Head coach Matthew Mitchell’s UK Hoops team was ranked No. 18 nationally in the The Associated Press poll and No. 15 in the USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll.

This is the first time in program history that the team has been ranked in the preseason polls in consecutive seasons. Mitchell was not impressed.

“You couldn’t find a less interested coach in our preseason ranking,“ said Mitchell at UK Hoops Media Day Tuesday. “It means nothing. It has no bearing on this group now or what they can become.”

Mitchell did soften his stance later.

“We would rather be well-thought-of than not,” Mitchell said. “We want to be considered one of the top teams in the country year-in and year-out.”

The Cats face six teams in the AP Top 25, including two of the top three. UK will play road games against No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 13 Georgia and No. 21 LSU. Memorial Coliseum will serve as host for a matchup against No. 9 Louisville.

The team will also host No. 7 Duke on Dec. 8, with the game taking place at Rupp Arena.

The Cats will play perennial SEC favorite and No. 2 Tennessee twice, once in Knoxville and once in Lexington.

“We have some very good teams on our schedule,“ Mitchell said. “That motivates us as players and coaches to get prepared.”

Although fans may be looking at the marquee matchups later in the season, the team seems focused on the immediate schedule.

“We are taking this one game at a time,” freshman Bria Goss said. “Our main focus right now is Coker.”

The Cats will host their only exhibition at Memorial Coliseum on Sunday against Coker College. Admission is free. After opening the regular season on the road against Morehead State, the Cats begin the regular-season home slate on Tuesday, Nov. 15 against Jacksonville State at 11 a.m.

The Cats will feature a deep and talented roster, returning four starters from last year as well as another top-10 recruiting class. Point guard Amber Smith, who missed all of last season because of injury, will also return for the Cats.

“This is an exciting time of year,” said Mitchell. “We have assembled a talented group of players. “Now the challenge is to see if we can form those players into a team.”

1. Character Award
Caitlyn Ciokajlo (Gymnastics)

2. Community Service Award
Ashleigh Gustafson (Softball)
Josh Nadzam (Track and Field/Cross Country)

3. Supporting Role
Megan Moir (Women’s Golf)

4. Female Scholar Athlete of the Year
Kayla Sergesketter (Women’s Swimming and Diving)

5. Male Scholar Athlete of the Year
T.J. Daugherty (Baseball)

6. Female Academic Team of the Year
Cross Country

7. Male Academic Team of the Year
Cross Country

8. Female Rookie of the Year
Caitlin Landis (Soccer)

9. Male Rookie of the Year
Brandon Knight (Men’s Basketball)

10. Female Performance of the Year
Chanda Bell (Softball)

11. Male Performance of the Year
Ethan Settlemires (Rifle)

12. Scratch Award (awarded to the non-scholarship athlete of the year)
Walter Luttrell (Track and Field/Cross Country)

13. One Shining Moment
Men’s Basketball

14. Bill Keightley “Assist” Award (awarded to the trainer or team manager of the year)
Sarah Gerichs (Women’s Basketball team manager)

15. Blue Heart Award (awarded to the best recovery from a serious injury)
Amber Smith (Women’s Basketball)

16. Coach of the Year
John Calipari (Men’s Basketball)
Rachel Lawson (Softball)
Harry Mullins (Rifle)

17. K-Association Female Athlete of the Year
Victoria Dunlap (Women’s Basketball)

18. K-Association Male Athlete of the Year
Randall Cobb (Football)

19. Miss Wildcat
Lauren Rapp (Volleyball)
Megan Yocke (Softball)

20. Mr. Wildcat
Eric Quigley (Men’s Tennis)

21. Teams of the Year
Men’s Basketball
Rifle

UK women’s basketball head coach Matthew Mitchell suprised everyone when he broke out some nifty dance moves at Big Blue Madness.

Mitchell was doing the “Dougie,” a dance move popularized by Cali Swag District’s hit song “Teach me how to Dougie,” but more surprisingly, he was doing the dance quite well.

At UK women’s basketball media day Thurssday, Mitchell explained how he learned to bust-a-move.

“I’m just a naturally talented dancer,” Mitchell said.

