xt783b5w7250 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt783b5w7250/data/mets.xml University of Kentucky 1965  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, 1965 text Basketball, 1965 1965 2012 true xt783b5w7250 section xt783b5w7250 UNIVERSITY OF
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BASKETBALL FACTS
FOR PRESS-RADIO-TV UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY BASKETBALL SCHEDULE  1964-65
1 9 6 4                    Opponent                                    Site Starting Time
Dec.    4 (Fri.)       Iowa.......................................Lexington 8:00 p.m. EST
Dec.    7 (Mon.)    North Carolina ....................                             Charlotte 8:00 p.m. EST
Dec.    9 (Wed.)    Iowa State..............................                                    Lexington 8:00 p.m. EST
Dee. 12 (Sat.)      Syracuse ..............Uf/...................                 Lexington 8:00 p.m. EST
Dec. 18-19 (Fri.-Sat.) U. K. Invitational Tournament ................................ Lexington
\jj   nm. il 1 f 11 j in in. Dayton, 7:30 and appx. 9:30 p.m. EST
illlimlu and Kentucky) (Both nights)
St. Louis .................JL................St. Louis 8:30 p.m. CST
Notre Dame Univ.....................                          Louisville 8:00 p.m. EST
Dartmouth .........Mr^.....................                    Lexington 8:00 p.m. EST
Vanderbilt ...........I"?.....................Lexington 8:00 p.m. EST
Louisiana State .. .....                         Baton Rouge 7:45 p.m. CST
Tulane.................................New Orleans 8:00 p.m. CST
Tennessee (TV Game) .4"?............Knoxville 3:15 p.m. EST
Auburn ......Lexington 8:00 p.m. EST
Florida (TV Game) A-.................Ga inesville 3:15 p.m. EST
Georgia ........IaJ..........................Athens 8:00 p.m. EST
Florida ........Jttt!..........................                         Lexington 8:00 p.m. EST
Georgia ........7~...........................Lexington 8:00 p.m. EST
Mississippi ......      IA> ..................                    . Lexington 8:00 p.m. EST
Mississippi State .W*...................                    Lexington 8:00 p.m. EST
Vanderbilt   ...ir?R.........................Nashville 8:00 p.m. CST
Auburn ..........lot..........................Auburn 7:30 p.m. CST
Alabama ........As*.........................Tuscaloosa 8:00 p.m. CST
Tennessee (TV Game) ...........                   Lexington 3:15 p.m. EST
Alabama ...........V*/....................Lexington 8:00 p.m. EST
Dec.	22	(Tues.)
Dec.	29	(Tues.)
19 6 5		
Jan.	2	(Sat.)
Jan.	5	(Tues.)
Jan.	9	(Sat.)
Jan.	1 1	(Mon.)
Jan.	16	(Sat.)
Jan.	18	(Mon.)
Jan.	23	(Sat.)
Jan.	25	(Mon.)
Jan.	30	(Sat.)
Feb.	1	(Mon.)
Feb.	6	(Sat.)
Feb.	8	(Mon.)
Feb.	16	(Tues.)
Feb.	20	(Sat.)
Feb.	22	(Mon.)
Feb.	27	(Sat.)
Mar.	1	(Mon.)
(NOTE: UK Freshman schedule on inside back cover. Other dates to rememberMarch 12-13 NCAA Tournament Mideast Regional at Lexington, Ky. NCAA First Round March 6, 8 or 9 at selected sites. NCAA Finals March 19-20 at Portland, Ore. East-West College All-Star Game March 27 at Lexington. State High School Tournament March 17-20 at Louisville, Ky.) As Baron Adolph Rupp begins his 35th year at the helm of University of Kentucky's heralded cage force, he is able to look back proudly over a success story that is not likely to be surpassed for many a season to come.
