 The youngest person and first high school athlete ever to win the award, Farmer finished ahead of former Kentucky guard Pat Riley, who had just coached the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers to a second consecutive championship.With the Wildcats' record sitting at 11–13 overall and 6–6 in conference play headed into a February road game against conference leader LSU, Farmer remained in Lexington with a combination of a stomach virus and the flu.Teammates LaRon Ellis, Chris Mills, and Derrick Miller had also been ill, but all recovered in time to make the trip.