The media laughed. Then, Mitchell owned up and explained that it was Amber Smith, his senior point guard who taught him how to Dougie. Smith managed to help choreograph Mitchell’s dance, despite the fact she is recovering from offseason knee surgery. That’s a one-legged Dougie!

After watching how to do the Dougie on YouTube in Mitchell’s office, Smith and others convinced Mitchell to give it a shot in front of the crowd at Rupp Arena.

The affable Mitchell agreed, but said he did wonder how he got himself into the situation for a split-second before he came out and danced.

Now Mitchell is a YouTube sensation. All thanks to the Dougie.

On Sunday, Mathies was named to the seventh annual Gballmag.com Young All-America team for her significant contributions to her team’s success during her rookie campaign. Nine other players joined Mathies on the list, including Southeastern Conference opponent Jasmine James, a guard for Georgia.

Mathies averaged 13.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.6 steals for the season. She also set the school record for steals by a freshman with 93.

Mathies has already picked up UK’s first SEC Freshman of the Year award, in addition to being named to the Full-Court Press Freshman All-America team, All-SEC second team, All-SEC Freshman Team and SEC All-Tournament Team.

Dunlap, the AP and coaches’ choice for Southeastern Conference Player of the Year, was named to the second team by a panel of Full Court Press correspondents from across the nation. Mathies was named to the second team on the Freshman All-America squad.

Mathies also earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors from the SEC coaches.

According to ESPN HoopGurlz’s recruiting rankings, Drake is the 74th-best player and the eighth-best post player in the nation.

Drake averaged 22.9 points and 8.5 rebounds as a senior en route to setting her high school’s career scoring record.

With the addition of Drake, UK’s 2010 recruiting class is now ranked No. 5 in the nation, the highest ranking in school history. Drake joins Jennifer O’Neill, Maegan Conwright, LaQuinta Jefferson, Kastine Evans and Sarah Beth Barnette as a member of this fifth-ranked class

This marks the second time Gray has transferred during her collegiate career. Following her freshman year at North Carolina in 2007-08, Gray, a former Miss Kentucky Basketball and Georgetown, Ky., native, decided to return to the Bluegrass.

After sitting out the 2008-2009 season because of NCAA transfer rules, Gray played in 33 of 36 games for the Cats this season. She averaged 5.2 points and 1.6 rebounds in a little less than 20 minutes per game.

Gray joins seniors Amani Franklin and Lydia Watkins as the departures from the UK hoops team.

“I’m very blessed to have been a part of such a great program,” Gray said in a news release. “I’m so appreciative of all the time and effort this staff and team put into me as a person and player. They will always be like family to me.”

Then again, outsiders’ expectations didn’t do anything to prevent the Cats from rewriting the record books on their path to putting together the most successful season in program history.

Despite being picked to finish 11th out of 12 teams in the SEC during the preseason, UK set school records for most wins in a season (28), most wins in conference play (11), finished with an undefeated home record (17-0) , reached its first SEC championship game since 1982 and capped its season by reaching its first Elite Eight since 1982, when the NCAA Tournament field consisted of only 32 teams.

“People thought (we) were going to be a bad team; (we) didn’t listen,” UK head coach Matthew Mitchell said. “People thought we wouldn’t get to the SEC tournament championship game.  No one probably thought we’d get to the Sweet 16. Certainly no one thought we were going to get to the Elite Eight.”

Yet well before UK’s postseason run, the Cats were exceeding preseason expectations and set the school record for best start (11-0), which included a 34-point win over archrival Louisville. All 11 victories were by double figures.

Still, skeptics didn’t believe UK could maintain its early success through the rigors of the SEC schedule. But UK used a school-record eight-game conference win streak to all but secure a place in the postseason.

Then, in their first tournament appearance since 2006, the undersized Cats knocked off taller teams, Liberty and Michigan State, in the first two rounds to advance to the Sweet 16 where they upset No. 1-seeded Nebraska, 76-67.

However, the Cats’ next game would be their last as their NCAA Tournament run ended with an 88-68 loss to No. 3-seeded Oklahoma, in an uncharacteristic defensive display by the Cats.

