xt7nzs2k744g https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7nzs2k744g/data/mets.xml University of Kentucky 1971  athletic publications English University of Kentucky Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. University of Kentucky Basketball Media Guides (Men) Basketball, 1971 text Basketball, 1971 1971 2012 true xt7nzs2k744g section xt7nzs2k744g UNIVERSITY >F KENTUCKY
 KENTUCKY VARSITY BASKETBALL. SCHEDULE  1970-71
Date Opponent Site 19 7 0
Dec.   1    NORTHWESTERN ............................................................................ Away
Dec.   5    MICHIGAN ...................................................................................... Home
Dec.   7   WEST VIRGINIA ............................................................................. Away
Dec. 12    INDIANA........................................................................................ Away
Dec. 18    UKIT (PURDUE, KANSAS STATE, DePAUL) ...............................[,... Home
Dec. 19    UKIT (PURDUE, KANSAS STATE, DePAUL) .................................... Home
Dec. 22   OREGON STATE ......................................................................i..... Home
Dec. 29   NOTRE DAME ..........................................................................' Louisville
19 7 1
Jan.   2   MISSISSIPPI ..............................................................................I..... Away
Jan.   4    MISSISSIPPI STATE .......................................................................... Away
Jan.   9    FLORIDA .......................................................................................... Home
Jan. 11    GEORGIA ........................................................................................ Home
Jan.  16    TENNESSEE .................................................................................... Away
Jan. 23    LOUISIANA STATE .......................................................................... Away
Jan. 25   ALABAMA ...................................................................................... Away
Jan. 30    VANDERBILT ................................................................................ Home
Feb.   1    AUBURN ........................................................................................ Home
Feb.   6    MISSISSIPPI .................................................................................... Home
Feb.   8    MISSISSIPPI STATE ........................................................................ Home
Feb. 13    FLORIDA .................................................................................,...... Away
Feb. 15   GEORGIA ........................................................................................ Away
Feb. 20    LOUISIANA STATE ........................................................................ Home
Feb. 22    ALABAMA .................................................................................... Home
Feb. 27   VANDERBILT .................................................................................. Away
Mar.   1    AUBURN ........................................................................................ Away
Mar.   6    TENNESSEE .................................................................................... Home
KENTUCKY'S HOME ATTENDANCE
Year No. Games Attendance Average
1969-70 ........................ 15 ............................ 181,295 ............................ 12,086
1968-69 ........................ 13 ............................ 165,500 ............................ 1 1,821
1967-68 ........................ 16 ............................ 178,000 ............................ 1 1,333
1966-67 ........................ 13 ............................ 136,588 ............................ 10,502
1965-66 ........................ 13 ............................ 149,571 * .......................... 1 1,505
1964-65 ........................ 14 ............................ 151,000 ........................10,786
1963-64 ........................ 14 ............................ 165,650 ............................ 11,117
1962-63 ........................ 15 ............................ 153,132 ............................ 10,208
1961-62 ........................ 16 ............................ 165,495 ............................ 10,343
1960-61 ........................ 14 ............................ 129,978............................ 9,284
1959-60 ........................ 13 ............................ 138,995 ............................ 10,692
1958-59 ........................ 15 ............................ 177,824 ............................ 1 1,855
1957-58 ........................ 13 ............................ 124,461 ............................ 9,574
1956-57 ........................ 14 ............................ 129,733 ............................ 9,266
1955-56 ........................ 13 ............................ 126,104 ............................ 9,700
* Season high in the nation. University of Kentucky Basketball Facts  1970-71
INDEX
All-Americans, All-NCAA ............35
All-Conference ..............................34
Athletic Director Lancaster 8-9
Athletics at Kentucky ....................21
