ESPN.com - NCB - Power move makes him Prince of the South

The 6-foot-9 Prince is still no Karl Malone (holler if you can find a defined muscle somewhere on his 215-pound body). But he's developed an all-court game that makes him a nightmare to defend, and he's excelled at an All-American level since being moved to the "4" spot in December.

The key to Kentucky's -- and Prince's -- season was the seemingly insignificant insertion of freshman Gerald Fitch into the starting lineup at the off-guard Dec. 22 against Indiana. That moved Keith Bogans to small forward and moved Prince from small forward to a more active spot along the baseline, where his fluidity with the ball made him tough for big men to guard.

Instead of starting each game perched on the perimeter hoisting jumpers, Prince has been taking opponents down low and shooting high-percentage shots. From there he has moved outside and gotten open shots, because defenders are wary of his ability to dribble and drive.

The move has even worked out on defense. Prince's arms are almost Sam Perkins length, which allows him to guard bigger men inside. He snuffed Notre Dame All-American Troy Murphy in January, holding him to 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting and blocking a pair of Murphy's shots.

With a fresh Prince inside, the Wildcats are 15-3. He averaged 13.1 points in Kentucky's first eight games, and 17.7 since. His shooting percentages have soared as well: 41 percent overall before the move to 53 percent after; 21 percent from 3-point range before the move to 39 percent after; and 74 percent foul shooting before the move to 92 percent after.

"When we inserted Gerald into the lineup, we were much smaller, which helped Tayshaun create matchup problems for opponents because he moves inside and can shoot his jump hook over someone," coach Tubby Smith said. "He's also atheltic enough to get his shot from the outside."

Prince has also been Kid Clutch for the past two seasons for the Cats.

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He hit a double-pump 3-pointer to clinch a win at Vanderbilt in Nashville last year, then saved Kentucky from first-round NCAA humiliation in March with a 3 to force overtime against St. Bonaventure. This year, his two free throws held off a major upset bid by rival Louisville, and a jump hook from 14 feet with 3.3 seconds left beat Florida in Rupp Arena.

With an ample assist from sidekick Bogans, this has become Tayshaun Prince's team. He's slowly shed his laid-back and laconic demeanor.

"I became comfortable with it (being the team leader) after we had a long, tough road trip at the beginning of the SEC season," Prince said. "It was just a matter of people who had played on the road before making some adjustments."

The rest of the SEC has been scrambling to adjust to Prince ever since. Right now, the league's best hope for next year is that the junior goes pro.

Games of the Week

Kentucky at Florida
Sunday
The two hottest -- and best -- teams in the SEC collide. Kentucky has won 9 of its last 10; Florida 10 of its last 11, losing only by a point in Lexington. Wildcats win and they're Eastern Division champions all by themselves. Gators win and they share the title with the Cats. Either way, the winner should edge a little higher in NCAA Tournament seeding.
Memphis at Louisville
Saturday
One of the great rivalries of the 1980s has lost its luster -- but this one packs more storylines than even the Glory Days matchups. One: It could be Denny Crum's final regular-season game coaching the Cardinals. Two: On the opposite bench is series rookie John Calipari, who injected juice into the rivalry by swiping star recruit DaJuan Wagner last fall -- and hiring his dad, Milt, a former Louisville great. Emotions will be running high in Freedom Hall.

White gives C-USA a jolt
Conference USA was hit with a severe power outage after last year, when Kenyon Martin and DerMarr Johnson of Cincinnati, along with Quentin Richardson of DePaul left school.

Given the league's grim power ratings, it still has not recovered much wattage. But C-USA did find a potential superstar in freshman Charlotte power forward Rodney White. He's the league's Player of the Year, edging out Marquette's Brian Wardle, Cincinnati's Steve Logan, South Florida's Altron Jackson and Memphis' Kelly Wise.

Now the question will be whether the muscled-but-smooth, 6-9 White follows Johnson's one-and-done path to the pros. After watching White carve up his team for 26 points and nine rebounds in Freedom Hall, Louisville coach Denny Crum has an opinion (or perhaps some wishful thinking) on that issue.

"He's the best offensive player in our conference and a lottery pick," Crum said. "You won't see him back there next season. Somebody will pick him up."

White is second in the league in scoring at 20 points per game, mixing power moves in the paint with a deft perimeter touch (26 threes on the year, 39.4 percent). He's also averaging 6.4 rebounds per game, shooting 52 percent overall and 71 percent from the foul line.

He also leads the team in turnovers, despite missing five games with a knee injury, but that's a freshman for you. Virtually the only time all year that White hasn't produced was when he came back from the knee sprain and gimped around for a couple of games in a brace.

When the brace came off, White came back full bore. He's averaged 24 ppg in the past five games.

Charlotte coach Bobby Lutz, whose team probably needs to win the C-USA tournament to make the NCAAs, would like to see a little more from White down the stretch, particularly on the backboards. But what coach isn't looking for a little more at this stage of the season?

"He's scored from the first time he took the floor, very effectively," Lutz said. "What we've been concentrating on him on is being a more complete player. We're playing him a lot of minutes, so we need him to do more than just score."

White is such a tough matchup - overpowering smaller players and taking big men outside - that he has opened up the offense for Charlotte's array of three-point shooters.

"He either puts it in the basket or draws double teams and enables other people to get open shots," Lutz said.

The big question in Charlotte this off-season will be whether White draws double-teams in college again next year or draws a paycheck in the pros.

Southern Stars

Sun Belt: Western Kentucky 7-footer Chris Marcus somehow got out of North Carolina and has become a blossoming pro prospect in Bowling Green. The sophomore is averaging 15.9 points, 11.6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots per game for the regular-season champion Hilltoppers.

Southern: College of Charleston center Jody Lumpkin has put together a phenomenal 17 straight games shooting 50 percent or better from the field. The 6-8, 250-pound senior's season numbers: 17.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 59.4 percent shooting.

Ohio Valley: A league loaded with big scorers has a potential pro in Austin Peay guard Trenton Hassell. The 6-5 Hassell is averaging 21.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.3 steals -- despite shooting a combined 7-for-35 his last two games.

Southwestern Athletic: Mississippi Valley State senior guard Dewayne Jefferson is blazing along at 24.6 points per game, 6.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals for the 16-8 Delta Devils.

Southland: McNeese State guard Tierre Brown gets the nod based on a blistering finish. Brown has averaged 24.7 per game over his last 10 games and for the year is putting up 19.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists for a team that won the league title by four games.

Pat Forde of the Louisville Courier-Journal is a regular contributor to ESPN.com

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