The same UK defense that forced 20 or more turnovers in 26 of 36 games this season was not the same defense in the Elite Eight, said UK junior forward Victoria Dunlap following the loss. The 88 points, including the 31 points scored by Oklahoma’s Nyeshia Stevenson, were the most surrendered by the Cats to a team and an individual, respectively, all season.

“All I can say is that it definitely hurts that we lost, but we’re definitely going to cherish this moment, this season, this team because we started something new,” Dunlap said. “The people coming next year are definitely going to have a lot (of expectations) to fill.”

Those players coming in next year are five freshmen that constitute a top-10 recruiting class. Perhaps more important than who’s coming in to the program is who’s sticking around.

The Cats lose Amani Franklin and Lydia Watkins to graduation, but will return four of five starters, including Dunlap, the Associated Press and coaches’ choice for SEC Player of the Year, as well as SEC Freshman of the Year A’dia Mathies.

“This team has accomplished a lot, and so for next season, whatever good we can take, whatever momentum builds, whatever standard has been set, I think that’s how you use this season getting ready for the next,” Mitchell said. “(But) these kids aren’t robots; they’re human beings.  They have to go out and go through it and do all the work.”

Dunlap was one of 40 players under consideration by a selection committee. The announcement was made in San Antonio, Texas, ahead of Sunday’s Final Four games.

Dunlap excelled both offensively and defensively for the Cats this season as she averaged 18.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 1.9 blocks per game.

Dunlap has also earned Southeastern Conference Player of the Year honors from the AP and SEC coaches.

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—The most successful season in UK women’s basketball history is over.

The Cats (28-8) were denied their first trip to the Final Four in their second Elite Eight appearance after falling to the Oklahoma Sooners (27-10) 88-68 on Tuesday night at the Sprint Center.

In their 11th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Sooners were paced by senior Nyeshia Robinson’s 31 points on their way to their second consecutive Final Four. UK’s defense, its bread and butter, gave up its worst shooting percentage all season on the biggest stage.

Entering the game, OU’s halfcourt execution concerned UK head coach Matthew Mitchell, while OU head coach Sherri Coale believed her team, led by third team All-America point guard Danielle Robinson, were equipped to handle the defensive intensity of the Cats.

“We’ve played guards that quick before… we just turned the ball over too much,” junior guard Amber Smith said.

The first five minutes of the first half demonstrated anything but OU’s poise, as the Cats jumped all over the Sooners with a 13-2 run to open the game.
The Sooners did not make a field goal in the first 6:14 of the game as they began a paltry 1-for-8 from the field.

However, the Cats’ quick start was their saving grace in the first half because they trailed 43-39 at the break once OU found its offensive rhythm.

“They fought back from an early deficit and really took control of the game,” Mitchell said. “Oklahoma really absorbed our initial blow.”

Following the slow start, the Sooners started to find their shooting touch, converting 17 of their next 20 shots, as Robinson and OU senior forward Nyeshia Stevenson seemingly drove to the basket at will, combining for 27 of the Sooners’ 43 points at the break.

The start of the second half was a continuation of the Sooners’ potent offensive performance. OU went on 15-4 run following halftime. Robinson and Stevenson combined for 11 of the 15 points.

UK answered with a 6-0 run to cut the lead to eight, but OU countered with an 11-0 run of its own to stretch the margin to 19 points with 6:23 left in the game.

“At the end (of the game) we just weren’t ourselves, we weren’t the same defensive team that we’ve usually been,” Dunlap said.

Overshadowed by Robinson and Stevenson, who sported matching red hair-dos, was UK junior Victoria Dunlap’s 31 points — two shy of tying her career high.

OU, champions of the Kansas City Regional, will meet the one-loss Stanford Cardinal (35-1) in the National Semifinal on April 4. The overall No.1 seed Connecticut and fourth-seeded Baylor will clash in the other National Semifinal.

Still, Mitchell believes this season is a stepping stone to greater things for his team, which loses only two players —Amani Franklin and Lydia Watkins — to graduation.

“I don’t think there’ any question that when we reflect back on this season, we’ll know this was a special basketball team,” a choked up Mitchell said. It’s not even about not going to the Final Four tonight, it’s about being in that locker room with a bunch kids that pushed it to the limit. I told them back there I wouldn’t trade places with coach Coale.”