Attendance Records Inside Front Award Winners (Annual) 32-34 Basketball Staff
Coach Rupp ..........................10-15
Rupp Era Record ........................15
Rupp Milestones ..........................5
Assts. Hall, Plain 19 Asst. Parsons, Hukle, Rollins,
Vaughan ..................................20
Coaches Through Years ................17
Coliseum ....................................46-47
Fabulous Five ..................................76
Freshman Basketball
Record (All-Time) ......................18
Results, 1969-70 ........................44
Roster ..........................................49
Schedule .....................................44
SigneesBackground Sketches 45 Statistics   1969-70 69
Helm's Selection ............................60
Home Floor Losses..........................25
Lettermen Through Years 77-78 Modern Record (1946 to Date) 36-38
NCAA Titlists ................................17
Nickname, Origin of 22 Opponents Information
Highs and Lows ....................75-76
Record vs. 1970-71
Opponents ..........................61-63
Record vs. All Opponents 79-81 Scouting Reports 50-59
Poll Leaders (Wire Service) ..........24
SEC Champions By Years ..............16
SEC Composite Standing Kentucky In SEC
Final SEC Standings1969-70 23 Sports InformationRice, Perry 21
Television Series ............................22
To Press, Radio, TV..........................2
Tournament Trail ....................29-31
UK General Information 4
UKIT ..........................................26-29
University of Kentucky 6
Varsity Basketball
Background Briefs 39-43
Game By Game Rebounding ......67
Game By Game Scoring ............66
Outlook Story................................3
Quick Facts ..................................5
RecordsTeam, Individual, Misc., Memorial Coliseum 70-75 (Set in 1969-70)   96Inside Back
Roster ..........................................48
Schedule .................... Inside Front
ScorersTop All-Time ..............64
ScoresGame By Game 82-95
Season Record1969-70 ..........16
Statistics1969 70 65 Time PlayedHigh Game 68 Wildcats At A Glance ................7
Compiled By Jack Perry, Asst. Sports Information Director RUSSELL RICE, Director of Sports Information TO THE PRESS AND RADIO-TV
Here is your copy of the 1970-71 facts booklet on Kentucky basketball which we sincerely hope will aid you in covering and answering questions on the Wildcats this season. If you desire additional information, special stories, pictures or have questions not answered herein, please feel free to contact the Sports Information Office in Memorial Coliseum (Telephone A.C. 606257-3838, 257-3839).
WORKING TICKETSAddress requests to Sports Information Office as far in advance as possible. Tickets will not be mailed unless requested and will be held at the Information Window at the main entrance of Memorial Coliseum for pickup on game night.
PRESS DOOREntrance to the area set aside for press and radio should be via the Press Door located to the extreme left of the Coliseum entrance foyer
FRESS ROOMLocated under west stands.  Entrance near press door.
COMPSNo individual game allotment.
WESTERN UNIONWire facilities are available at court side. Please advise if you will be filing from the Coliseum and also notify manager of Western Union in Lexington.
RADIO BROADCASTSBroadcasting rights to UK games are assigned exclusively to the G. H. Johnston Agency, 59 East 54th Street, New York, N. Y. 10022 (Telephone 421-8055). One free reciprocal outlet is guaranteed opponent schools visiting Lexington. Any additional stations must clear through the Johnston Agency and the UK Director of Broadcasting, Mr. Pete Manchikes (257-2655). Working passes will be supplied approved stations by Sports Information Office.
SERVICESWorking press and radio will be furnished game programs, brochures, running play-by-play, halftime quickie box and final statistics in the form of a complete, seven-column dittoed box score.
RUSSELL RICE Director of Sports Information
JACK PERRY Asst. Director of Sports Information
MRS. SHARON WOODRUFF Secretary
Information
2 KENTUCKY BASKETBALL OUTLOOK 1970-71
Despite the loss of All-American Dan Issel, who set or tied 23 individual season records and 18 individual career records, and Mike Pratt, a two-time All-Southeastern Conference forward, Coach Adolph Rupp's Wildcats still are favorites to capture their fourth consecutive Southeastern Conference Championship.
Giving the nation's winningest coach (836 victories, 177 losses) reason to smile is a returning corps of lettermen, who last year helped set or tie 17 team season records, and some fine prospects from the '70 freshman team.
Since the guard corps of Terry Mills, Jim Dinwiddie, Kent Hollenbeck and Stan Key returns intact, the big job is to fill the vacancies left by Issel and Pratt.
A prime candidate for the center position is Mark Soderberg, a 6-8 letterman who played in relief of Issel last season. When Issel fouled out with over 10 minutes left against Jacksonville in the final of the NCAA Mid-East regional, Soderberg came in and gave a fine performance to lead the Wildcats from an 1 1-point deficit to a chance to win before Jacksonville iced it in the last 30 seconds.
