedom Hall (14,241)
Louisville, Kentucky
December 18, 2007*
9:00 pm, ESPN
at Houston L 69–83  4–5
Hofheinz Pavilion (8,517)
Houston, Texas
December 22, 2007*
1:00 pm, FSN
Tennessee Tech W 69–47  5–5
Rupp Arena (22,371)
Lexington, Kentucky
December 29, 2007*
2:00 pm, ESPN
San Diego L 72–81  5–6
Rupp Arena (23,756)
Lexington, Kentucky
December 31, 2007*
12:00 pm, FSN
Florida International W 92–49  6–6
Rupp Arena (19,184)
Lexington, Kentucky
January 5, 2008*
4:00 pm, CBS
Louisville
Battle for the Bluegrass
L 75–89  6–7
Rupp Arena (24,386)
Lexington, Kentucky
SEC Regular Season
January 12, 2008
1:30 pm, CBS
No. 12 Vanderbilt W 79–73 2OT 7–7
(1–0)
Rupp Arena (23,965)
Lexington, Kentucky
January 15, 2008
9:00 pm, ESPN
at Mississippi State L 64–69  7–8
(1–1)
Humphrey Coliseum (9,862)
Starkville, Mississippi
January 19, 2008
9:00 pm, ESPN
at Florida
'ESPN College GameDay'
L 70–81 OT 7–9
(1–2)
O'Connell Center (12,222)
Gainesville, Florida
January 22, 2008
9:00 pm, ESPN
No. 3 Tennessee W 72–66  8–9
(2–2)
Rupp Arena (23,443)
Lexington, Kentucky
January 26, 2008
1:00 pm, Raycom
South Carolina W 78–70  9–9
(3–2)
Rupp Arena (23,996)
Lexington, Kentucky
February 2, 2008
1:00 pm, CBS
at Georgia W 63–58  10–9
(4–2)
Stegeman Coliseum (10,313)
Athens, Georgia
February 6, 2008
8:00 pm, Raycom
at Auburn W 66–63  11–9
(5–2)
Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum (5,352)
Auburn, AL
February 9, 2008
12:00 pm, Raycom
Alabama W 62–52  12–9
(6–2)
Rupp Arena (24,190)
Lexington, Kentucky
February 12, 2008
9:00 pm, ESPN
at No. 19 Vanderbilt L 52–93  12–10
(6–3)
Memorial Gym (14,325)
Nashville, Tennessee
February 16, 2008
1:00 pm, Raycom
at LSU W 67–63  13–10
(7–3)
Maravich Center (9,870)
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
February 19, 2008
9:00 pm, ESPN
Georgia W 61–55  14–10
(8–3)
Rupp Arena (22,271)
Lexington, Kentucky
February 23, 2008
2:00 pm, CBS
Arkansas W 63–58  15–10
(9–3)
Rupp Arena (24,371)
Lexington, Kentucky
February 27, 2008
8:00 pm, Raycom
Mississippi W 58–54  16–10
(10–3)
Rupp Arena (23,330)
Lexington, Kentucky
March 2, 2008
12:00 pm, CBS
at No. 1 Tennessee L 60–63  16–11
(10–4)
Thompson–Boling Arena (21,628)
Knoxville, Tennessee
March 5, 2008
7:00 pm, Raycom
at South Carolina W 71–63  17–11
(11–4)
Colonial Center (13,324)
Columbia, South Carolina
March 9, 2008
12:00 pm, CBS
Florida
Senior Day
W 75–70  18–11
(12–4)
Rupp Arena (24,256)
Lexington, Kentucky
2008 SEC Tournament
March 14, 2008
12:00, Raycom
(E2) vs. (E6) Georgia
Quarterfinals
L 56–60 OT 18–12
(12–4)
Alexander Memorial Coliseum (1,458)
Atlanta
2008 NCAA Tournament
March 20, 2008
2:30, CBS
(11 W) vs. (6 W) No. 25 Marquette
First round
L 66–74  18–13
(12–4)
Honda Center (N/A)
Anaheim, California
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Class of 2008 commitments/signees

edit
College recruiting information (2008)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
DeAndre Liggins
G
Chicago, Illinois Findlay Prep 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 202 lb (92 kg) Jun 27, 2007 
Star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 89
Darius Miller
G/F
Maysville, Kentucky Mason County 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 223 lb (101 kg) Sep 7, 2007 
Star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 91
Kevin Galloway
G/F
Sacramento, California College of Southern Idaho 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Mar 10, 2008 
Star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: n/a
Josh Harrellson
C
St. Charles, Missouri Southwestern Illinois Community College 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 265 lb (120 kg) Apr 29, 2008 
Star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: n/a
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 15   Rivals: 21
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

References

edit