xt78gt5fbx6m https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt78gt5fbx6m/data/mets.xml Wildcat News Company 1989 Volume 13 -- Number 27 athletic publications  English Wildcat News Company Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. The Cats' Pause UKAW University of Kentucky Men's Basketball (1988-1989) coaches Sutton, Eddie players Farmer, Richie Hayden, Basil Carlisle, Ralph NCAA investigation (1988) SEC Men's Basketball Tournament (1989) statistics schedules Cats' Pause Combs, Oscar The Cats' Pause,  March 11, 1989 text The Cats' Pause,  March 11, 1989 1989 2012 true xt78gt5fbx6m section xt78gt5fbx6m Farmer plants Ole Miss with shot at buzzer
page 4
Mills' 16 points not enough as State drops 'Gate
pages 1
$1.25 PER ISSUE
Untvenfty Archly
!. Km* UU
ry - Nortf
ver.ity of Kenti.rl
Cats Pause
25590
VOLUME 13 - NUMBER 27
SPOTLIGHTING UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEASTERN CONFERENCE'
SATURDAY, MARCH 11, 1989
T-.r oco -nDfr sN,
o o
LEXIN
acrVson MVP of TCP all-SEC team
 f77w (xite'
represented by THE MAXWELL ASSOCIATES, INC.
908 South Hull Street. Montgomery. AL 36104 (205) 834-6802 / FAX (205I 263-0407
PUBLICATION NO. USPS 707340 Published By WILDCAT NEWS COMPANY P.O.Box 7297 Lexington. Kentucky 40522 Second Class Postage paid at Lexington. Kentucky 40511 and additional mailing offices
Editor and Publisher
OSCAR L. COMBS Associate Editor
NICK NICHOLAS Associate Editor MIKE ESTEP Staff Writer JIM EASTERWOOD National Recruiting Columnist BOB GIBBONS
Columnist LARRY VAUGHT
Columnist RUSSELL RICE State Columnist EARL COX National Basketball Columnist LARRY DONALD
Columnist TODD HALLUM SEC Columnist STAN TORGERSON SEC Columnist ELMORE "SCOOP" HUDGINS Kentucky Basketball Recruiting RICK BOLUS Contributing Columnist JAMIE VAUGHT Columnist DAN BRANDENBURG
Business Manager DONNA COMBS Staff Photographer GARY CROMWELL Staff Photographer DAVID STERLING
Circulation Coordinator WANDA HOOKER
Crossword Puzzle Editor DAN KRUECKEBERG
Published Weekly: Sept. 3-April 8 Monthly: May, June, July, August
Advertising Representative WILDCAT NEWS COMPANY 2627 REGENCY ROAD LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY 40503
Subscription Price $28.50 per year in USA $40 per year in Canada Phone: (606) 278-34W Postmaster: Send Address Changes to THE CATS' PAUSE, P.O. BOX 72W, LEXINGTON, KY. 40522
7989 SEC tournament pairings
FIRST ROUND
Thur. March 9
SECOND ROUND
Fri. March 10
No. 5 Tennessee (11-7, 18-9)
THIRD ROUND
Sat. March 11
FINALS
Sun. March 12
Game 3  1:00 p.m.
No. 4 LSU (11-7, 20-10)_
No. 1 Florida (13-5, 19-11)
Game 7  1:00 p.m.*
No. 8 Georgia (6-12, 14-15)
Game 1  7:30 p.m.
No. 9 Mississippi St. (7-11, 13-14)
Game 5  7:30 p.m.
Game 9  2:00 p.m.
SEC Tournament Champion
No. 3 Vanderbilt (12-6, 18-12)
Game 4  3:15 p.m. No. 6 Kentucky (8-10, 13-18)
No. 2 Alabama (12-6, 20-7)
Game 8  3:15 p.m."
No. 7 Ole Miss (8-10, 14-13)
Game 2  9:45 p.m.
No. 10 Auburn (2-16, 9-18)
Game 6  9:45 p.m.
All times EST 'Semifinals subject to TV change
Cats' Pause chart
The SEC tournament tips off this week in Knoxville's Thompson-Boling Arena, and here's a look at how the matchups will be staged. For more on the tournament, including a preview of the UK-Vanderbilt game and thumbnail sketches of the other eight league teams, turn to pages 22-23.
TCP picks Jackson as SEC MVP, Sanderson as Coach of the Year
For their extraordinary performances on the court in 1988-89, 77te? Cats' Pause has selected LSU's Chris Jackson and Alabama's Wimp Sanderson as the best in their fields in the SEC this season.
Jackson, who is evoking memories of "Pistol" Pete Maravich in Baton Rouge, is our Most Valuable Player after leading the conference in scoring during the regular season with a 29.8 per game average. Sanderson, whose Tide rebounded from a horrendous 6-12 year last season to finish 12-6 in 1988, is our pick as Coach of the Year.
Jackson is joined on the six-man team by teammate Ricky Blanton, Alabama's Michael Ansley, Ole Miss' Gerald Glass, Vanderbilt's Frank Kornet and Florida's Dwayne Schintzius.
Jackson, who was an All-American prep performer for Gulfport (Miss.) High, has burst on the SEC scene like perhaps no other freshman in the league's history. In addition to being tops in the SEC, Jackson's 29.8 scoring average was best in the country among freshman and was second in the nation overall.
SEC players topped the 30-point mark in a game 21 times this season, eight of those belonged to Jackson. He scored in the 50s three times, in the 40s twice and in the 30s three times.
