# 2008–09 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2008–09 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the college basketball season of 2008–09. The team's head coach was Billy Gillispie, who was in his second and final year as coach. The Wildcats played their home games at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. The team's season started with a controversial early Midnight Madness event on October 10, 2008, which is not the traditional date for celebration that coincides with the first day of NCAA-sanctioned regular practice sessions that occurred on October 17, 2008.
On March 15, 2009, the Wildcats accepted a bid to the 2009 National Invitation Tournament, ending a streak of 17 consecutive appearances in the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship dating back to 1992.

## Roster
### 2008 signees

US college sports recruiting information for 2008 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| DeAndre Liggins G | Chicago, Illinois | Findlay Prep | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 202 lb (92 kg) | Jun 27, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 89 |||||||
| Darius Miller G/F | Maysville, Kentucky | Mason County | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 223 lb (101 kg) | Sep 7, 2007 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 91 |||||||
| Kevin Galloway G/F | Sacramento, California | College of Southern Idaho | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Mar 10, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: n/a |||||||
| Josh Harrellson C | St. Charles, Missouri | Southwestern Illinois Community College | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | Apr 29, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: n/a |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 15 Rivals: 21 |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Kentucky 2008 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 11, 2008. "2008 Kentucky Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 11, 2008. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 11, 2008. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 11, 2008. "2008 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 11, 2008. |||||||

## 2008–09 schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 3, 2008* 7:00 pm, FSN South | | Missouri-Saint Louis | W 111–53 | 0–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| November 7, 2008* 7:00 pm, FSN South | | Ouachita Baptist | W 94–72 | 0–0 | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| Non-Conference Regular Season ||||||
| November 14, 2008* 7:00 pm, FSN South | | VMI | L 103–111 | 0–1 | Rupp Arena (22,579) Lexington, KY |
| November 18, 2008* 9:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 1 North Carolina | L 58–77 | 0–2 | Dean Smith Center (21,538) Chapel Hill, NC |
| November 22, 2008* 12:00 pm, FSN South | | Delaware State 2008 Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational | W 71–42 | 1–2 | Rupp Arena (21,594) Lexington, KY |
| November 24, 2008* 7:00 pm, FSN South | | Longwood 2008 Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational | W 91–57 | 2–2 | Rupp Arena (20,105) Lexington, KY |
| November 28, 2008* 11:59 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Kansas State 2008 Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational | W 74–72 | 3–2 | Orleans Arena (5,000) Las Vegas, NV |
| November 29, 2008* 10:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. West Virginia 2008 Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Invitational | W 54–43 | 4–2 | Orleans Arena (5,500) Las Vegas, NV |
| December 3, 2008* 7:00 pm, FSN South | | Lamar | W 103–61 | 5–2 | Rupp Arena (21,350) Lexington, KY |
| December 6, 2008* 5:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 22 Miami (FL) | L 67–73 | 5–3 | Rupp Arena (24,109) Lexington, KY |
| December 7, 2008* 3:00 pm, FSN South | | Mississippi Valley State | W 88–65 | 6–3 | Rupp Arena (21,476) Lexington, KY |
| December 13, 2008* 4:00 pm, CBS | | Indiana | W 72–54 | 7–3 | Rupp Arena (23,767) Lexington, KY |
| December 20, 2008* 12:00 pm, FSN South | | Appalachian State | W 93–69 | 8–3 | Freedom Hall (10,173) Louisville, KY |
| December 22, 2008* 7:00 pm, FSN South | | Tennessee State | W 102–58 | 9–3 | Rupp Arena (21,958) Lexington, KY |
| December 27, 2008* 3:00 pm, FSN South | | Florida Atlantic | W 76–69 | 10–3 | Rupp Arena (24,018) Lexington, KY |
| December 29, 2008* 7:00 pm, FSN South | | Central Michigan | W 84–52 | 11–3 | Rupp Arena (22,944) Lexington, KY |
| January 4, 2009* 4:30 pm, CBS | | at No. 18 Louisville Battle for the Bluegrass | L 71–74 | 11–4 | Freedom Hall (20,078) Louisville, KY |
| SEC Regular Season ||||||
| January 10, 2009 2:00 pm, Raycom | | Vanderbilt | W 70–60 | 12–4 (1–0) | Rupp Arena (24,249) Lexington, KY |
| January 13, 2009 9:00 pm, ESPN | | at Tennessee | W 90–72 | 13–4 (2–0) | Thompson-Boling Arena (20,474) Knoxville, TN |
| January 18, 2009 9:00 pm, Raycom | | at Georgia | W 68–45 | 14–4 (3–0) | Stegeman Coliseum (9,090) Athens, GA |
| January 21, 2009 9:00 pm, Raycom | | Auburn | W 73–64 | 15–4 (4–0) | Rupp Arena (22,760) Lexington, KY |
| January 24, 2009 3:00 pm, Raycom | | at Alabama | W 61–51 | 16–4 (5–0) | Coleman Coliseum (15,316) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| January 27, 2009 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 24 | at Ole Miss | L 80–85 | 16–5 (5–1) | Tad Smith Coliseum (6,852) Oxford, MS |
| January 31, 2009 3:00 pm, Raycom | No. 24 | South Carolina | L 77–78 | 16–6 (5–2) | Rupp Arena (24,322) Lexington, KY |
| February 3, 2009 7:00 pm, Raycom | | Mississippi State | L 57–66 | 16–7 (5–3) | Rupp Arena (21,940) Lexington, KY |
| February 10, 2009 9:00 pm, ESPN | | Florida | W 68–65 | 17–7 (6–3) | Rupp Arena (24,355) Lexington, KY |
| February 14, 2009 1:00 pm, CBS | | at Arkansas | W 79–63 | 18–7 (7–3) | Bud Walton Arena (19,041) Fayetteville, AR |
| February 17, 2009 9:00 pm, ESPN | | at Vanderbilt | L 64–77 | 18–8 (7–4) | Memorial Gymnasium (14,316) Nashville, TN |
| February 21, 2009 1:00 pm, CBS | | Tennessee | W 77–58 | 19–8 (8–4) | Rupp Arena (24,394) Lexington, KY |
| February 25, 2009 7:00 pm, Raycom | | at South Carolina | L 59–77 | 19–9 (8–5) | Colonial Life Arena (16,035) Columbia, SC |
| February 28, 2009 4:00 pm, CBS | | No. 18 LSU | L 70–73 | 19–10 (8–6) | Rupp Arena (24,411) Lexington, KY |
| March 4, 2009 8:00 pm, Raycom | | Georgia Senior Night | L 85–90 | 19–11 (8–7) | Rupp Arena (23,889) Lexington, KY |
| March 7, 2009 2:00 pm, CBS | | at Florida | L 53–60 | 19–12 (8–8) | O'Connell Center (12,131) Gainesville, FL |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| March 12, 2009 1:00 pm, Raycom | (E4) | vs. (W5) Ole Miss First Round | W 71–58 | 20–12 | St. Pete Times Forum (N/A) Tampa, FL |
| March 13, 2009 1:00 pm, Raycom | (E4) | vs. (W1) No. 20 LSU Quarterfinals | L 58–67 | 20–13 | St. Pete Times Forum (N/A) Tampa, FL |
| National Invitation Tournament ||||||
| March 17, 2009* 9:30 pm, ESPN | (4) | (5) UNLV First Round | W 70–60 | 21–13 | Memorial Coliseum (8,327) Lexington, KY |
| March 23, 2009* 7:00 pm, ESPN | (4) | at (1) Creighton Second round | W 65–63 | 22–13 | Qwest Center Omaha (16,984) Omaha, NE |
| March 25, 2009* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | (4) | at (2) Notre Dame Quarterfinals | L 67–77 | 22–14 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (7,636) Notre Dame, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from Coaches' Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Season honors and awards
### All-SEC