Few major goals of the coaching profession have escaped the grasp of Coach Rupp down through the years and, as he approaches the twilight of a fabulous career, even former adversaries are readily attesting to his greatness. The "Man In The Brown Suit" is finally being given his due credit for building the game of basketball into the crowd-pleasing sport it is today.
In his own backyard (the Southeastern Conference) particularly, it is generally acknowledged that Rupp is the prime benefactor of Dixie basketball having goaded loop schools into providing better places to play, recruiting better boys and giving more emphasis to the sport.
On the record, the Kentucky coach (63 years young) is off and running toward a unique goal of 800 coaching victories. He may never achieve it, but past experience indicates he will give it that "old college try" as long as he has the urge and as health permits.
Last season, Rupp attained a coveted goalhis 700th coaching career victory. The big win came on the road at the expense of Georgiaparticularly fitting since the same club had handed him his first UK coaching loss at the same scene 34 years before. And it became singularly impressive since the UK tutor could point to achievement of the milestone at the earliest point in his career of any "member" of the club.
Only one other still-active coach and a pair who have now retired have attained the creditable feat. Forrest (Phog) Allen of Kansas become the first to pick up 700 career wins as he accomplished the aim in 1952in the 42nd year of his coaching tenure. He stepped down after 46 years with a record of 770 wins and 233 losses. Western Kentucky's colorful Ed Diddle was in his 38th year of coaching in 1960 as he notched victory No. 700. And he retired after a 42nd campaign last season that raised his record to 759-302. Still active at Oklahoma State after 35 years and a 700th victory recorded in the final game of last season is Henry (Hank) Iba.
MILESTONES IN THE RUPP RECORD
Victory	No.	100	 December 9, 1936 ..............	............ Georgetown (Ky.) (H) 46
Victory	No.	200	 January 9, 1943 .................	............................ Xavier (A) 43
Victory	No.	300	 January 25, 1947 ...............	............................ Xavier (H) 71
Victory	No.	400	 February 4, 1950 ................	...................... Mississippi (A) 61
Victory	No.	500	 December 22, 1954 ............	.......................... La Salle (H) 63
Victory	No.	600	 January 29, 1959 ...............	........................ Georgia (H) 108
Victory	No.	700	 February 3, 1964 ...............	........................ Georgia (A) 103
1 TO THE PRESS AND RADIO-TV
Here is your copy of the 1964-65 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 Publicity Office in Memorial Coliseum (Telephone 252-2200, Ext. 2325).
KEN KUHN Miss Wilma Dennis Ronnie Cathey
Director of Sports Publicity Secretary Student Assistant
Information
WORKING TICKETSAddress requests to Sports Publicity Office as far in advance as possible. Tickets will not be mailed unless requested and will be held at the Reservation 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 tha Press Door located to the extreme left of the Coliseum entrance foyer.
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 BROADCASTSApplications must be directed at least one week in advance to Radio Director, University of Kentucky, Lexington. Tickets will be supplied by the Sports Publicity Office only upon receipt of approved permit from the Radio Director. Spotters are available if requested in advance. Line orders should be made to General Telephone Company, Lexington. Broadcast accommodations are at the press tables located on side court at floor level.
TV AND MOTION PICTURESNews clip film highlights will be furnished to TV stations or newsreel agencies at actual cost upon arrangement at least one week in advance. Stations or agencies desiring to shoot own film must make application to the University Radio Director at least one week in advance. Forms may be signed to cover the entire season. Tickets will be issued by the Sports Publicity Office only upon receipt of approved permit. A maximum of 200 feet of filmed highlights may be shown on a delayed basis. Live TV coverage prohibited except under arrangements made with UK Athletic Director. Photographers are restricted to working areas at either end of the floor adjacent to team benches.
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.
