King of the SEC

Kentucky point guard Saul Smith hasn’t grabbed many rebounds during the Wildcats’ eight-game winning streak. And he knows why.

“It’s Tayshaun’s fault,” Smith begins with a smirk. “He hasn’t missed a shot in about a month.

“When he puts it up, I just throw my arms in the air and head back downcourt. I haven’t gone to the boards in weeks.”

Smith winks as he finishes his statement, knowing he’s exaggerating a bit--but only a bit.

Over his last eight games, Tayshaun Prince almost single-handedly has transformed the Wildcats into one of the hottest teams in the nation.

The 6-foot-9, 215-pound junior swingman from Compton is averaging better than 23 points and six rebounds during the streak, hitting 58 percent from the field and nearly 50 percent from behind the 3-point line.

“The way I’ve been playing lately has been great,” said Prince. “I can’t really explain it other than I’m getting good shots and they’re falling.”

His teammates have taken to calling him “Mr. Clutch.” He beat No. 8 Florida with a crafty little jump hook from the foul line with 3.3 seconds remaining and nailed six of seven 3-pointers en route to a career-high 30 points in leading the Wildcats past No. 15 Tennessee.

He’s fifth in scoring in the Southeastern Conference and has been named the league’s player of the week twice in the last three weeks entering Sunday’s nationally televised showdown at Arkansas.

And he’s doing it all in a quiet, unassuming manner that unnerves teammates as well as opponents.

“You watch him go up and down the court, kind of hunched over and gliding, and you’d think he wasn’t trying very hard,” Kentucky freshman Gerald Fitch said. “Then you look up and he’s got 20 points and 10 rebounds.”

“Tayshaun’s play has been instrumental in our rise the second half of the season and as we’ve gone into conference play,” Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said. “He’s been outstanding. We’re just riding his coattails because he’s carrying us.”

Prince struggled early in the season, hampered by his position--small forward--and the fact that he was playing with seven first-year teammates.

But when Tubby Smith replaced 6-10 forward Marvin Stone with the 6-3 Fitch nine games into the season, Prince was able to move to the power forward spot where he has a distinct advantage over those trying to guard him.

“I think it allows me to be more versatile,” said the soft-spoken Prince, a 1998 McDonald’s All-American at Dominguez High School. “If I have a smaller player guarding me, I’m going to have an advantage in the post. If they put a big guy on me, he’s going to have to chase me around the perimeter.

“Things have just fallen into place for me the last few weeks. I’m just happy to be helping this team get back to where it needs to be with the postseason coming up.”

Prince averaged 13.3 points and six rebounds a game last year, so his coach knew he was capable of dominating games.

“I think he’s playing to his potential now,” Tubby Smith said. “He’s stronger this year and he’s making his outside jumper with more consistency. Really, that’s the only change.”

Few SEC coaches are looking forward to meeting the resurgent Wildcats in the conference tournament, and Prince is the primary reason.

“If I had to vote for a most valuable player in the conference right now, I’d vote for Tayshaun Prince,” Tennessee coach Jerry Green said following the Wildcats’ 103-95 victory in Knoxville on Valentine’s Day.

LSU coach John Brady saw Prince score only 16 but watched helplessly as he held Ronald Dupree--the SEC’s second-leading scorer--to only 10 points on 2-of-10 shooting Wednesday night.

“He does it all, like Stromile [Swift] did for us last year,” Brady said. “The thing that has allowed him to emerge as MVP of the league is that he’s making perimeter shots. It makes him a difficult [player to] guard.”

As long as Prince remains red hot, the Wildcats are going to be tough to beat come March, Saul Smith said.

“He caught fire at the perfect time for us, and we’ve all fed off of his play,” Smith said. “We’re going to ride him as long as we can.”