Campbellsville steps into Big Blue spotlight

UK exhibition foe has roster full of good stories

By Jerry Tipton / Herald-Leader Staff Writer

One of the best things about David-versus-Goliath exhibition games is the charming story lines provided by the David.

Campbellsville, which plays a practice game at Kentucky on Monday, certainly fills the bill. The Tigers have:

■ A player who tore an ACL in high school, leading him to consider giving up basketball to pursue his dream of becoming a meteorologist.

■ A 26-year-old starting point guard playing his first college game since the 2004-05 season.

■ A player looking to make history by becoming the first Clinton County High School graduate to play in Rupp Arena.

The would-be weatherman is Jordan Benock, a 6-foot-2 senior forward from Battletown, Ky. He tore an anterior cruciate ligament in his senior year of high school.

"It wasn't like a big, big big-time deal," he said of the injury. "I was on the fast break. I jumped and got bumped as I came down. I landed (awkwardly) on my left leg. It wobbled a little bit, and that was it."

After an unhappy attempt to resume playing for Taylor University, Benock looked for an alternative.

"I've had a love of meteorology all my life," he said. "I don't know why. Maybe because my father was a farmer and the weather plays such an important part in farming. I just always loved watching the weather."

When asked who might be his hero as a weather forecaster, Benock laughed and said John Belski of WAVE, Louisville's Channel 3, was his favorite.

But basketball was his first love. And Benock, whose younger brother Riley plays for Mississippi State, grabbed the offer to join Campbellsville's team.

The decidedly senior point guard is T.J. Bishop, a native of Boynton Beach, Fla. His college career began with two years of junior college, then one season at Missouri Western. He then transferred to Florida Atlantic to be closer to home, but a coaching change left him in limbo.

A problem with his academic transcript nixed an expected transfer to Campbellsville in 2007. He became eligible seven games into last year, but the Campbellsville coaches decided he should redshirt in order to play the entire 2009-10 season.

Campbellsville Coach Keith Adkins, a teammate of John Pelphrey at Paintsville High in the 1980s, noted that the NAIA allows players to use their four years of eligibility in any time frame. The NCAA requires the four seasons to be completed in a five-year period.

The NAIA rule makes it possible for Bishop, at age 26, to play.

"I see the game a lot differently," Bishop said. "I let a lot less distractions off the court bother me than I would normally."

Bishop said he also helps coach his younger teammates.

"We like the fact that he's older," Adkins said. "There's a little more maturity. He's a guy who is a leader. We expect him to lead on and off the floor."

Justin Vitatoe, a 6-4 sophomore forward from Albany, looked forward to being the first Clinton County High School graduate to play in Rupp Arena.

"I'm pretty sure that's true," he said of the historic footnote. "I don't know of anyone else."

Obviously, to play against a Kentucky is rare for a Clinton County native, too. Vitatoe pointed out how it can be hard to play in a big game when you live in a small town.

His moment hit a severe snag in practice less than two weeks ago when Vitatoe injured a hamstring.

"I'm kind of mad about it," he said.

Maybe the fun of watching a David-versus-Goliath game will make him feel better.

Condolences

To former UK coach Tubby Smith. His father, Guffrie M. Smith Sr., died last Sunday at age 88.

The Southern Maryland News ran an enlightening story on the coach's father. Here are some highlights:

■ He was the youngest of seven children and was raised by an uncle who emphasized the importance of education. Daughter Wendy Rice-Morton told the newspaper of her memories of the 17 children putting their homework on the kitchen table each night for their father to check.

■ He and his wife, Parthenia Barnes Smith, had 17 children, 34 grandchildren and 31 great-grandchildren.