| Team | Player | Position |
| First | Jodie Meeks | Guard |
| First | Patrick Patterson | Forward |
| All-SEC |||

### SEC Player of the Week

| Date | Player | Position |
| 12/1 | Jodie Meeks | Guard |
| 12/22 | Jodie Meeks | Guard |
| 12/29 | Patrick Patterson | Forward |
| 1/19 | Jodie Meeks | Guard |
| 2/16 | Jodie Meeks | Guard |
| SEC Player of the Week |||

### SEC Freshman of the Week

| Date | Player | Position |
| 12/8 | DeAndre Liggins | Guard |
| SEC Freshman of the Week |||

### Pre-Season All-SEC

| Team | Player | Position |
| First | Patrick Patterson | Forward |
| Second | Jodie Meeks | Guard |
| All-SEC |||

## Class of 2009 signees

The signees who formed the 2009-10 recruiting classes are considered one of the best all-time recruiting classes
US college sports recruiting information for 2009 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| John Wall PG | Raleigh, North Carolina | Word of God | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 184 lb (83 kg) | May 18, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 98 |||||||
| DeMarcus Cousins PF | Mobile, Alabama | LeFlore | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 250 lb (110 kg) | Apr 8, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 98 |||||||
| Daniel Orton C | Oklahoma City, Oklahoma | Bishop McGuinness | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | Oct 12, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 97 |||||||
| Eric Bledsoe G | Birmingham, Alabama | Parker | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | May 6, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 90 |||||||
| Jon Hood SG | Madisonville, Kentucky | Madisonville-North Hopkins | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | May 25, 2008 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 91 |||||||
| Darnell Dodson G/F | Greenbelt, Maryland | Miami-Dade CC | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Apr 22, 2009 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 95 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 1 Rivals: 1 ESPN: 1 |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Kentucky 2009 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 28, 2009. "2009 Kentucky Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved April 28, 2009. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 28, 2009. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved April 28, 2009. "2009 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 28, 2009. |||||||