Challenging the big Californian will be Jim Andrews, 6-11, who averaged 28.4 points and 13.8 rebounds per game for last year's freshman team. The big native of Lima, Ohio, hit 55.5 per cent of his field goal attempts.
Also eligible for competition is Tom Payne, a 7-foot high school All-American who averaged 22 points and 15 rebounds for the Lexington AAU team last season and was selected the league's most valuable player.
Lexington Coach Scotty Baesler, a former UK captain, said, "Tom is the greatest clutch performer I have seen on the basketball court and he's only 19."
The center position is apparently a three-way battle. So is the forward post vacated by Pratt, who averaged 19.3 points and 9.4 rebounds. Returning after being named SEC "Sophomore of the Year" is Tom Parker, a 6-6 southpaw who came off the bench in early February and started against Mississippi after roommate Larry Steele received a wrist injury in practice. Parker, who had played sparingly to that point, averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds in a starting role, averaged 50.4 per cent from the field and finished as the team's third high scorer with 260 points, an average of 1 0.4 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.
Steele never regained his starting berth, but recovered from the injury and played well in the NCAA. He finished with 9.8 points and 6.3 rebounds a game and won the team free throw trophy, hitting 45 of 49 for 91.8 per cent, a UK record.
The squad also will be strengthened by the return of Mike Casey, a two-time All-SEC performer who missed last season after receiving a broken leg in an auto accident in the summer of 1969. Casey, starting guard on the 1968-69 Wildcat NCAA squads, is 16th on the list of top all-time Kentucky scorers with an average of 19.9 points a game.  He also holds the UK assists record of 129 in a single season.
Moving into the varsity ranks with Andrews are two other Lima nativesSteve Penhorwood, a 6-4 guard, and Dan Perry, a 6-8 forwardand Larry Stamper, a 6-5 forward from Beattyville, Ky.
Stamper was the second leading scorer (15.2) and rebounder (12.0) on the 1969-70 Frosh squad. Perry averaged 9.7 points and 6.0 rebounds. Penhorwood 9.2 points and 4.9 rebounds.
The 1968-69 and 1969-70 squads were the highest scoring combinations ever at UK and left a big challenge for the 1970-71 squad. Records set last season included most points (2709), highest scoring average (96.8), most field goals made (1099), highest field goal percentage (49.8) and most conference victories (17).
3 UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
General Information
LOCATIONLexington, Ky., a community of 155,000 in the heart of Kentucky's famed Blue Grass region.   Renowned as the world capital of the thoroughbred horse industry and known also as the world's largest loose-leaf tobacco market. FOUNDED1865 ENROLLMENT(On campus17,665)
PRESIDENTDr. Ots A. Singletary (At 13 Community Colleges10,000)
SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENTDr. Alvin A. Morris ACTING VICE-PRESIDENT, BUSINESS AFFAIRSGeorge J. Ruschell VICE-PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY RELATIONSDr. Glenwood Creech VICE-PRESIDENT, MEDICAL CENTERDr. Peter Bosomworth VICE-PRESIDENT, STUDENT AFFAIRSRobert G. Zumwinkle VICE-PRESIDENT, RESEARCHDr. Lewis Cochran
FACULTY CHAIRMAN OF ATHLETICSDr. William Matthews (UK's faculty representative to Southeastern Conference)
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONSFred A. Woodress
CONFERENCESoutheastern (member since founding in 1933)
NICKNAME OF TEAMSWildcats COLORSBlue and White
MASCOT"Baby" (Live Bobcat)
BANDVarsity (DirectorWm. Harry Clarke)      FIGHT SONG"On, On, U. of K." STADIUMMcLean Stadium on Stoll Field (capacity 37,500) GYMNASIUMMemorial Coliseum (capacity 11,500)
Athletics Staff
DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICSHarry C. Lancaster (Georgetown '33) ASSISTANT TO DIRECTORMrs. Louise Gilchrist HEAD BASKETBALL COACHAdolph Rupp (Kansas '23) ASSISTANT COACHESJoe Hall, T. L. Plain and Dick Parsons
HEAD COACHES OTHER SPORTSFootball: John Ray, Baseball: Dick Parsons, Track and Cross Country: Press Whelan, Tennis: Dick Vimont, Golf: Humzey Yessin, Swimming and Water Polo: Ron Huebner, Diving: Tom Paxton, Rifle: Capt. David Phillips.
