Timn Downer

In this week’s Hot Seat interview, John sits down with Kevin Schappel. His girlfriend, Jenna Huggins (UC head coach Bob Huggins’ daughter) also made an appearance in the interview.

John Rasp: How important for you was it to put up a double-double against UC? Kevin Schappell: I just went out there and had fun. It was a great time. We had a chance to win and we almost came through.

JR: Who was your girlfriend rooting for at the UC game? KS: She said that she wanted me to play good, but she wanted her dad’s team to win. Everyone on the team was giving her a hard time about that.

JR: How is it to room with Jesse Rupe? KS: He’s a good roommate. He’s a neat freak and a man of routine. He notices every little thing that you change. If you turn his alarm clock a little bit crooked, he’ll notice it right away and have to switch it back.

JR: Rupe says Assistant Coach Dave Bezold would outshoot him in a three-point competition. Would Coach Bezold outshoot you? KS: No way! We play NORSE (a variation of HORSE) once a year, and we’re supposed to play pretty soon.

JR: Have you ever dunked over one of your teammates in practice? KS: Not this year. In high school I have.

JR: Coming from Cincinnati and playing for a Kentucky team, who has the best college basketball team-Cincinnati or Kentucky? KS: This year, Cincinnati. They are real tough and they are going to go to the final four this year. I hate Kentucky.

JR: What player on the team listens to the worst music before games? KS: Probably Walt Kelsey. When we were at Florida he was playing country on his DVD player. Him and Rupe like to listen to country and some kind of guitar music. I like listening to rap.

JR: What is your best Coach Shields memory? KS: At our awards banquet at Montgomery Inn last year, he started talking about my girlfriend Jenna. Jenna got really embarrassed and her face got all red because Coach Shields was talking about her. She was the only girlfriend there and she thought he was talking about her for about 15 minutes, but I thought it was probably only for a couple minutes.

Jenna Huggins: Kevin made me go because he told me I had to go since I went to my dad’s (UC banquet. He told me that all of the other girlfriends would be there. I was the only one there and I felt like an idiot.

JR: What team, that you have played so far, talked the most trash? KS: Probably Kentucky Wesleyan because they are our rival.

JR: Do you ever hear some of the things that some of the fans try to yell at you during a game? KS: At UC they were all chanting “Bob Huggins’ daughter” and “Bob Huggins’ son” and stuff like that. It was pretty funny.