2 University of Kentucky Basketball Facts  1964-65
INDEX
All-Americans, All-Conference 32-33
Asst. Coach Lancaster ..................14
Asst. Coach Reed ..........................15
Athletics At Kentucky ....................5
Athletic Director Shively ...........7-8
Attendance Records ......................77
Background Briefs (Player
Sketches) .............................34-46
Coach Rupp ..............................10-13
Coaches Through Years 15
Coliseum ................................... 62 63
Colors..............................................68
Fabulous Five................................. 39
Fame Comes To Wildcats 31
Frosh Record .................................78
Frosh Schedule1964
Results ........................ Inside Back
Greatest Team, Player, Thrill 30
Home Floor Losses .........................66
Hotels on the Road ................... 61
Invitational Tournament 25-27
Kentucky In SEC ....... 24
Kuhn-Brown-Hukle ........................16
Lettermen Through Years 79-80
Mascots' Names ...........................65
Nash Record .............................. 41
NCAA Tournament ........................8
Nickname, Origin Of ......................9
Outlook Story ............................19-20
Pictures (Varsity-Frosh) 47, 50
Polls ...............................................67
Records (Varsity) ......................71-77
Records vs. All Opponents 81-83
Resume1963-64 ..................... 21-22
Rosters (Varsity-Frosh) ............48-49
Rupp TributeMilestones ..............1
Rupp and UK Winningest 64-65
Schedule Details ......................51-61
Schedule (Varsity) Inside Front
Scores........................................84-96
Season Record1963-64 23
SEC Cage Champs By Years ........22
SEC Composite Standings ...........24
SEC Final Standings1963-64 22
Statistics ..................................... 69
Time PlayHigh Games 70 To Press-Radio-TV 2 Top All-Time Scorers 68
Tournament Trail .................28-30
Television Series ....................... 17
University of Kentucky ..... 5
UK General Information 9
Wildcats Are Popular ........... 70
Wildcats At A Glance .............. 18
Editor: KEN KUHN, Director of Sports Publicity  THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
. . . The State Is Our Campus
Located in Lexington, an urban community of over 140,000 population in the heart of Kentucky's famed Blue Grass region, University of Kentucky is a state-supported, land-grant institution now approaching its centennial year to be celebrated in 1965.
The present school, which currently enrolls about 13,000 students and offers instruction in 10 academic colleges plus a Graduate School and a division of Extended Programs, had its beginnings in 1 865 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.
A new chief administrative officer, Dr. John W. Oswald, took over reins of the University at the beginning of the 1963-64 school year. The 47-year-old new president, who succeeded Dr. Frank Dickey, has an athletic background including collegiate football play at DePauw and letters in basketball and track. He was selected on the Sports Illustrated Silver Anniversary All-America Team in 1962. Dr. Oswald, whose special field is plant pathology, came to Kentucky from a position as vice-president-administration, Statewide University, University of California.
The University is on the approved list of the Association of American Universities and is a member of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. It is fully accredited in its respective colleges and departments by all of the major professional societies and educational organizations.
ATHLETICS AT KENTUCKY
Kentucky's athletic program, a well-balanced and ambitious activity featuring inter-collegiate competition in ten different sports, is organized under the Department of Athletics and a corporation known as the University of Kentucky Athletics Association.
The program is conducted without overemphasis or sacrifice of educational objectives and in strict compliance with the rules of the University, the Southeastern Conference and the National Collegiate Association.
A board of directors, headed by University President John W. Oswald in the capacity of chairman, maintains overall policy supervision of the athletic program. In addition to the UK President, board officers include Dr. A. D. Albright as vice-chairman and Dr. W. L. Matthews in the capacity of secretary. Twelve other men, drawn from the University faculty and the general public, also serve on the board as appointees of the president as does a student representative.
Supervising the steady growth and balanced development of one of the nation's top athletic programs is Bernie A. Shively, a former Illinois grid All-American and a veteran of over 25 years in the post of Director of Athletics.