TICKET SALES MANAGERHarvey Hodges ACCOUNTANTJan Smits
SUPERVISOR OF STUDENT ADMISSIONSAl Morgan
CO-ORDINATOR OF FACILITIESClarence Underwood
BASKETBALL TRAINERClaude Vaughan
BASKETBALL EQUIPMENT MANAGERGeorge Hukle
SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTORRussell Rice (Kentucky '51)
ASSISTANT SPORTS INFORMATION DIRECTORJack Perry
4 QUICK FACTS ON KENTUCKY BASKETBALL
NCAA CHAMPIONSFour Times (1948, '49, '51, '58) in 18 Appearances. 29 Victories.
UK INVITATIONAL CHAMPIONSTwelve Times in 17 Tournaments. SEC CHAMPIONSRecord 25 Times Since 1933. (Last in 1970.) WORLD CHAMPIONS1948 Olympic Games.
INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITIES TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS1 966.
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS BY POLLSSix Times Since 1949.
ALL-TIME RECORDWon 1,041, Lost 323, Tied 1 in 67 Seasons.
ADOLPH RUPP40 Years As Head Coach (Nation's WinningestWon 836, Lost 17782.5%).
KENTUCKY ALL-AMERICANS25 Players Honored 37 Times.
ALL-SOUTHEASTERN48 Players Honored 85 Times.
PROFESSIONALS28 Players Entered Ranks.
MEMORIAL COLISEUM (11,500)  Home Floor Since   1950 (Won 240, Lost 30).
RECORD HIGH POINTS143 vs. Georgia (Neutral Site) '56At Home 116 vs. Georgia '70.
INDIVIDUAL HIGH53 By Dan Issel in 1970 vs. Mississippi at Oxford.
BIGGEST VICTORY MARGIN77 vs. Georgia in  1956At Home, 53 vs. Georgia Tech '56, Georgia '59.
NIT CHAMPIONS1946.
SUGAR BOWL CHAMPIONSFive Times.
MILESTONES IN THE RUPP RECORD
Victory No. 100  December 9, 1936 Victory No. 200  January 9, 1943 ... Victory No. 300  January 25, 1947 Victory No. 400  February 4, 1950 .
Georgetown (Ky.) (H) 46-21
Xavier (A) 43-38
Xavier (H) 71-34
Mississippi (A) 61-55
Victory No. 500  December 22, 1954
La Salle (H) 63-54
Victory No. 600  January 29, 1959 .. Victory No. 700  February 3, 1964 .. Victory No. 772  December 30, 1967
Georgia (H) 108-55 Georgia (A) 103-83
Notre Dame (N) 81-73
Victory No. 800  January 27, 1 969
Alabama (A) 83-70
5 DR. OTIS A. SINGLETARY
President, University of Kentucky
THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY . . . The State Is Our Campus
Located in Lexington, an urban community of over 155,000 population in the heart of Kentucky's famed Blue Grass region, University of Kentucky is a state-supported, land-grant institution which celebrated its centennial year in 1965.
The present school, which this fall enrolled 27,740 students and now offers instruction in 10 academic colleges plus a Graduate School and a Community College system of 13 centers, had its beginnings in 1865 when it was established as a part of old Kentucky University. This action by the State Legislature united sectarian and public education under one organization for the first time. Federal funds authorized under the Morrill Act were used to develop agriculture and mechanical arts within KU and, in 1878, A&M College was separated from KU to become a separate state institution on the general site of what is now the 706 acre main campus. Name changes in 1908 and 1916 resulted in the title by which the school is now known.
It is fully accredited in its respective colleges and departments by all of the major professional societies and educational organizations.
President of the University is Dr. Otis A. Singletary, 48, who came to Lexington in 1969 from the University of Texas, Austin, where he was executive vice chancellor for academic affairs.
