Lexington Herald-Leader from Lexington, Kentucky • B3

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 5 2019 3BSportsKENTUCKY.COM SHOWTIME STARTS 12 NOON 15 Hours of Continuous Entertainment 6 DAYS A WEEK! Best Showgirls! Nude Showgirls Drink Specials Daily Big Screen TVs for Sporting Events Bachelor and Birthday Parties Showgirlsi COME WATCH ALL YOUR SPORTING EVENTS ON OUR BIG SCREENS! ATM New ircle oad Russell Cave Road North Broadway Off New Circle Rd. 1515 Russell Cave Plaza 293-0391 Cowboysshowgirls.com On the eve of the Ken- tucky basket- ball season open- er, Matthew Mitchell received some very good news. Treasure Hunt a 6-foot-1 wing from Chat- tanooga, Tenn. an- nounced her com- mitment to the Wildcats on Mon- day, join- ing class of 2020 and giving Mitchell one of the most celebrated recruits in his 12-year tenure as Ken- coach. Hunt came into the fall with several terrific op- tions on her recruiting list, and after official visits to South Carolina, Auburn and Baylor she traveled to Lexington for last Big Blue Madness.

think when she went to Kentucky she just felt at her mother and coach, Keisha Hunt, told the Herald-Leader. really loves the coaches. She likes the style of ball. a top-25 team, and hoping to help them win a national The Cats have ad- vanced to at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament and finished in the top 25 nationally in nine of the past 10 seasons under Mitchell, and UK is ranked No. 13 to start this season, a campaign that begins Tuesday night against Mount St.

in Memorial Coliseum. That winning culture and the hope for even greater things in the near future was a major selling point in the Wild- favor, but UK had more to offer Hunt as a college destination. The star play- er last national freshman of the year, Rhyne Howard is close friends with Hunt. The two attended the same middle school and played on the same travel team coached by mother and the moms have known each other longer than that. Keisha Hunt said How- ard and her mother are and they found a welcoming vibe on their visit to Lexington.

was just a real fam- ily Hunt said. had a really family feel. The rela- tionship that she saw that the players have with the coaches, that played a big part in Hunt joins power for- ward Nyah Leveretter and guard Erin Toller as the third member of 2020 class. Mitchell has had plen- ty of success on the recruiting trail, but few of his commitments have been rated as highly as Hunt, who the All-Star Girls Report ranks as the No. 10 overall player in the 2020 class.

Hunt is a versatile play- er with a blend of size and skill, and she brings a winning track record that includes a championship run on the Under Armour circuit this past summer and two trips to the Geico National Tournament with her Hamilton Heights (Tenn.) team. no reason Treasure be a Bret McCormick of All- Star Girls Report told the Herald-Leader recently. already got a great body great size and always been skilled. a match- up mother said Mitchell envisions Trea- sure playing the through spots, de- pending on the situation, and that the star recruit has enjoyed her time talking basketball with coach. was really im- pressed with Coach Mitchell when she talked to him on the official Hunt said.

showed her different sequences in their offense that he thinks really do well with. And then he also showed her some of her clips from travel ball of where she messed up on defense. He talked about how going to correct all that and give her the skills to be able to do it. And she was excited about that. Because she wants to continue getting better, and she feels that Coach Mitchell and Ken- tucky can help her do Ben Roberts: 859-231-3233, BenRobertsHL UK BASKETBALL Star basketball recruit Treasure Hunt commits to UK Season opener Mount Saint at No.

13 Kentucky When: 7 p.m. Tuesday Series: First meeting TV (online): SEC Plus Radio: BY BEN ROBERTS Treasure Hunt administration. What should Stoops do if FSU comes calling? Objectively, Florida State is a better football job than Kentucky. Last season, Stoops coached UK to its third double-digit win season ever at 10-3. Florida State has had seven seasons of 10 wins or better in this decade.

Yet, if FSU makes him an offer, what Stoops has to figure out is whether Florida State is really a better fit for him than Kentucky is. The Long-Suffering UK Football Fans are all too familiar with the grim history of Wildcats football coaches. Stoops is the 10th Kentucky head coach in my lifetime. Of the pre- vious nine, five were fired, one resigned under pressure, one left after two seasons for a more lucrative head coaching offer and two retired. All nine departed Lex- ington with losing re- cords at Kentucky.

Yet there is viable reason to think the Ken- tucky job Stoops now holds does not have to be the career graveyard it was for many of his predecessors. Historically, lack of high-level football facil- ities has undermined UK coaches. A $110 million stadium renovation com- pleted in 2015 and the $45 million in private funds that Stoops helped raise to build the state-of-the-art Joe Craft Football Training Facility have finally changed that paradigm. Kentucky President Eli Capilouto and Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart have consistently shown support for Stoops (40- 43 in his seventh season) by enhancing his contract four different times. At UK, Stoops is al- ready paid like a Florida State head coach.

Ac- cording to the USA Today coaching salaries database, Taggart was the 15th-highest paid coach ($5 million) enter- ing 2019, while Stoops was 19th ($4,763 mil- lion). In Lexington, Stoops is in a contiguous state to his Ohio recruiting base. The Youngstown, Ohio, ability to consistently reach into the Buckeye State and pull players has helped surmount the biggest historical drawback to being the Kentucky head coach: The common- inability to produce enough SEC- caliber prospects to make UK consistently competitive in the SEC. A son of gritty north- east Ohio, Stoops has been a good fit in Ken- tucky, a state whose ethos is blue collar. Still, if he could get the Florida State job, the benefits Stoops would reap are considerable.