The Association's Board of Directors is composed of the following: Dr. John W. Oswald, Chairman Dr. Aubrey J. Brown   Dr. Douglas Schwartz
Dr. A. D. Albright, Dr. Loren Carlson       Dr. D. V. Terrell
Vice Chairman Dr. Thomas Clark       Prof. William A. Tolman
Dr. W. L. Matthews, Jr., Secretary    Dr. Lyman Ginger      Floyd Wright James B. Allen Dr. A. D. Kirwan        Steve Beshear
Dr. Ralph Angelucci Douglas Parrish (Student Representative)
5 DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS BERNIE A. SHIVELY
 DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS BERNIE A. SHIVELY
Supervising the steady growth and balanced development of one of the nation's top athletic programs is the Herculean task being carried out successfully by Bernie A. Shively.
Few who have observed the untiring efforts of the tall, silver-haired former All-America footballer in the service of the University of Kentucky since 1927 and as Director of Athletics since 1938 will argue his fitness as an athletic Hercules. Not only has Shively guided the development of Kentucky as a nationally-respected power in major sports, but he has also gained personal prestige through a fair-minded approach to many problems.
During his more than quarter-century tenure as Athletic Director, Shively has directly supervised major expansions in Kentucky's athletic plant resulting from the progression of the school's football and basketball teams to greater national prominence and increased patronage by the sports-minded public.
The seating capacity of Kentucky's football stadium, McLean Stadium on Stoll Field, has been doubled to bring the current number of seats to approximately 37,500 and on par with most other schools located in heavier-populated areas. Powerful lighting equipment also was installed during the 1948-49 construction and a new-type "iodized" light put up in 1961 to bring night football into new popularity. Partly to satisfy the overwhelming number of basketball devotees, who could not squeeze into the 2,800-seat Alumni Gymnasium, a long-planned Memorial Coliseum was completed in 1950. Seating 11,500 persons for cage contests, the four-million dollar Coliseum also houses the Athletic Department. More recently, Shively directed the acquisition of a pair of modern, ranch-style living units which have served as the home of the football team since 1954. "Wildcat Manor" and "Kitten Lodge" replace three frame houses which the gridders had occupied since 1949.
Plans Spacious New Sports Center
A large dressing room building and football practice field, used since 1955, was abandoned in 1959 to make way for a huge new men's dorm. Under Shively's supervision, a spacious new Sports Center was prepared a short distance away on the University farm to take even better care of the footballers and spring sports teams. The Sports Center is generally regarded as one of the finest sports facilities in the nation.
Stoll Field recently underwent, with Shively's supervision, a major "face-lifting" to improve its playing surface and the view of the fans sitting in the lower rows of the stands.
Born in Oliver, III., May 26, 1903, Shively attended Paris (III.) High school and there began his athletic career by participating in track and football. Although he was considered an outstanding backfield man in high school, Shively didn't attract the serious attention of collegiate scouts. He entered Illinois and tried out for the football team on his own. From that humble beginning, Shively went on to become a great guard under Coach Bob Zuppke on the same lllini am made famous by the immortal Red Grange.
Shive played two years with Grange, running interference for the "Galloping Ghost" and made All-America in 1926 as a senior despite a bad knee that handicapped his playing. He also won the heavyweight wrestling championship of the Big 10 and was a standout in track to rank as one of the finest all-around athletes in Illinois' history.
Shively came to Kentucky in 1927 as line coach of football under Harry Gam-mage and six years later was named head of the UK Physical Education Department. He succeeded Chet Wynne as Athletic Director in 1938. During this period and the years following, he also served as track and baseball coach for several seasons and
7 continued to assist the football staff as line coach until 1944. The next year, 1945, he assumed full charge of the grid squad for one season before turning the job over to mentor Paul (Bear) Bryant in 1946.
The Kentucky Athletic Director is currently chairman of the NCAA Basketball Tournament Committee and for the past 1 1 years has been president of the Southeastern Conference Coaches and Athletic Directors Association. He served as chairman of the SEC Basketball Committee for a number of years and is a past chairman of the NCAA summer baseball group.