Dr. Singletary, who is eighth president of the University, served a total of eight years at Texas, progressing during seven (1954-61) of those years from instructor to professor, associate dean of Arts and Sciences and assistant to the president. Then for five years (1961-66), he was chancellor of the University of North Carolina, although he was on leave from October 1964 to January 1966 to serve as director of the Job Corps, Office of Economic Opportunity. 1970-71 WILDCATS AT A GLANCE
LETTERMEN LOST FROM 1969-70 TEAM (2)
Dan Issel (6-8)Team Co-Captain, concensus All-America, Academic All-America, Three-time All-SEC, All-NCAA Mideast and All-UKIT. Most prolific scorer in Kentucky history and first ever to top 2,000 career points with 2,138. Set or tied 23 individual season records, 18 individual career records and led the team to 17 team season records. High individual game was 53 points against Mississippi at Oxford. Averaged 33.9 points and 13.2 rebounds a game. Signed with the ABA Kentucky Colonels for a purported $1.4 million.
Mike Pratt (6-4)Team Co-Captain, Academic All-America, Two-time All-SEC, Three-time All-UKIT, MVP Notre Dame game 1969. Ninth top scorer in Kentucky history, led team twice in assists and regarded strongest man to play for Coach Rupp. Signed with the ABA Kentucky Colonels for a purported $400,000.
RETURNING LETTERMEN (8)
Mike Casey (6-4 G-F)Injury from '69 auto accident prevented play last season. Two-time All-SEC, All-UKIT, All-Mideast Regional. Averaged 19.1 and UK record 129 assists as a junior. Will be used as a swing man between guard and forward.
Jim Dinwiddie (6-4 G)Started all but one game, hit 52.5 from field, averaged 4.5 points in 28 games.
Kent Hollenbeck (6-4 G)Started last three games, averaged 4.0 in 25 games.
Stan Key (6-3 G)Top-flight reserve, earned starting berth for eight games, averaged 3.5 points in 26 games.
Terry Mills (6-2 G)Started 1 0 games and then played 1 6 as a reserve. Fourth leading scorer with 9.1 average.
Tom Parker (6-6 F)SEC Sophomore of the Year, third leading scorer with 10.4 average, hit 50.4 from the field.
Mark Soderberg (6-8 C)Saw meager action in relief of Issel, averaged 1.6 points for 1 4 games.
Larry Steele (6-5 F)Sat out five games with wrist injury in mid-season, averaged 9.8 points and 6.3 rebounds for 23 games.
UP FROM FRESHMAN TEAM
Jim Andrews (6-11 C)Led frosh with 28.4 average, 13.8 rebounds, hit 55.5 from field.
Steve Penhorwood (6-4 G)Averaged 9.2, hit 45.9 from field.
Dan Perry (6-8 F)Hit 48.1, averaging 9.7 points.  Had 133 rebounds.
Larry Stamper (6-6 F)Second leading scorer and rebounder with 15.2 and 12.0 a game.
OTHERS
Tom Payne (7-0 C)Played with Lexington AAU team as a freshman, league's MVP. Clint Wheeler (6-8 C-F)Saw meager action in five games scoring four points.
7 HARRY C. LANCASTER Director of Athletics
Harry C. Lancaster has smoothly completed the transition from basketball coach to athletic director after one full year's departure from the basketball scene.
The veteran coach, who suffered an ailment earlier in the year which required a long hospital stay, bounced back quickly and picked up reins he has held since he
8 was named acting athletic director in September 1968 and permanent AD three months later.
After assuming full time duties as AD, the long time assistant to Coach Adolph Rupp relinquished his freshman coaching duties to Joe Hall and silently began giving up other coaching duties until season's end.
Basketball's loss was the University's gain over-all as Lancaster quickly moved to accept the position of leadership which had been relegated in an "acting" capacity first to Robert L. Johnson and then to Lancaster since the death of Bernie A. Shively Dec. 10, 1967.
The Rupp-Lancaster association, begun after the latter was discharged from the Navy as a lieutenant (s.g.) in 1946, has been one of mutual respect and harmony. Rupp, who always prides himself as one who "surrounds myself with the best people for the job at hand," made Lancaster a full assistant in 1948. During the two previous years, the youthful Navy veteran had busied himself by serving as part-time assistant while carrying on teaching duties and studying for a master's degree.
The dual duties, plus extra studies, were second nature to Lancaster, who had served as assistant football and basketball coach at Georgetown College (1932-33) and Paris High School (1933-34), head basketball coach at Bagdad High School (1934-36) and principal and coach at Gleneyrie High School (1936-42) and physical education instructor at UK in 1942. He was to continue that trend of carrying extra loads, serving as UK's baseball coach for 17 seasons prior to relinquishing the post following the 1965 campaign and teaching physical education for 18 years.
