The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 55

THE COURIER-JOURNAL FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 21,1997 EDITOR: HARRY BRYAN PHONE: 582-4361 FAX: 582-7186 SCORES LINE: 582-4871 CLASSIFIED There's no stall in Tub by-ball: 88 Wildcats clobber Morehead in debuts for Smith and Macy of pays price for treatment of Cooper If the declining attendance numbers at University of Louisville football games screamed the reason why Ron Cooper had to be sacked as head coach, the lottery-sized settlement check of will hand him screams a harsher message about his premature dismissal. And the message is: We treated you terribly, so we're going to give you $1 million, clear IU WINS: Guards lead IU to 80-64 win over UAB. F4 By MARK WOODS The Courier-Journal LEXINGTON, Ky. He patted a baby's head. He signed an autograph for Taylor Osbourne, a 9-year-old girl from Owensboro.

He chatted with photographers who surrounded him to document a handshake with opposing coach Kyle Macy. If Orlando "Tubby" Smith was nervous last night in the minutes before making his debut as the 20th men's basketball coach in University of Kentucky history, it certainly didn't show. Of course, if anyone had reason to be nervous, it probably was Macy. The former UK star, now a 40-year-old rookie coach at Morehead State, had brought his team to Rupp Arena for what seemed destined to turn into more of a glorified "Welcome, Tubby" pep rally than a basketball game. New era.

Same old Cats. Moments after both coaches received loud applause from the crowd of 23,097, UK jumped to a 19-0 lead, then rolled to an 88-49 victory. "It was probably about like a day off for them," Macy said. "Their practices may be tougher." How bad was it? Morehead took 58 shots and had ''A i v- A Hi )x I t4S 111 Vs V' i I I A Mr NsiJ A Mf 'X'-iW' of taxes. We know that's at least a half-million more than you ever dreamed you would get to empty your office.

But don't worry about it. We're the ones who ruined the soup. And besides, we don't want any lawsuits here, do we? Let us begin with an extra RICK BOZICH SPORTS COLUMNIST Smith's Wildcats look as deadly as Pitino's more blocked (17) than it made (16). The 17 blocks including five each by centers Jamaal Magloire and Nazr Mohammed broke the UK record of 16 set against Morehead in 1995 and Georgia in 1991. But leave it to the new coach to find something wrong with a record number of blocked shots in a 39-point victory.

"We got a lot of those blocks because they were able to drive by us on the dribble," Smith said. For the most part, though, he had praise for his team's debut especially the defense. "We accomplished what we wanted to," he said. Allen Edwards picked up where he left off in two exhibition games, tipping off his senior season by making 6 of 6 shots from the floor to finish with a game-high 15 points for the Wildcats. Junior guard Wayne Turner added 12 points, and reserve He-shimu Evans, a transfer from Man-See WILDCATS Page 4, col.

2, this section Turner crossover dribble. At least as far as Morehead allowed us to see. What's changed here? Not the blowout business, which remains booming. Victory No. 1 for Smith came by an 88-49 count, a margin consistent with the jackbooted stompings Pitino's Wildcats inflicted on anyone unable to match UK's full-court ferocity and athleticism.

SPORTS COLUMNIST (To satisfy those refusing to be satisfied, let's get the first Not As Good As Rick note out of the way now: Last time Pitino played Morehead, his team gave up 17 fewer points.) What's changed here? Not the attack mentality. Rupp See SMITH'S Page 4, col. 5, this section Manning, Couch in dream duel By MIKE GRANT The Courier-Journal Tim Couch vs. Peyton Manning. The new turk against the wily veteran.

A future Heisman Trophy hopeful vs. the current Heisman favorite. No matter how you slice it or how much both sides play it down, tomorrow's football game between the University of Kentucky and Tennessee boasts a matchup of superstar quarterbacks. Couch and Manning not only are the best passers in the Southeastern Conference, they also are among the best in the nation. These big-time, strong-armed quarterbacks are a threat to put up big numbers every time they play.

Manning owns virtually all of Tennessee's passing records, and Couch, in just his first full season as a starter, already is rewriting UK's record book. "I think they're very similar type players," Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said. "They're both big guys who can make all the throws. They're competitive guys. I think they're very comparable." "I really like our (quarterback)," UK coach Hal Mumme said.