Shively and his wife, Ruth, have two children. Doug was a star end on the UK grid team for three years ending in 1958 and is now coaching at VP1 while daughter Suzanne was a Phi Beta Kappa graduate in 1957.
UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY TO HOST NCAA MIDEAST REGIONAL IN MARCH
University of Kentucky's Memorial Coliseum again will be the site of one step in'the determination of the national collegiate basketball champion as the Mideast Regiona. of the 1965 NCAA Tournament is staged in the spacious arena.
Bemie A. Shively, Kentucky Athletic Director and chairman of the national tournament committee, announced that dates of the sectional phase of the 27th Annual National Collegiate Championships will be March 12-13. In addition to the Mideast Regional in Lexington, eliminations are to be staged on the same daes on three other college campuses. The East Regional will be at University of Maryland, Midwest at Kansas State, and West at Brigham Young University.
The national finals will be held at Portland, Ore., on March 19-20.
Participants in the Mideast Regional at UK again will be drawn from the Southeastern Conference, Big Ten Conference and a preliminary round playoff at a date and site still to be decided. Champions of the two conferences get automatic byes into the regional and are to be paired against winners of preliminary round games involving the Ohio Valley Conference champion and Mid-America Conference champion versus at-large selections. How the first-round winners are paired in the regional will be determined later by the tournament committee, Shively explained.
The UK Coliseum, one of the most spacious on-campus arenas in the South, has been the site of a portion of the NCAA Tournament six times previously since its completion in 1950. First round playoffs were staged in the building in 1955, 1959, 1960 and 1962 while regional tournaments were held in 1957 and 1958. Kentucky played in the two regional attractions, being eliminated by Michigan State in 1957 and defeating Miami (Ohio) and Notre Dame in 1958 enroute to its fourth and last national championship.
ON THE TRAIL OF TITLES  NCCA CHAMPIONS
1939	Oregon	1948	Kentucky	1957	North Carolina
1940	Indiana	1949	Kentucky	1958	Kentucky
1941	Wisconsin	1950	CCNY	1959	California
1942	Stanford	1951	Kentucky	1960	Ohio State
1943	Wyoming	1952	Kansas	1961	Cincinnati
1 944	Utah	1953	1 ndiana	1962	Cincinnati
1945	Oklahoma A&M	1954	LaSalle	1963	Loyola (Chicago)
1946	Oklahoma A&M	1955	San Francisco	1964	UCLA
1947	Holy Cross	1956	San Francisco		
8 UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
General Information
LOCATIONLexington, Ky., a community of 100,000 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 ENROLLMENT13,000
PRESIDENTDr. John W. Oswald
EXECUTIVE VICE-PRESIDENTDr. A. D. Albright
VICE-PRESIDENT, BUSINESS AFFAIRSDr. Robert Kerley
VICE-PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY RELATIONSDr. Glenwood Creech
VICE-PRESIDENT, MEDICAL CENTERDr. William Willard
FACULTY CHAIRMAN OF ATHLETICSDr. William Matthews (UK's faculty representative to Southeastern Conference)
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC RELATIONSPaul Crowdus (acting)
CONFERENCESoutheastern (member since founding in 1933)
NICKNAME OF TEAMSWildcats COLORSBlue and White
MASCOT"Tucky" (stuffed wildcat) FIGHT SONG"On, On U. of K." BANDVarsity (Director Phil Miller)
STADIUMMcLean Stadium on Stoll Field (capacity 37,500) GYMNASIUMMemorial Coliseum (capacity 11,500)
Athletics Staff
DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICSBernie Shively (Illinois '27) HEAD BASKETBALL COACHAdolph Rupp (Kansas '23) ASSISTANT COACHESHarry Lancaster and Neil Reed
HEAD COACHES OTHER SPORTSFootball: Charlie Bradshaw, Baseball: Harry Lancaster, Track and Cross Country: Bob Johnson, Tennis: Dick Vimont, Golf: Hum-zey Yessin, Swimming and Water Polo: Wynn Paul, Rifle: Capt. T. W. Arnold.
