Back Thru The Wildcat Years
Five Yean Ago
z^This weekend the University of Kentucky joins Georgetown, Virginia and Houston in the Final Four, hosted by Seattle.
UK earned its ticket to college basketball's big show with a 54-51 win over Illinois in the Mideast Regional finals held in Lexington's Rupp Arena. UK, which will play Georgetown in Saturday's second semifinal matchup, upped its record to 29-4 thanks to Mideast Regional MVP Dicky Beal. The 'Cat playmaker scored nine points, including UK's last five, and dished out six assists.
The Illini of Lou Henson scored two more field goals than the Wildcats. The charity stripe is where UK benefited from, hitting 12 of 17. Meanwhile, Illinois took nine shots from the free throw line, connecting on only five.
Melvin Turpin and Sam Bowie led Kentucky in scoring with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
Quinn Richardson led Illinois with 16 points while Doug Altenberger added 13 tallies.
Afterward, Altenberger verbally lashed out at his opponents, mainly because the game was played in UK's backyard.
"I'm disgusted our season is over," said Altenberger, whose club finished out the season with a 26-5 record. "Nothing went well for us. I'm not crying, but I'd like to play somewhere else. Playing here is like playing an SEC game.
"There were some cheap shots thrown and it got out of hand.
"Kentucky has got great fans, the kind I'd like to beat."
Yes, Doug, it wasn't a pretty game, evident
of the defensive plays and counter ploys thrown by both teams...but it was physical, as Bowie, Beal and Kenny Walker were injured during various portions of the NCAA contest.
"I would like to compliment Illinois," said UK coach Joe. B. Hall. "They were an outstanding ballclub that certainly could have made a good representation in the Final Four. They played us very tough. Their defense was awesome. They were able to stop us inside and deserve all of the credit in the world."
Hall will be taking his third team to the Final Four.
"As far as our players were concerned that just makes me have to compliment them more because they won against a good ballclub in a well-played game," said Hall. "I thought Sam Bowie's second half was outstanding. He had 10 rebounds and all 11 of his points in the second half which in this low scoring game was outstanding. Everyone played well.
"I'm really proud of Dicky Beal and think that it's high time he gets the recognition he deserves in being MVP of this regional."
(^Kentucky earned the right to play Illinois because it knocked off Louisville in the regional semifinals, 72-67 in Lexington.
The win over U of L marked the second time this season UK had defeated Denny Crum's Cardinals. This time the stakes were higher.
"We played very well but you can play well and not win against a strong team and that's what happened tonight." said Crum. "Maybe on a neutral floor it would have been different, but 1 don:t know. Give the credit to Kentucky."
Louisville, which led 36-32 at halftime, had two players score more than 20 points-Lancaster Gordon (25) and Milt Wagner (22).
Four Wildcats, including one reserve, reached double digits. UK's backcourt combination of Dicky Beal and Jim Master scored 15 points apiece, followed by Melvin Turpin with 14 and Winston Bennett came off the bench and chipped in 10.
Besides his own 15 points, Beal had a hand in at least 18 other points with his nine assists.
UK's ability to outrebound the Cards36-29played a significant factor to its NCAA victory.
Six Years Ago
^Home runs by Kenny Jackson and Wayne Able highlighted a 13-hit attack and four Kentucky pitchers blanked the Morehead Eagles as Kentucky downed the visitors 11-0. UK scored seven runs in the fifth inning to send the Eagles to their defeat. Dan Whelan picked up the win. giving up only four hits and no runs in five innings pitched.
^Louisville Male's Winston Bennett, who'll be packing his bags and heading 80 miles east to the University of Kentucky, captured Kentucky's famed Mr. Basketball title. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 25 points and 12 rebounds a game.
Several basketball records have fallen with the final statistics out on the 1982-83 season. Until another Big Blue unit can surpass the mark, this year's Wildcats will go down in the record books as being the all-time best shooting team from the field in the university's rich history, finding the range 55.6 percent of the time.
(^Kentucky signees Winston Bennett, a 6-7 forward from Louisville Male, and James Blackmon, a 6-2 guard from Marion, Ind., have been named to the prestigious McDonald and Parade All-American .teams. They will play in the McDonald's Classic in Atlanta.
Eight Years Ago
^Coming off a 3-8 season, Fran Curci and his Kentucky Wildcats are eager to get spring practice underway. Curci enters his ninth season at the UK helm, and this spring he's pointing to his defense to lead the program back on the winning track.