"And if I didn't have ours, I'd want theirs." A record crowd is expected to be at Commonwealth Stadium for the 12:30 p.m. game. With an additional 1,650 in student seating, the attendance should surpass the mark of 59,384 set against Louisville in 1996. But the Couch-Manning show-See COUCH Page 7, col. 5, this section INDEX The Cats' Allen Edwards was missing the ball after It slipped out of he sailed In for a layup, but he started his senior season by hitting BY STEWART BOWMAN, THE COURIER-JOURNAL his hands and out of bounds as 6 of 6 shots and scoring 15 points.

Orangewomen set up for success by Urton hundred thousand because we're embarrassed by the way this university and some of its fans hot-wired the dismissal of you and your staff. We did you wrong. We didn't give you that fourth season that nearly every Division I-A school gives a new coach. While you were twisting our arm to do the fair thing and give you the opportunity to coach some seniors that you recruited, another stronger force was threatening to break our other arm and our bank account if you didn't go. HERE'S ANOTHER STACK of bills, Ron.

We hope you deliver on your promise to donate to 10 of your favorite charities. We told you to concentrate on discipline and academics, and our president, John Shumaker, had nothing but absolute praise for the work you did in those areas. But we or at least some of us couldn't face another day with that awful 1-10 record. Hypocritical? Sure. Impatient? No doubt.

Take another hundred thousand. Please. We insist. Let us apologize for the way fans booed you from the first home game this season and for the way you constantly had to deal with rumors, including some we're afraid might have come from our own people. AND FINALLY if you believe Cooper's spin on the way he was spun out of his job, and I do the final bizarre act came as the official dismissal stretched from Tuesday into Wednesday afternoon.

Cooper is convinced that a group of university boosters he called them "trap-setters" in a roaring, Biblical farewell statement yesterday overruled an idea floated by Shumaker and new athletic director Tom Jurich on Tuesday to give him another year. "Don't blame Dr. Shumaker," Cooper said in an interview after the news conference. "Don't blame Tom Jurich. Our president wouldn't go back on his word unless there were some other forces that he can't deal with.

I don't know who the trap-setters are. I never made it to the powerful loop." Jurich and Shumaker insist Jurich made the call, but Cooper's camp, including one of trustee, a few friends and two players, doubt the final thumbs-down came from the AD's office. "I liked what coach Cooper said," said junior offensive tackle Rick Nord. "People needed to hear that. This isn't a game; it's a business.

Things that have happened this year have opened my eyes." "Nobody should have to go through what coach Cooper went through," sophomore defensive tackle Mike Gantous said. AND THEY CALL THIS amateur athletics. Last week, when Cooper first seriously examined the possibility of would eat the final two years of his five-year deal, he put the price at about $800,000, pretax. Now he's receiving $1 million after taxes. I can't find numbers like those on my 1040 form, but Jurich said the actual buyout figure is between $1.3 million and $L4 million.

Big bucks for a school that huffed and puffed to raise the money for a new stadium that will open next season. Look for a price increase on your of tickets unless the Can Cooper Cabal secretly delivers on its pledge to cover the cost of this transaction. Of course, they couldn't do that could they? because that would be an NCAA rule violation. And of already has a men's basketball program on probation and a volleyball program perched in the NCAA on-deck circle, with both programs still being run by the coaches who put them there. "Until this athletic department can run on its own, there's always going to be something," Cooper said.

"It's going to be a struggle. But what message are we sending here?" The message yesterday was clear: Ron Cooper was treated badly, and of will pay for it. Rick Bozich's column normally runs Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays in Sports. You can reach him at 582-4650. LEXINGTON, Ky.

-Strange thing, coming to Rupp Arena and seeing a visiting coach more familiar with the joint than the home coach. That was the case last night when the guy with his jersey in the Rupp rafters, Kyle Macy, made his debut as coach of Morehead State. His opponent was Tubby Smith, making his debut as head coach at the University of Kentucky. PAT FORDE Smith's sideline chair was located almost directly below another banner, one hung to commemorate Rick Pitino's dazzling and daunting tenure at UK. It will hang over him all season, if not his entire career here.