He would move to a league, the ACC, where only Clemson can rival the natural advantages FSU enjoys. Stoops would also gain an in-state recruiting base in one of the most talent-rich of all the 50 states. However, recruiting the Sunshine State has become increasingly complex. According to the Sports Composite Rank- ing, seven of the top 10 players in Florida in the class of 2020 are com- mitted to out-of-state schools. In 2019, the top six prospects all left Florida; for 2018, nine of the top 10 departed the state.

Of course, you could start recruiting at the 75th-rated player in Florida in any given year and still pull a bountiful class. If he can land the FSU job offer, Stoops will face this bottom-line choice: Does he wish to re- store a fallen Florida State program that Bobby Bowden built and where both Bowden and Jimbo Fisher won nation- al titles? Or does he want to stay at Kentucky and seek to fulfill the aspira- tion of leading UK to its first-ever appearance in a SEC Championship Game? The Wildcats were one win away from making the elusive trip to Atlanta in 2018. Status as a statewide icon awaits the Kentucky football coach who gets the Wildcats to the SEC Championship Game. If Florida State offers the Kentucky coach its job, no one could blame Stoops for taking it. But, unlike the imme- diate past decades, it would not be crazy for Stoops to decide to keep coaching football at UK, either.

Mark Story: 859-231-3230, FROM PAGE 1B STORY surrounding his job stat- us that occurs. is six and a half years sit here and listened to Coach Cal and every year going to the NBA, Stoops said with a laugh. you just dismiss it and concentrate on the things you can control. not going to get into speculation. gonna talk about the University of Kentucky and Ten- Florida State on Sun- day fired Willie Taggart, who was in the second year of a six-year, $30 million contract.

Stoops is among the names speculated by media members that FSU would consider for the open position; Stoops was the defensive coordinator from 2010- 2012 before UK hired him. Stoops, in his seventh season as the skipper, said no to address speculation about FSU with his play- ers this week. play- ers know where my at and where my focus is, I can promise he said. He acknowledged that the recruitment of future players is an area where- in speculation needs to be addressed. probably affects that a little bit more, just in the fact of what goes on in this world and social media and all Stoops said.

I mean to be so old that I understand that, but just a little bit absurd how fast things go, and people like to get out in front of their skis really far in that world. That just needs to be addressed, nothing that we handle. a fair assessment, maybe with recruiting more than anybody else, cause I can promise ya the guys in our building, not going to wor- ry about anything except getting ready for Ten- nessee. all the folks think gonna be a distraction, I promise you it Josh Moore: FROM PAGE 1B UK FOOTBALL Phil Hoskins, a senior defensive lineman, has yet to play for the Uni- versity of Kentucky this season. Hoskins, a 6-foot-5 native of Toledo, Ohio, was expected to be a significant contributor this season.

He was sus- pended for first two games because of an academic issue but was listed behind Calvin Taylor at defensive tack- le prior to the matchup with Florida. Then, during pregame warmups before the Florida game, Hoskins suffered a knee injury that required minor sur- gery. Now, a full two months later, head coach Mark Stoops sure if Hoskins will see the field in 2019. really had some setbacks with that knee, with the surgery, and he been 100 Stoops said. we will Stoops raised the pos- sibility of Hoskins apply- ing for a sixth year of eligibility.

Hoskins played one year at Highland Community College in Kansas before redshirting in 2016. He signed with UK as part of its 2017 class and played in seven games as a sophomore in the 2017 season despite undergoing two shoulder surgeries in the spring prior. Hoskins appeared in every game of last 10-3 campaign, accumu- lating 21 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and threee sacks. He had a career-high four tackles in a 20-14 overtime loss at Texas Stoops sure how the reason for first two missed games of 2019 would affect the application for a sixth year of eligibility, if it is explored. still pos- sible, too, that he could be available in the com- ing weeks or for the bowl game, should they qualify for one.

think any guarantee on Stoops said. try- ing to manage that right now, get as much in- formation as we can and see how his knee responds the last four games here. But he been cleared to this point. So, see where that Stoops sounded giddy at the possibility of add- ing Hoskins next year to a roster that should be full of seniors and juniors all made big contributions as under- classmen this season, if not longer. that happened, it would be pretty good for Stoops said.

spent some time in the last week, just with recruiting and looking at our roster all players. They all help, whether on special teams or in the two-deep (depth chart). That kind of excites me, especially if you get the opportunity to get a guy like Phil KASH DANIEL Stoops expects senior linebacker Kash Daniel to be available this week against Tennessee. Daniel did not play in game against Mis- souri because of an un- disclosed injury suffered during the loss to Florida; it was the first game he missed in his time at Kentucky. Daniel is fourth on the team with 36 tackles this season.

He has recorded four tackles for loss and intercepted a pass. He has also broken up three passes and been credited with two quarterback hurries. Josh Moore: KENTUCKY FOOTBALL Wildcats could seek 6th year of eligibility for DL Hoskins BY JOSHMOORE SILAS WALKER Kentucky defensive tackle Phil Hoskins played this year. He missed first two games because of an academic issue and its last six owing to a knee injury..