Basketball was his forte, however, and in addition to coaching Rupp's freshman teams, he was always at the side of the "baron" during the heat of battle. In his own right, Lancaster has traveled extensively and received a signal honor when he was invited to prepare the Greek National Basketball Team for the 1968 Olympics. A six-week tour in Athens was cancelled when Lancaster was asked to stay home and serve as acting athletics chief of staff.
Traveled To Greece In 1951
Lancaster had traveled to Greece in the summer of 1951 on a special athletic assignment for the U.S. State Department. The mission called for him to act as an advisor to Greek Basketball Federation officials in Olympic procedures and other matters. He also conducted numerous clinics and coaching schools and gave public lectures on the cage sport. During the summer of 1962, he helped Coach Rupp conduct clinics for Army personnel in the Far East Theater and worked with Rupp on the team's Middle East Tour in 1966 and a clinic in Germany in the summer of 1967.
It is ironic that Lancaster gained greatest fame in basketball, since he always considered himself a better football player. He was an all-conference halfback for three straight years and captain during his last two seasons at Georgetown College and also played semi-pro ball in Louisville and Cincinnati. His success on the basketball court was equally great, however, as he earned three all-conference nominations and two team captaincies. As a coach, he guided Kentucky yearlings to 204 victories, against only 57 losses, against formidable competition that included the more elite junior college clubs and top-notch service teams. He posted respectable records as a baseball coach and gave the school its winningest seasons in history by registering identical 18-8 marks in 1959-1960.
A native of Paris, Ky., Lancaster attended Paris High School, where he lettered in football, basketball and baseball under Coach Blanton Collier. At Georgetown College, he was president of Kappa Alpha Social Fraternity and the Student Body during his senior year. He is one of four persons named honorary life members by the organization of sports letter winners at the University.
He was married to the late Mrs. Katherine Louise Wright of Christiansburg. A daughter, Mrs. Dan Spain Jr. and two grandchildren, Kevin, 7, and Dana, 5, live in Rockville, Md.  His father, U. F. Lancaster, resides at Richmond, Ky.
9 RUPP HONORED BY ALMA MATERChancellor E. Laurence Chalmers, right, presents the Distinguished Service Citation to Adolph F. Rupp during commencement ceremonies last June at the University of Kansas. The citation is the highest honor the University and the Alumni Association bestow.  Rupp graduated from Kansas in 1923.
10 ADOLPH FREDERICK RUPP
"World's Winningest Collegiate Basketball Coach" 40 Years  Won 836, Lost 177  82.5%
Kentucky's legendary "Baron of Basketball" passed his 1,000th game as coach of the Wildcats during the middle of last season and the occasion was duly recorded and celebrated.
During the span which began with a 67-19 victory over Georgetown a week before Christmas in 1930, Rupp has garnered every major honor afforded his profession.
Entering the current season, he reigns as president of the National Association of Basketball Coaches and is a full-fledged member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, having been inducted into that shrine at Springfield, Mass., in the spring of 1969.
It is fitting that Rupp should occupy a hallowed niche in the Hall of Fame. During his collegiate days as a guard on two national championship teams at the University of Kansas, he was personally acquainted with Dr. Naismith, inventor of basketball and a faculty member at Kansas. Rupp's coach was the veteran Forrest Claire (Phog) Allen, who is past 80 and today lives quietly in retirement among his friends, souvenirs and memories in Lawrence, Kansas.
Rupp visited Allen during a weekend stay in Lawrence last spring.
The occasion was Commencement- exercises at the University, where alumnus Rupp received the Distinguished Service Citation, highest honor the University and Alumni Association bestow. The citation was presented before a packed house in Allen Field House by Chancellor E. Laurence Chalmers.
The honor undoubtedly was a high point in a star-studded coaching, business and civic career which has elevated Rupp to the loftiest standing ever achieved by a collegiate basketball coach.
During the 1969-70 season, he overcame many unexpected and almost catastrophic setbacks to lead his team to the No. 1 rating in all national collegiate basketball polls.
The first blow came in the summer of 1969, when two-time All-SEC guard Mike Casey received a broken leg (in three places) in an automobile accident and was out for the season.
