Kentucky’s Bennett Is Confident of Comeback

LEXINGTON, Ky. â€”  Kentucky’s hopes for a national basketball championship hinge on the injured right knee of Winston Bennett. And while Bennett doesn’t enjoy the pain, he also doesn’t mind the attention.

“I’m a bit uppity right now,� said the Kentucky forward who was forced to sit out last season after knee surgery. “One individual does not win a game, but I think it’s going to be vital to the ball club that I do return healthy. I’m pretty confident that I will.�

With a confident and healthy Bennett, the best recruiting class in the nation and sophomore phenom Rex Chapman fresh from his exploits in the Pan American games, Coach Eddie Sutton’s Wildcats are expected to make a strong run at the Final Four.

“We think about it. We think about making it to the Final Four, and if we get there we’ll find a way to win,� Bennett said. “I think that happens to every ball club, but I think with so much talent in our club, we have to think about it even more.�

Bennett probably thinks about it more than his teammates. The last time he played collegiate basketball, his Wildcats choked as a Louisiana State squad Kentucky had defeated three times shocked just about everyone and waltzed into the Final Four by defeating the Wildcats 59-57 in the Southeast Regional Championship game. While Bennett had a game-high 12 rebounds, he hit just three of 13 shots from the floor.

“It just stays in my mind,� the 6-7, 210-pound forward said. “You go over and over and over it in your mind. It has plagued my mind.�

That was two seasons ago. Bennett completed the year averaging 12.7 points per game and seven rebounds, and his aggressive defensive skills helped him earn all-Southeastern Conference honors. But Bennett’s plans to set the record straight over that last game of 1985 went awry when he came down wrong on his knee in the third preseason practice of last year.

“I thought it was over. I sort of panicked,� the soft-spoken Bennett said. “It’s like your life flashes in front of your eyes. I had been playing just about all my life.�

Bennett underwent reconstructive knee surgery and, while the doctors told him he would be able to play again, he was forced to sit out last season.

“It was very difficult,� Bennett said of time on the bench, when he watched Eddie Sutton’s team go to an 18-11 record, disappointing by Kentucky standards.

While teammates Chapman and Ed Davender played in summer tournaments, Bennett stayed in Lexington working out on weights, shooting baskets and conditioning his body for its return to competitive basketball.

“It’s been a period of loneliness for me,� Bennett said. “It’s been real tough because I’ve had to turn my mind and body to working out and running and tuning my entire body to coming back this season. You have to continually look ahead and place that incentive on yourself.�

Bennett has plenty of incentive. A favorite for All-America honors last season before the injury, the Louisville native wants to once again be considered material for national recognition.

“I hope other people will think so,� Bennett said. “I want to work real hard to be considered for All American. I think I am going to have to come back strong like two years ago, and even a little bit better.�

But Bennett is still not back to that level. While the coaches rate him at 90 percent, he considers himself at about 80 percent. But of course, Bennett says he expects to be at 110 percent when the season begins.

Bennett began playing in pickup games about a month ago. Immediately he noticed two problems. His vertical jump is not as great and his shooting percentage has dropped.

“It’s all tied in together. When you are shooting the ball, you have to get up off the floor,� he said. “I realize the scoring aspect will be the last thing to come back to me. It’s been hard to get that shooting eye back, but I’m confident I will.�

As in all major basketball programs, rumors abound. The most rampant one in Lexington this year is that Bennett will not be back healthy.

“They say, ‘If he does come back, he’ll never be like he was.’ That’s sort of good, because I know within myself that I will be back,� Bennett said. “It gives me the added incentive to not only come back, but to exceed all expectations. That’s what I’ve been working for all summer.