"We are working very hard on defense," said Curci. "It is the most critical question mark that has to be answered. We have to work on the overall scheme. We have to find where our strengths and weaknesses are. That is where we are spending most of our time but you just don't know until they get under pressure."
Curci is looking for replacements for defensive tackles Tim Gooch (graduation) and Earl "Bubba" Wilson (dismissed from team I, and linebacker Chuck Smith (graduation). A question mark to whether noseguard-tackle Kevin Kearns (knee injury) will play presents more problems for Curci and his staff.
While extra work is planned for Curci's defensive unit, the offense is looking for a quarterback to step forward and take over. Candidates for the open spot are Randy Jenkins, Terry Henry, Tommy Boyle and Rick Buehner. Next season, Kentucky faces a difficult slate which includes Alabama, Clemson, Florida and Tennessee.
?'The Kentucky Bat Cats slipped past Tennessee in a twinbill, taking the first game 4-1 while winning the nightcap 6-5.
Starter Scott Tockstein, 2-0, was credited for the win in the opener at Shively Field. The pitching of Jeff Keener and the hitting of Bill Sandry contributed greatly to UK's win in the second game.
In the second contest, UT scored two runs in the first inning off of Wildcat starter Jeff Parrett. However, Keener came in from the bullpen to quiet the Volunteer bats. And while Keener was doing his job. Sandry put UK ahead for good, 4-3, with a three-run homer in the fifth inning. Referring to Sandry, UK coach Keith Madison said, "He was super clutch."
Ten Years Ago
^With starter Joe Georger allowing just five hits, the Kentucky baseball team came back to win the second game of a doubleheader with conference foe Tennessee 7-1.
Earlier, the Bat Cats dropped a 7-6 decision to the Volunteers.
Georger, 6-1, was helped by the hitting of Mike Botkin. Botkin contributed to UK's cause with a two-run double.
UK's Freddie Smith homered in the first game.
The next day the Vols came back to win the rubber game of the three-day swing with a 6-2 win. UK jumped out to a 2-0 lead but the Vols came back to score six unanswered runs.
e-More Kentucky baseball news...Kentucky also split a pair of games with in-state rival Morehead. UK won 6-4 in the first game, played at Morehead. In the second meeting, UK lost a wild 20-18 affair. Seven home runs were smacked in this offensive showcase.
t-'The NCAA has spoken and the University of Kentucky will likely be forced to make some alterations in regard to Joe B. Hall Wildcat Lodge. Although some changes will be made, the players will not be forced to move out. That is the present interpretation UK officials have of a NCAA ruling made in the winter meetings. However, UK still is awaiting clarification of the ruling.
WILDCAT QUIZ
UK in the Final Four
1. What was Kentucky field goal percentage against Georgetown in the '84 semifinals?
a) 75 percent
b) 40.6 percent
c) 24.5 percent
d) 9.7 percent
2. What was Joe B. Hall's record in Final Four play?
a) 3-3
b) 2-3
c) 3-4
d) 3-2
3. To this day, Kentucky and its opponent currently hold the single-game, two-team record for most fouls Between the two teams they committed 61 personal fouls, with UK being whistled 31 times. Which of die following was UK's opponent?
a) Syracuse
b) Georgetown
c) UCLA
d) Texas Western
4. Kentucky once was held to 13 first-half points in the Final Four. Which of the following teams shut down the 'Cats?
a) CCNY
b) Dartmouth
c) Ohio State
d) Bradley
5. Currently, what 'Cat is in the Top 10 in free throw percentage?
a) Kyle Macy
b) Kevin Grevev
c) Johnny Cox
d) Cliff Hagan
6. In the 1949 championship game, Kentucky held Oklahoma State to a tournament low of_
a) seven assists
b) nine field goals
c) 11 points
d) 13 rebounds
7. To this day which Wildcat is in the Top 10 in free throws attempted in one game?
a) Cliff Hagan
b) Kyle Macy
c) Vernon Hatton
d) Ralph Beard
8. Only five performances have topped Bill Spivey's mark for most rebounds in one game (championship contest against Kansas State). How many boards did he get in the '51 championship game against Kansas State) ?
a) 19
b) 20
c) 21
d) 22
9. True or False? UK did not play in a consolation game in 1984.
10. True or False? UK scored just 10 points in the second half against Georgetown.
Answers
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