Football for UK hoops blue-blood

Sam Robey (shown at right) figures to be one of the more intriguing high school football propspects in Kentucky in the coming months because of his name and his game. He’s the son of former UK basketball All-American Rick Robey, who starred on the Cats’ 1978 NCAA title team. Sam also plays hoops for Trinity, but football is where he excels. A 6-foot-5, 240-pound offensive lineman, he has helped the Shamrocks to back-to-back Class 4A state titles.

Sam, accompanied by his parents, was at UK’s Nutter Field House yesterday to take part in a photo shoot for the “Tremendous 26,” a gathering of some of the state’s top seniors-to-be. Robey has a scholarship offer from Louisville, but he figures to have a lot of choices by the end of the summer. He has talked to UK a couple times and “definitely” thinks Rich Brooks has the Cats on the rise. “The recruiting classes they’ve had, and going to a bowl and beating Clemson last year, that was huge,” said Robey, whose speed and quickness are his best assets, and has some colleges looking at him as a tight end prospect.

Rick Robey said his son is “hearing from schools all the way from the University of Florida, to Notre Dame to Ohio State to Tennessee. He’s going to a bunch of one-day camps starting in a couple weeks. That’s where he’ll get to showcase his speed.” Robey said UK fans are always telling him to steer his son toward Lexington, but dad is going to let son make up his own mind.

Asked if he has beaten his dad in one-on-one basketball, Sam said he has, “but if he had good hips and knees, I’m sure I couldn’t. He can’t really move around much anymore.” Rick agreed. “All I can do is hold him because I can’t run around much anymore.”

As for his basketball Cats, Rick Robey is excited about new coach Billy Gillispie. “I think he’s wonderful. He’s got himself a couple good recruits coming in, but give him a couple years and he’ll get a lot more. I really liked Tubby (Smith) as a person, but Bill is a little more aggressive recruiter. I just think the change has helped. It’s brought back some enthusiasm. You can already feel it with the fans.”