But as we saw last night and anticipated all off-season, the shift from paisan Pitino to citizen Smith has been smoother than a Wayne assists en route to becoming the school's all-time leader. She has averaged 11.2 assists per game (not match) and a team fifth-best 0.7 blocks and has 104 kills. After she receives a degree in managerial law and public policy in May, she might go to law school to help prepare her for the NCAA's complicated array of rules and regulations. She has worked in the Syracuse compliance office the past three summers. fs.yj 1 I Mill llL.gJLIIMJII .11 lL Iff Wt pj stoic.

"You have to keep your composure," she said. "You have more responsibilities. People look to you for where to go and what to do on the court. The neat thing about this is that I had found myself improving gradually as a hitter for eight-nine years. To have improved as a setter so quickly is gratifying." Pu, who coached a women's pro team in China's Qinghai Province in the 1970s, had just been hired out of Central Connecticut State in 1995.

The previous setter had graduated, and a freshman heir-apparent was hurt. The Orangewomen needed instant aid. "We had no choice," Pu said. "A couple of other players had better hand control and better basic setter fundamentals, but Carrie has very good take-off speed, a lot of natural ability and a lot of strengths, especially on the blocking side." Urton's versatility comes in part from years working the net as a hit-terblocker. She said a good blocker has to be able to touch a height of 9-5.

Her 27-inch vertical leap gives her that. "Dozens and dozens of people can set but not block," Pu said. "But if you can't block, you can't compete at this level. She's one of the best servers on the team and part of the best blocking team in the league (and 15th in Division I)." When Pu went on the setter search in '95, he tried another player, then eyed Urton. He said an assistant spent 40 percent of her time working with Urton.

"I started getting comfortable midway through my sophomore year," Urton said. "I came to realize I was better fitted to be a setter, and By JIM TERHUNE Staff Writer Carrie Urton's attitude was that she would much rather kill than be killed on the volleyball court. She had been an outside hitter on two state championship teams at Assumption High School and as a freshman at Syracuse University. Then in the fall of 1995, she was told she would spend the rest of her career as a setter. "I was very upset," Urton said this week.

"I was offended. I called home. I cried." But she didn't leave Syracuse. Instead she hunkered down and did more than try to accept the inevitable from new coach Jing Pu. She became, in most estimations, the best all-around player in school history.

The 5-foot-9 senior, who wants to become a member of the NCAA compliance team eventually, has achieved a remarkable feat: She has career totals of 546 kills, 3,798 assists, 1,121 digs and 312 blocks. Quarterbacked by Urton, Syracuse (24-11) will make its first back-to-back appearances in the Big East Conference Tournament since 1992-93. Just half of the league's 12 school's qualify for this weekend's tourney. Not a bad deal for someone who had to reinvent her athletic career. "I was a hitter for 11 years," Urton said.

"Hitting and setting, especially the mentality of them, are two completely different games. You have to make a transition from one who gets kills to one who sets them up." Instead of flying, smashing and letting her emotions pour out on a big hit, she had to become almost a NBA New York 100, Atlanta 79 Portland 93, Detroit 87 Indiana 109, Milwaukee 83 Houston 127, Toronto 97 Golden State at Dallas SPECIAL TO THE COURIER-JOURNAL Carrie Urton, an outside hitter on two state championship teams for Assumption High, now stars at setter for Syracuse University. being a hitter made me a better setter because of a better court sense. "By the end of the season I fell in love with it. By then I wished I'd been a setter all my life." Syracuse was limited to a strong frontal assault only on the left side that season.

The next year there were more skilled attackers "more options," Pu said. Now Urton is bumping balls all along the net. In Syracuse's first victory over Pittsburgh since 1987, she had 56 Phillips waived The St. Louis Rams waived running back Lawrence Phillips a day after he skipped a team meeting and practice. The Rams made him a first-round pick last year despite a troubled stay at Nebraska.

F2 INSIDE RESULTS Chicago at Phoenix Utah at Sacramento Roundup, notebook, F3 907 and counting Dallas Mavericks forward A.C. Green was honored at halftime for playing in his 907th straight game, breaking Randy Smith's NBA record. "It's been a long time coming," Green said. F3 Pro Football 2 Pro Basketball 3 College Basketball 4 Lotteries 5 Scorecard 5 College Football 6, 7 Horse Racing 8.