TICKET SALES MANAGERHarvey Hodges
ACCOUNTANTJulien Harrison
BASKETBALL TRAINERJoe Brown
BASKETBALL EQUIPMENT MANAGERGeorge Hukle
SPORTS PUBLICITY DIRECTORKen Kuhn (Michigan State '42)
ORIGIN OF "WILDCATS" NICKNAME
Kentucky's athletic teams are known to sports fans as the Wildcats. This first and only nickname borne by University varsities had its origin in 1909 in a speech made by Commandant Corbusier, then head of the military department of old State College. Speaking to a chapel audience of students on the showing of the Kentucky football team in defeating Illinois six to two, the Commandant declared "they fought like Wildcats." The tag was popularized by word of mouth and by the press with the result that it has since become synonymous with all major Kentucky athletic teams.
While the name is old in origin, no claim is made regarding precedence over similar nicknames boasted by Northwestern, Villanova and about 10 other major athletic teams.
An alumnus in 1947 presented a live Kentucky Wildcat to SUKY, student pep organization. Named "The Colonel," the cat served as a live mascot for UK teams until his death in 1955. The current mascot is a stuffed wildcat obtained from a Brooklyn taxidermist just before the 1958 football season and named "Tucky."
9 ADOLPH FREDERICK RUPP
"Nation's Winningest Basketball Coach" 34 Years  Won 705, Lost 140  83.4%
For over three decades, the sports world has watched an amazing record being forged with near perfection out of meager raw material by a colorful figure in the Blue Grass country of Kentucky known familiarly to hundreds of thousands as the "Man in the Brown Suit."
He is Adolph Rupp of Kentucky and when the sport of basketball is mentioned today, a direct chain of thought brings out the name of this maker of champions who holds undisputed rank as the "Nation's Winningest Basketball Coach." The name of Rupp, feared and respected in opponents' hearts and beloved by the millions who have witnessed the remarkable success of his Wildcat cage teams, has become synonymous with the game of basketball.
Such unprecedented recognition for the fabulous mentor is only natural since his success in the past 34 years as head man of the fabled Kentucky cage thoroughbreds has been nothing short of phenomenal. It would take a book longer than his own technical best-seller, "Championship Basketball," to recite the record completely.   Briefly, however, that record includes:
An amazing 705 victories out of 845 starts for an unparalleled winning percentage of better than 83 percent against major competition.
One of only two still-active major college coaches with 700 career victories to his credit.
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 national "Coach of the Year" in 1959 for the second time in his career and runner-up for the 1963-64 season.
An unprecedented honor roll of four NCAA Tournament championships picked up by his Wildcats who hold the all-time record of 14 appearances in the national classic and can claim more victories in NCAA play (23) than any other team.
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 21  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 1946) 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.
Coach of the winning East team in the Shrine East-West game 1959.
Development of more All-Americans (20 players honored 30 times) and more material for the pro ranks (22) than any other coach.
10 Five Sugar Bowl Tournament championships, a National Invitation Tournament
title and seven trophies from the 1 1 previous UK Invitational Tournaments. Membership on the NCAA Basketball Rules Committee.
Rupp's Teams Play In Most Tournaments
Tournament invitations in pre-Rupp years were almost unheard ofKentucky played in only seven sectional eliminations. In contrast, the Rupp-led Wildcats have the distinction of playing in more tournaments of all types than any other team. All told, his Bluegrass fives have achieved the unequalled feat of 143 victories against only 40 defeats, covering action in 41 national classics plus 29 conference meets and the '48 Olympics.
Although the competition was nowhere near as rugged as the schedules played by today's nationally-recognized Wildcat brigades, Rupp's very first team compiled a highly-successful, 15-3 record and Kentucky basketball has been on a winning plane ever since. The most games lost in a single season since Rupp added his touch were nine in 1960-61 and again in 1962-63. The remarkably low average number of losses per season in the Rupp Era is three.
