Kentucky’s next basketball opponent has ‘Mad Dog’ coach and ‘scrappy’ players
Utah Valley’s first-year coach, Mark Madsen, has a nickname that should resonate in the Big Blue Nation this basketball season. Since the fifth grade, he’s been known as “Mad Dog.”
For several weeks now, Kentucky Coach John Calipari has wondered aloud about his team’s toughness and its ability to growl. On Monday, UK will play a Utah Valley team that Madsen has described as defined by toughness and tenacity.
“If you look at our players, from one to 15, our group of guys is scrappy, tough and gritty,” Madsen said in a telephone conversation Friday. “And that’s kind of the way we play.”
Kentucky is coming off a 67-64 loss to Evansville in which Calipari cited a lack of toughness as largely responsible for a stunning defeat. When asked to appraise UK’s toughness, Madsen accentuated the positive.
“I have a great amount of respect for Coach Calipari, for Kentucky players, for the Kentucky tradition,” he said. “Nothing but respect. And, obviously, it’s a tremendous program, and we’re excited to be playing against such a quality team.”
Madsen said his nickname of “Mad Dog” was both a play on words inspired by his last name and a description of his playing style.
“It was with me in the fifth grade, junior high, high school, college, pro,” he said. “All my ex-teammates from the NBA call me that.”
A first-round pick in the 2000 NBA Draft, Madsen played for the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves. His career averages of 2.2 points, 2.6 rebounds and 11.8 minutes suggest his nine-year NBA career was a testament to the value of toughness.
UK, Madsen meet again
Kentucky experienced Madsen’s mad dog playing style in the 1998 Final Four. He scored 11 points and grabbed 16 rebounds for Stanford. But his toughness hardly stood out in a national semifinal oozing with resolve and determination.
“I remember them, and him specifically, being really tough,” said Jeff Sheppard, whose 27 points led UK to an 86-85 overtime victory over Stanford. “Super, super well-conditioned.”
Kentucky and Stanford threw haymakers that might have staggered other opponents. In this game, the blows were shaken off and the competition continued.
“You had two teams that adversity — well, adversity bothers everybody,” Sheppard said in a bit of mid-sentence self-correction. “We were two teams that were able to overcome adversity and wouldn’t fold in a tough situation. And I think that’s one of the reasons that game was such a great game.”
How tough was that Kentucky team? Stanford’s 37-32 halftime lead marked the second time in three straight games UK rallied from a deficit in the second half against an opponent deep in an NCAA Tournament. The Cats trailed Duke 49-39 at halftime in an Elite Eight game before winning 86-84. And in the national championship game, UK trailed Utah 41-31 at halftime, then won 78-69.
Kentucky-Stanford would have made a “very classic” championship game, Sheppard said.
His memory of Madsen was as a “tough, strong, couldn’t crack him” kind of player. “You know,” Sheppard said, “just an over-achiever.”
Madsen recalled how after the game Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery saluted his players.
“This was a great college basketball game,” Madsen recalled Montgomery saying in the postgame locker room. “You all are discouraged. But you guys played your hearts out.”
Adversity comes early
Madsen may need that stick-to-itiveness in his first season as Utah Valley coach. Three players followed former coach (and ex-UK player) Mark Pope to Brigham Young. That included Jake Toolson (the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year last season), Wyatt Lowell (WAC Freshman of the Year) and 6-11 Richard Harward. Another player suffered a serious knee injury in the offseason.
“My first five, six weeks on the job, my entire front line had either transferred or had a season-ending injury,” Madsen said. “So, there was a period there, I wasn’t sleeping much at night.”
With nine newcomers onboard, Utah Valley took a 2-1 record into Friday night’s game at UAB.
Madsen voiced approval of 7-footer Brandon Morley, who transferred in from Utah, 6-8 Emmanuel Olojakpoke, a transfer from Akron, and Casdon Jardine, who played at Boise State in 2017-18.
Then there’s always toughness.
“We try to really get after people defensively,” Madsen said. “And we try to have a tremendously aggressive pace.”
Something he recalled his high school coach saying is reflected in the approach to defense, Madsen said. “Be your opponent’s worst nightmare.”
Next game
Utah Valley at No. 1 Kentucky
7 p.m. Monday (ESPN2)
