However, if 6-7 Lonnell Dewalt walks on to the UK basketball team as expected, the 2004-05 Wildcat roster will feature five players from the western part of the commonwealth.

Dewalt, a Warren Central product who will be on scholarship with the UK football team, would be the third player with Bowling Green ties.

Senior Josh Carrier played at Bowling Green High, while highly-anticipated transfer Patrick Sparks played two years at Western Kentucky University. Sparks, who will be a junior, is from Central City and prepped at Muhlenberg North High School.

Brandon Stockton, from Glasgow, will be a junior next season while Ravi Moss from University Heights Academy in Hopkinsville will also be a junior.

For now, Moss and Dewalt are walk-ons, but it is conceivable that Stockton could give up his scholarship if, say, Bernard Cote were to return to the Wildcats. Cote announced last week that he planned to transfer, but UK head coach Tubby Smith said this past week that Cote would be welcomed back if he chose to return.

The western end of the state is certainly well-represented on the UK basketball team, but playing time for that group might be limited next season.

Certainly Stockton and Carrier have fallen out of favor with many Kentucky fans. Moss, on the other hand, is a fan favorite, but may find himself playing behind UK’s heralded incoming class of freshmen.

Dewalt is an athletic specimen, but will likely spend the majority of his time concentrating on football.

The only one in the group that is likely ticketed for lots of playing time is Sparks, who seems to be forgotten in much of the talk about Kentucky’s newcomers.

Sparks was the subject of an ESPN.com column by Andy Katz this week on that very topic.

“I notice (the omission) as we sign these highly touted recruits,” said Sparks. “People tend to forget about me sometimes.

“But there’s so much attention up here that I don’t think they’ll forget I’m here. Nationally, I might take some people by surprise.”

Sparks will likely be the starting point guard, despite the arrival of freshman Rajon Rondo.

Sparks and Rondo, along with freshmen Joe Crawford and Ramel Bradley, give Kentucky what Katz called, “the best new crop of guards in the country.”

However, Sparks should stand out, at least early in the season, because he already has two seasons of college basketball under his belt, including a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

In addition, and this may be the biggest thing that separates Sparks from the rest, the transfer has already spent one season under Tubby Smith and has played with the returning Wildcats in practice and pick-up games during that time.

“I hope everybody forgets about him because he’ll sneak up on teams and hurt them,” Kentucky assistant David Hobbs told Katz. “You don’t have a real appreciation for him unless he’s in your program. He’s a winner, knows how to play and makes people better. He’s a big-time leader on and off the court.

“He’s a gym rat,” Hobbs adds. “You can go into that gym and I’ll bet that sucker will be in there with one light on taking shots. He loves to play and he knows how to distribute the ball.”

Sparks, a starter from day one at Western Kentucky, should be a step up from Cliff Hawkins at the point.

A step slower than Hawkins, Sparks makes up for it with court savvy and adds a more consistent scoring threat.

“He’s a fierce competitor,” Hawkins said. “He’s not intimidated. I love the guy. He’ll fit in perfect with Tubby (Smith’s) scheme because of his toughness. Once he started playing with us we knew he was the future for Kentucky at the point guard position.”

“Everybody is really excited about the young guys in the program, but he’s not going to roll over out there,” Hobbs said. “If they’re good enough to take his minutes away then they’re pretty good. We’ll play more uptempo with him out there. We’ll be young, but athletic and skilled.”

••• Trio Signing Official •••

Kentucky held a press conference on Tuesday to officially announce the signings of McDonald’s All-Americans Joe Crawford, Randolph Morris and Rajon Rondo. A fourth freshman, Ramel Bradley of New York City, was inked during the fall signing period.

Crawford was rated the nation’s top shooting guard and ranked No. 9 overall according to Rivals.com.

“In Joe Crawford, he’s probably a young man that we had a need for as much as any position,” Smith said. “He’s a guy like Gerald Fitch, an excellent scorer. I think he has the potential to come in here and make an immediate impact.”

Morris, meanwhile, is rated the No. 3 center in the nation and the No. 10 player overall by Rivals.com. He held a press conference just last week to announce he had chosen UK over Georgia Tech.

“In Randolph Morris, we were really pleased to get him at such a late date, right at the end of the signing period,” Smith said. “He’s a young man we’ve recruited heavily all year long and we were in a competition that was pretty stiff with other schools and the NBA.