Rupp's teams have finished as national champion in the press association polls four times in the last 15 years. They were unranked in the top 20 only in the 1952-53 campaign, when they were idle, and in 1962-63. Possibly his greatest achievement came in the 1953-54 season when the Wildcats rolled unchecked through a 25-game schedule of top-flight opposition to become the biggest-winning, perfect-record unit in all basketball history up to that time.
Rivaling that achievement, in the opinion of the sportswriters and broadcasters, is the tremendous coaching jobs turned in by the basketball miracle man in more recent seasons. Eight years ago, Rupp guided a moderately talented club to an 1 8th SEC title, third place in the polls and a ninth NCAA Tournament appearance while achieving a 23-5 record. The surprised experts, who had predicted UK would not win its own conference, voted Coach Rupp the runner-up spot as 1957 "Coach of the Year."
Even that effort went by the boards in 1958, however, as Kentucky's talentless wonders copped the NCAA title for an unprecedented fourth time. The Wildcats were unsung and almost unknown except by reputation and heritage. Not a single man had been honored on the All-Conference fives selected before tournament time and they had lost more games (6) in regular season play than any UK team in 17 years.
Wins National 'Coach of Year' Honor
If the experts thought that was tops in miracles, they reckoned without the amazing drive of this man Rupp. With four-fifths of his starting lineup gone, he re-built shattered foundations in such an astonishing fashion that the Wildcats rolled through the 1959 season almost unchecked. Although they failed to win the title in their increasingly-tough Southeastern Conference for only the third time since 1943, UK was generally conceded to be the nation's top team. Most experts agreed that the Kentuckians, who finished with a 24-3 record and ranked second nationally, missed a golden opportunity to pick up a fifth NCAA crown as they were upset by Louisville in the tourney opener. This feeling was given meaning as Rupp was accorded "Coach of the Year" honor by United Press International.
The 1959-60 season admittedly was not a great one as the UKats chalked up only an 1 8-7 marksecond worst season of the Rupp Era. However, many experts considered the outcome to be a tribute to one of the greatest coaching efforts ever turned in. Plagued from the beginning of the season to the end by adversity (sickness, injuries, eligibility difficulties and personnel problems), complete disaster was always imminent and avoided only by masterful juggling (16 different starting combos) and artful strategy moves.
It was a similar story of great coaching technique against the heavy odds of personnel and schedule in 1960-61.  Although the final record read only 19-9, a closer
1 1 look reveals the touch of Rupp was there for the Wildcats were regrouped into a fearsome outfit after early troubles and rolled to 1 1 wins in their last 12 starts. Enroute they conquered eventual SEC champ Mississippi State on the road and demolished Vanderbilt in a SEC Playoff for an NCAA berth. They never ran out of gas until stopped by Ohio State in regional finals.
There was no way of anticipating the tremendous season that evolved in 1961-62 except to depend on the proven touch of master rebuilder Rupp. Minus four starters off the 19-9 outfit of the year before, Rupp guided his "Fearless Five" to victory in the UK Invitational and cornered a share of the league title for the 20th time. Finally, lack of bench strength and superior height caused the UKats' downfall in the NCAA regional finals and they stowed away their gear with a surprising, 23-3 mark.
Not much could be said for 1962-63, which resulted in the posting of the poorest record ever (16-9) of the Rupp Era, except that it easily could have been worse without a dedicated coaching effort. Although their surge fell disappointly short in quest for a fifth NCAA title, the 1963-64 Ruppmen blazed a torid path that led to high national ranking all season long. Before a critical lack of height and too demanding a schedule caught up with them, the Wildcats waltzed to titles in two major seasonal tournaments (UKIT and Sugar Bowl) and copped an unprecedented 21st SEC Championship.
Rupp Credited For Increasing Interest
Rupp is recognized by sports authorities with doing more than any other modern tutor to make basketball a national spectator sport.