Clearly, Rashaad Carruth is a bright-lights, big-city kind of guy.

Until Tuesday night, the freshman guard's Kentucky career had gotten off to a faltering start: suspended for an exhibition game, injured the first four regular-season games, unspectacular in the next three. A kid recruited as a first-class shooter was so uninterested -- or so put off by a lack of playing time, depending which theory you buy -- in the Wildcats' 55-point crushing of Kentucky State last Saturday that he didn't take a single shot.

But get him in Continental Airlines Arena, an NBA venue in the shadow of New York City. Put Dick Vitale and a ton of national media courtside. Clear the way for plenty of pro scouts. Line up almighty Duke as the opposition.

	Rashaad Carruth scored more points (14) Tuesday night in the first half against Duke than he had going into the game (12).

Then watch Rashaad go off.

Carruth was the truth against the Blue Devils: flicking soft 3-pointers with his Marino-quick release, knifing backdoor to the basket for layups, woofing outrageously at his regal elders from Durham.

He had a team-high 19 points against the kings of college basketball in a 95-92 overtime thriller won by Duke. Fourteen of those points came in the first half, as Kentucky served notice that has the talent and wherewithal to chase the champs all the way into April. Carruth was the one Kentucky player the Blue Devils couldn't leave open without paying.

"Rashaad was huge," Wildcats point guard Cliff Hawkins said. "Everybody knew what he could do, and he's coming around."

Carruth came into the Duke game having scored 12 college points. Total. By the middle of the Duke game Tubby Smith was calling out plays specifically to get Carruth shots.

"He's waiting for a game like this," said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who warned his team about Carruth's shooting prowess the morning of the game. "He's not waiting for Kentucky State. Players want to be great for the Duke game."

The Oak Hill Academy graduate didn't dispute that assertion.

"You always have to step up for a big game no matter who it is" he said. "(But) that's the best talent in the world you're playing against. You're supposed to be pumped up."

Kentucky fans were justifiably pumped up about getting a player who is an intriguing blend of urban and rural stereotypes. For a kid from Atlanta who arrived at UK with gold teeth, a bushy Afro (since cut), an array of tats and a healthy supply of bravado, Carruth's jumper is straight outta the cornfields of Middle America.

The mechanics are excellent, the form impeccable, the results soul-stirring to anyone who loves watching nets ripple. He's probably Kentucky's best pure shooter since 3-point specialist Cameron Mills.

Mills helped shoot the Cats to their last national championship, in 1998. Carruth's game is more well-rounded than Mills', but Tubby Smith would love to see him reprise that role -- with the same end result.

As for a few other SEC breakdout players?

Florida assistant coach John Pelphrey watched forward Matt Bonner play at the 1998 adidas summer camp with a cat-who-ate-the-canary grin. Bonner had just committed to the Gators before the camp, and it was almost like Pelphrey could see into the future and envision what fellow carrot-top Bonner would become.

Bonner stepped into a major role as a sophomore. Now a junior, he has surpassed point guard Brett Nelson and center Udonis Haslem as Florida's No. 1 offensive weapon. He leads the Gators in scoring at 17.3 points per game and is second in rebounding (7.1). At 6-foot-10, 237, he can bang with the big boys inside, and also step outside (37.1 percent from 3-point range).

Why pick just one Bulldog? The entire Georgia roster has had a breakout season, but Ezra Williams, Jarvis Hayes and Chris Daniels stand out.

Williams is the leading scorer at 19 points per game, and the 6-4 sophomore is chipping in 6.7 rebounds in 33 minutes per game. Hayes, a streak shooter who sat out last year as a transfer from Western Carolina, is right behind Williams with averages of 18.2 points and 4.5 rebounds. Daniels might have made the biggest jump since last season, upping his scoring from 3.5 points to 12.7 and his rebounds from 2.6 to 7.6. The 6-7 sophomore also leads the team in steals and blocks, and has racked up consecutive double-doubles.

And finally, Mississippi State center Mario Austin found out last year what almost every college freshman discovers: It's not as easy as I thought.

Austin went from flirting with the NBA to becoming a solid-but-unspectacular collegian, averaging 7.9 points and 3.6 rebounds. After getting his 265 pounds in better working order, the 6-9 Austin is second on the unbeaten Bulldogs team in scoring (14.3) and leads it in rebounding (8.1). If he can improve his foul shooting (just 57.5 percent), he'd probably surpass Marckell Patterson as Mississippi State's leading scorer.

Games of the Week

Mississippi State vs. Cincinnati Las Vegas Classic Friday Unbeaten Bulldogs get their first significant test in what should be a true clash of strengths. Rick Stansbury's team is shooting a blistering 51.2 percent from the field, and Bob Huggins' bunch is as ornery defensively as ever, leading Conference USA in field-goal percentage defense and 3-point percentage defense. Kentucky vs. Indiana in Indianapolis Saturday This is annually one of the top spectacles in the nation. The RCA Dome will be packed with about 20,000 fans in red and 20,000 in blue to see a Kentucky team that proved its worth against Duke take on an Indiana team that lost ugly at Miami last time out. This game marks the one-year anniversary of Mike Davis' tirade after a loss to the Cats. He's come a long way since then. Marquette at Wisconsin Saturday The Badgers aren't great, but they're a Big Ten team and should provide the kind of physical test Tom Crean's team hasn't seen since the Great Alaska Shootout. If Marquette gets by this one, its game Dec. 29 at Wake Forest becomes even bigger.

C-USA: Myles from last season
By the time this season is over, Jared from Subway might be the only guy to have achieved a more celebrated body makeover than Louisville power forward Ellis Myles.

As a freshman, the 6-8 Myles weighed roughly 260 poorly distributed pounds. Within weeks after Rick Pitino's arrival, Myles began to melt and reform in a vastly different shape. He now checks in at a cut 235, can get more than two inches off the floor and leads C-USA in rebounding at 12.5 boards per game. His scoring average is an identical 12.5, more than double last year's.

His toxic attitude has improved as well. Myles led the league last year in scowls, arguments with his coaches and flareups with opposing big men. This year he's just playing ball -- pretty good ball at that.

We already introduced you to Marquette phenom Dwyane Wade earlier in the season, and the update is pretty much the same: leads the unbeaten Golden Eagles in everything.

The 6-4 sophomore, who sat out last season as a partial academic qualifier, tops surprising Marquette in points (18.6), rebounds (7.3), assists (4.7), steals (2.4), blocks, fouls and turnovers (but the turnovers are decreasing). Wade has done less 3-point shooting (he's only hitting 28 percent) and more slashing, which has led to an increase in trips to the foul line. Yes, he leads the team in free throws made an attempted, too.

Southern Mississippi senior Elvin Mims ended last season with four straight single-digit scoring games -- not exactly the March climax he had in mind. This year he's making up for it. Mims is averaging 20.2 points per game, doubling last year's average. The 6-5 Mims is also contributing 7.4 rebounds per game for the Golden Eagles, who might be putting the pieces together after a bumpy start.

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