Rupp also had foot trouble aggravated by diabetes and was ordered to bed as pre-season practice got under way. He left the bed only to attend practice sessions and utilized a foot rest during early season games.
Also during the season, All-SEC forward Mike Pratt received a broken nose, All-American center Dan Issel received a severe stone bruise which undoubtedly was a factor in the Wildcats' only regular season lossto Vanderbiltand two-year starter Larry Steele broke a wrist bone.
Despite the adversities, Rupp coached his team to its 25th SEC championship since the league was organized in 1933. En route to their record 18th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats set or tied 17 team records and went on the book as the most potent offensive unit in the school's fine basketball history.
The 26-2 record brought Rupp's score to 836 victories against only 177 losses, an amazing 82.5 winning percentage against the best opposition the nation could offer.
The magic of Rupp naturally has resulted in an increasing demand for that most scarce Kentucky producta ticket to a University of Kentucky basketball game. For the past several years, there has been no public sale of the precious tickets; students, faculty, staff and holders of coveted season priorities are allotted the approximately 1 1,500 available seats and the waiting list grows longer and longer.
During the past spring and summer, a movement was instigated to determine the interest in a new "Rupp Arena" which would seat 28,000 for a basketball game. Thousands of computer cards, asking for pledges of so much money for the right to purchase tickets, were distributed throughout the state and the response was described as
1 1 nothing short of tremendous, a fitting tribute to a coach, who, in addition to all the aforementioned honors, includes in his portfolio such credentials as:
An amazing 836 victories out of 1013 starts for an unparalleled winning percentage of 82.5 percent against major competition.
Certification by the NCAA Service Bureau as the nation's most successful collegiate basketball coach, both for the decade ending in 1961 and at the 20-year level.
Selection as the unanimous national "Coach of the Year" in 1966 for the fourth time in his career and runner-up for the 1957 and 1964 seasons.
Honored in 1967 by Columbus (Ohio) Touchdown Club as "Coach of the Century."
Four NCAA Tournament championships picked up by his Wildcats who hold the
all-time record of 18 appearances in the national classic. Coach of the International Universities Tournament champions in 1966. A nominal world championship as co-coach of the successful USA entry in the
1948 Olympic Games which included members of Kentucky's NCAA champions. Producer of more Olympic gold medallion winners (7) than any other cage coach. An all-time record total of 25 Southeastern Conference titles since the league
was organized in 1933. Election to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959 and previous
selection (in 1944) by Helms Athletic Foundation as a member of their exclusive
Hall of Fame.
Trustee and member of selection and honors committees of Basketball Hall of Fame. Also chairman NABC Hall of Fame Committee and heads the group that selects players to appear in East-West All-Star Game benefitting the Hall of Fame.
Recipient of the Governor's Medallion in 1959 for meritorious service to the Commonwealth of Kentucky and plaques of appreciation from the U.S. Air Force (1959) and Sugar Bowl committee (1951).
Election to the Kentucky Hall of Fame (1945), outstanding citizen of Lexington (1949) and twice honorary citizen of the City of New Orleans. Enrolled in the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame in 1965.
SEC coach-of-the-year in 1964 and 1966.
Chosen "Deltasig of the Year" for 1966 by the International Fraternity of Delta Sigma Phi, professional fraternity in commerce and business administration.
Development of more All-Americans (21 players honored 32 times) and more material for the pro ranks (28) than any other coach.
Five Sugar Bowl Tournament championships, a National Invitation Tournament title and 12 trophies from the 17 previous UK Invitational Tournaments.
Membership on the NCAA Basketball Rules Committee.
More overseas clinic trips (seven to Europe, three to the Far East, and one to the Near East) for U.S. Government than any other coach. Also visited Alaska in 1968.
Selected as an official goodwill ambassador to the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City
representing the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Election to Kansas Hall of Fame. SEC coach-of-the-year in 1968, '69 and '70.
Honored as Outstanding Kentuckian by Southeastern Kentucky Homecoming Committee at Booneville, Ky., in 1969.
Rupp's Teams Play In Most Tournaments
Tournament invitations in pre-Rupp years were almost unheard ofKentucky played in only eight sectional eliminations. In contrast, the Rupp-led Wildcats have
12 the distinction of playing in more tournaments of all types than any other team. All told, his Blue Grass fives have achieved the