“We were holding our breath and he’ll help us be a better team.”

Rondo, who played at Louisville Eastern before leaving for Oak Hill Academy, was listed as the nation’s No. 3 point guard and 25th best player overall by Rivals.com.

“Rajon’s ability to penetrate and break people down off the dribble and distribute the ball is great,” Smith said. “Plus, he is as athletic as he can be at his size.

“He is probably six-feet tall, but he’s got great hands, great vision, and he has to develop into the type of defender that we know he is capable of being.”

Kentucky signed another player in the fall, Adam Williams of St. Albans, W.Va. Williams has decided to attend a prep school for one year before enrolling at UK.

••• Expectations Rise •••

Expectations seem to remain the same at Kentucky — win championship No. 8 — but the pressure could be even greater this season, if that’s possible.

With the immense potential of the incoming class, along with a solid core of veterans such as Chuck Hayes and Kelenna Azubuike — and even Sparks, this could be Kentucky’s most talented squad in the Tubby Smith era.

Practices should be a whirlwind of activity as players try to earn what scarce playing time might be available.

We expect a return to the days when Kentucky played at a more frenetic pace (although maybe not the Pitino style), perhaps even rotating in five new players at a time.

UK’s starting five will likely look like this: Sparks at the point, Crawford at the shooting guard spot, Azubuike at small forward, Hayes at power forward and Morris (he didn’t come to Kentucky to sit on the bench) at center.

That could leave a second five of Rondo at point, Bradley or Moss at shooting guard, Bobby Perry at small forward, Sheray Thomas at power forward and Lukasz Obrzut at center.

And that’s not including DeWalt, who could be a factor, Carrier getting some minutes at shooting guard, or 7-3 Shagari Alleyne, who will likely be redshirted.

Stockton will likely be stuck at No. 3 at point guard and isn’t likely to see much action.

For Tubby, talent shouldn’t be a problem.

Finding enough minutes to keep everybody happy could be.

••• MSU Transfers •••

Sparks was named as one of the top nine transfers who will make the most impact with their new schools next season, according to the ESPN.com column by Katz.

Connecticut, Tennessee and Xavier were among the major colleges getting heralded transfers, but Murray State made the list for a pair of incoming players.

Keith Jenifer, a junior guard from Virginia, and Trey Pearson, a sophomore guard from Ole Miss, will be eligible for the Racers this season.

“They’re going to have a major impact for us,” said Mick Cronin, who is entering his second season in Murray. “We only return two scholarship players that competed for us last season so we knew we needed transfers to help us rebuild.”

According to Katz, both players arrived at Murray State as extremely quick, but not very strong, backcourt players.

That had to change during their redshirt season. Cronin also said they both worked on their shots and on shooting the ball quicker.

Cronin said he’ll have to guard against the two thinking they’re better than their competition because they played in the ACC and SEC, respectively. He’s hoping that their watching teams in the OVC helped them understand they’re not going to have it easy next season.

“That’s human nature, when you transfer to another level. But they saw up close and personal how good the other players are,” Cronin said. “They’re going to be marked men, and the reality is the level they competed at is the level we’re trying to get to.”

Cronin helped worked with Marvin Stone while an assistant at Louisville and with Jermaine Tate while at Cincinnati.

The Racers announced the signing of another player Wednesday, this one from Cronin’s home town of Cincinnati.

Justin Orr, a 6-6 forward from Cincinnati’s LaSalle High School, has inked with MSU.

“Justin is a great addition to our program,” said Cronin. “He’s an extremely versatile player who not only has great basketball skills, but he grew up in the game and knows how to play.

“Justin brings a winning attitude to Murray State as well as a great personality with a solid academic background.”

Orr is the nephew of former NBA player Louis Orr, the head coach at Seton Hall.

Wednesday’s signing of Orr brings the Racers’ recruiting class for 2004 up to six. Issian Redding, a 6-6 forward, and 6-7 forward Charles Johnson, both of South Plains (Texas) College, as well as 6-5 guard Shane Dansby of Nashville’s Harpeth High School and 6-7 Mike McCoy of Pike High School in Indianapolis, Ind., all signed with the Racers in the fall. MSU added 6-8 forward Reggie Jackson of Lamar (Colo.) Community College in the spring signing period last month.