Favorite Performances - UK Guards

[CastleRubric]

Jax output against the Starkvegas Bulldogs made me think of other AWESOME single game performances by UK guards

Just Choosing 3 (no particular order):

• JR going off this weekend against MSU
• Jody Meeks detestation of Tennessee
• Fr-Rex Chapman explodes against UL

Lots to choose from!

 

[kyrx]

Goose vs. Puke, NC game
Delk vs. Syracuse, NC game
Brassow in Mardi Gras miracle

First to come to my mind.

 

[CUJO_1970]

Leroy Byrd. 1984, playing UT in Rupp Arena.

No idea if the dude scored a single point. Also don’t give a damn, because when they put 5’-3” Byrd in and he walked the ball up the floor Rupp Arena came undone. The roof nearly got blown off.

It was a moment where 24,000 people within close proximity had a complete and total unity of thought, where countless people all across the Bluegrass were in complete harmony over an event that would be considered mundane anywhere else.

Something, like 20,000 people attending a press conference, that can only happen in Kentucky and can only be understood by us. I’ll never forget it.

 

[TucsonCat]

While everyone else loved Rex, Derrick Miller was my favorite player of all time.
Sophomore year he really struggled with only 21 points the whole season.
Junior year, the bad Sutton one, they lost to Seton Hall in first game of the Alaskan Shootout.
He scored 2 points in 6 minutes.
In the consolation game, he started pump faking and driving by defenders in addition to to being a dead eye from deep like his freshman year.

13 of 15 from the field. 7 of 8 from 3, 36 points.
Averaged 15 the rest of the season.
Why I will never say Blankety Blank should never play again.

ETA. That game may have started at 10 o'clock at night because Alaska.
Had to stifle glee as not to wake parents

 

[the nail at the foul line]

Monk beat the nasty heels.

Macy vs Mich St

Shep against Stanford

 

[m080470]

Regular season off the top of my head:
Sparks 25 points (out of 60 total for the team and win) against Louisville at Freedom Hall
University of Jodie Meeks 54 points against UT in Knoxville
Derek Anderson put on a 30-point show against Indiana in a game at Freedom Hall.

Postseason too many to choose from but a lot of good ones that standout, Goose obviously (he was kind of a hybrid 3 but at 6'4" we'll call him a guard) with 41 against Duke
Macy against Magic and Michigan State in 1978. Not a ton of points but completely unflappable throughout whole game but especially in the final minutes.
Shepard 27 against Stanford in the Final Four
Delk's 24 against Syracuse in championship.

 

[rick64]

Chapman vs UL
Meeks vs EewTee

 

[YardCat]

Patrick Sparks
Monk
Meeks
Goose
Delk
So many great guards with great memories. With that being said, Goose in the title game is #1. IMO

 

[BC_Wader]

Leroy Byrd. 1984, playing UT in Rupp Arena.

No idea if the dude scored a single point. Also don’t give a damn, because when they put 5’-3” Byrd in and he walked the ball up the floor Rupp Arena came undone. The roof nearly got blown off.

It was a moment where 24,000 people within close proximity had a complete and total unity of thought, where countless people all across the Bluegrass were in complete harmony over an event that would be considered mundane anywhere else.

Something, like 20,000 people attending a press conference, that can only happen in Kentucky and can only be understood by us. I’ll never forget it.

Baby Magic!

 

[Princecal]

Monk. 47, the game winner and the way he hit the game winner. Especially since Cal was losing his mind screaming for him to drive and he just hits it!

 

[Jamal Mercer]

Deaaron Fox vs UCLA in Sweet 16 39 points 😳

vs Lonzo Ball and a Bruin team that beat us earlier in the year.

 

[FurdTerguson]

Goose was a guard?

 

[Demarcus Kidd-Miller]

Some good ones mentioned. Another one I enjoyed was Fox proving who was the better player between him and Lonzo.

 

[CastleRubric]

Leroy Byrd. 1984, playing UT in Rupp Arena.

No idea if the dude scored a single point. Also don’t give a damn, because when they put 5’-3” Byrd in and he walked the ball up the floor Rupp Arena came undone. The roof nearly got blown off.

It was a moment where 24,000 people within close proximity had a complete and total unity of thought, where countless people all across the Bluegrass were in complete harmony over an event that would be considered mundane anywhere else.

Something, like 20,000 people attending a press conference, that can only happen in Kentucky and can only be understood by us. I’ll never forget it.

Hahaha - I DO remember that game with Baby Magic coming on the floor!!!

NICE choice

John Wall coming out against UNC may be honorable mention

 

[B.B.H.]

Goose was a guard?

Not really. Played the 3 but let him have it. The starting guards in ‘78 were Macy and Claytor

1978

PG Macy

SG Claytor

SF Givens

PF Robey

C Phillips


I will note that technically Givens did play a lot of 2G for the 1976 and 1977 teams for what is worth.

 

[B.B.H.]

Wheeler vs Kansas (2022 Season)
Fox vs North Carolina (2017 Season)
Meeks vs Tennessee (2009 Season)
Carruth vs Duke (2002 Season)
Sheppard vs Utah (1998 Season)
Maxey vs Michigan State (2020 Season)

Not all of these were necessarily clinics. Not all of them even resulted in wins.
However, these were some of my favorites for various reasons.

 

[true blue1]

Goose was a guard?

I thought he was a small forward

 

[B.B.H.]

I thought he was a small forward

He was SF in 78 but played SG in 76 and 77. I’ve seen film of Goose playing the 2, 3 and 4 despite being undersized to play either forward position really

 

[Titpwhami2014]

Prince vs. Tulsa in second round of 2002 tournament was pretty special.

 

[B.B.H.]

Prince vs. Tulsa in second round of 2002 tournament was pretty special.

Prince played power forward in 2002 though

2002

PG Hawkins

SG Fitch

SF Bogans

PF Prince

C Estill

 

[BluPappi81]

Wayne Turner piloting two National Championship game wins.

 

[MdWIldcat55]

Going waaaaay back with this one. I wonder if anyone will still remember…

Lamont Butler — 33 points on 10 for 10 shooting, including 6 for 6 from 3, with six assists and three rebounds, to beat Louisville — coming back from injury.

 

[catben]

Mike Flynn- March 22, 1975- 22 pts on 9-13 attempts to beat #1 IU in the Elite 8!!! Joe Hall gave his guards the green light, which was WAAAYYY out of character for him, and Mike was on fire!!

After losing to Bob Knight and the Hoosiers 98-74 earlier in the year, the Cats beat the Hoosiers 92-90 to go to the final 4!!! Mike was an Indiana kid that was overshadowed by IU's Quinn Buckner, who was a year behind him and was considered the best defensive Guard in the country. It was Mike's best game as a Cat!! And beating Bob Knight for the first time was sweet for Mike and our Cats!!!

This game is my favorite of all time because that team was the one that made me, as an 8 year old boy, a Wildcat for life!!

 

[megablue]

Phil Argento during Freshmen games in 1965-66 … he would seemingly get 40 every night … !!!