By Bill Koch
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Keith LeGree played in the Louisville-Kentucky rivalry and thought that was a pretty big deal.But in LeGree's mind, nothing matches the Skyline Crosstown Shootout between the University of Cincinnati and Xavier.

LeGree, in his third year as an assistant coach at UC, still burns with a desire to beat the Musketeers, a desire he felt deeply the first time he played in this game.

If UC coach Bob Huggins is looking for someone on his staff to fire up the troops, he might be wise to turn the floor over to LeGree for a few minutes before the Bearcats take the floor against XU Saturday afternoon.

"I want to win every game," LeGree said. "But the Xavier game is different. You can't say it's the same as any other big game because it's not. It's definitely not.

"I think this rivalry here is bigger than the rivalry between Kentucky and Louisville. It feels much different getting ready for that game. It's statewide there. Here it's the city. The schools are 10 minutes apart. I think this is the biggest rivalry in the country right now."

LeGree, 30, played under Denny Crum at Louisville for his first two seasons before transferring to UC, where he played point guard on the 1994-95 team and '95-96 Elite Eight team.

He played against Xavier twice while he was at Louisville and two more times at UC. He won every time. If anyone knows the secret to beating XU, it's LeGree.

"You've got to take it as a personal challenge to get yourself ready," LeGree said. "After the game, you see how people feel when you go out. You see how important it is for them to have bragging rights, more important than it is even for you. It really means something to the people out there."

LeGree said he's not sure the current UC players, especially those who are about to experience this rivalry for the first time, understand just how much this game means to the community.

"It's hard to explain to a first-year guy," LeGree said. "You have to experience it. I always played well against Xavier. You take your game and put it out there on the floor and you beat Xavier. You don't lose to them.

"I don't think guys take the game as serious as they should. I don't know that they feel the effect people have once you win or lose that game."

LeGree finally discovered what it felt like to lose to XU two years ago when the Bearcats were beaten by the Musketeers at Shoemaker Center during his first season as an assistant coach. That's when he found out just how long the repercussions from that game reverberate.

"That's the first year I had to go through a whole year of `What happened against Xavier?'" LeGree said.

This year, unranked UC enters the game as underdogs against 16th-ranked XU. LeGree says they should use that to their advantage.

"It's a tool you use coaching to get your guys ready," he said, "because everybody's writing you off. They always felt this way. Now you get a chance to see how they felt and how fired up they were to come in here. Now you should be the same way. But I'm not sure if these guys understand that."