Jackson's top scoring outputs are as follows:
55.....................vs. Ole Miss, March 4
53........................vs. Florida, Dec. 10
50......................vs. Tennessee, Feb. 11
48................vs. Louisiana Tech, Dec. 6
48.......................vs. Florida, March 1
38...........................vs. Vandy, Feb. 18
34.......................vs. Kentucky, Feb. 15
' 33\\-........................vs. Auburn, Jan. 7
1988-89 TCP All-SEC Team	
Michael Ansley  6-7, Sr., F, 20.4 ppg., 9.4 rpg.	Alabama
Ricky Blanton  6-7, Sr., F, 20.9 ppg., 8.2 rpg.	LSU
Gerald Glass  6-6, Jr., F, 28.4 ppg., 8.5 rpg.	Ole Miss
Chris Jackson  6-0, Fr., G, 29.8 ppg., 4.2 apg.	LSU
Frank Kornet  6-8, Sr., C, 16.8 ppg., 7.4 rpg.	Vanderbilt
Dwayne Schintzius  7-2, Jr., C, 18.9, 9.4 rpg.	Florida
Most Valuable Player: Chris Jackson, LSU Coach of the Year: Wimp Sanderson, Alabama	
Jackson's game is not confined to scoring, however. He was also among the league leaders in the following categories: field goal percentage (49.820th), three-point field goal percentage (40.88th), free throw percentage (82.81st), assists per game (4.28th) and steals per game (1.7 5th).
After suffering through the first losing season of his coaching career last year, Sanderson took a team that was picked to finish seventh in the league during the preseason and contended for the league title until the last week of the regular season, eventually tying Vanderbilt for the league's second-best record at 12-6.
In addition to his on-court duties, Sanderson personally waged an attendance drive at Alabama...with remarkable success. The Tide averaged more than 14,000 fans for its nine SEC games, including sellouts for its last six dates. Alabama was the only SEC club to go undefeated at home during league play, stretching its'home winning'streak' to T7.vl'
Stress fracture puts UK's Reggie Hanson out for rest of year
UK sophomore forward Reggie Hanson will miss the rest of the season because of a foot injury discovered last week.
Hanson suffered a stress fracture in the fifth metatarsal of his right foot and was fitted with a cast Feb. 28, the night before the 'Cats hosted Ole Miss, according to team physician Dr. Michael Ray. Hanson reported soreness in the foot following UK's loss to Syracuse Feb. 26.
Hanson, a starter in UK's first 29 games, was averaging 9.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game prior to the injury.
The injury dilutes an already-weak Wildcat bench by forcing Deron Feldhaus, the only reliable front-court reserve besides Mike Scott, into the starting 'lineup.'''    ' ' " ' OSCAR L. COMBS
CATS' PAUSE EDITOR/PUBLISHER
Wildcats get one more chance: SEC tournament
?In a season which has seen almost everything go wrong, the Kentucky Wildcats will get one last chance of redemption this week when the Southeastern Conference will stage its annual postseason tournament on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville.
Coming off of a roller-coaster week which saw a pair of games decided in the final seconds, the Wildcats will give it one more of the traditional of college tries.
It won't be easy.
Game after game, the Wildcats have vowed to fight back although one would be hard-pressed to illustrate proof.
Kentucky got back on the winning track last Wednesday by defeating Ole Miss 70-69 on a three-point shot by reserve Richie Farmer in the game's waning seconds.
The 'Cats suffered reverse results in Starkville Saturday as the Bulldogs bounced back from a 12-point deficit when Todd Merritt drilled a three-pointer at
0:02.
The week's action left UK with an overall record of 13-18 (8-10 in SEC play) going into the league's postseason tournament. It is the largest number of losses in Kentucky's history.
While UK is almost assured of its first losing record in more than six decades, there is a strand of hope for the eternal optimist, if there is one left these days. Kentucky could avoid the losing season, but it would have to win the SEC tournament and then win the first three games in the NCAA tourney. If such could happen, however, you could rest assured the 'Cats' record would not be 13-18 right now.
The regular season ended almost like it began last November in Springfield, Mass. There were encouraging signs, but the end result overshadowed any positive notes.
Actually, Kentucky's best stretch came in early- and mid-January when the 'Cats reeled off a 6-3 mark in their first nine SEC games. Included were a pair of road wins over Florida and Tennessee.
Some scribes (blush) were even giving consideration to a monumenal rally which might include a regular-season championship.
It failed to materialize.
Actually, Kentucky turned bottoms-up right at that point. Over the final 10 games of the season, the 'Cats turned up 2-8 and one of the two victories came on a last-second desperation shot.
Perhaps most disappointing was not the effort of Kentucky, for it got that, but the end results. The 2-7 mark in the second time-around of the league showed there was little, if any, improvement.
Kentucky has a very young and inexperienced team, but that is the type team which should show considerable improvement during the second time around. It didn't.
Another factor cannot be overlooked: ,
ij.i-.i.i Eiii. -  'i
This particular SEC season isn't to be confused with the caliber of play usually seen in the Deep South.
Most experts will agree there is less overall talent in the league's starting lineups than any time since intergration. It was a year for the have-nots (like Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss) to sharpen their teeth and clean up on the victories.
Only Vanderbilt took advantage, but we'll get to that in a moment.
The really good news for Kentucky and its legion of followers is that the regular season is over and the new season is upon us.
It's one where the coaches are right, you can toss out the record books and start all over. Nothing in the past counts a single point.
? ? ?
?NORM SLOAN'S GATORS are celebrating their first-ever SEC basketball regular-season championship, but they owe the title to a few ignorant Vanderbilt fans and the makers of some brand of tennis balls.
The Gators won the title with a 13-5 record with Alabama and Vanderbilt tied for second at 12-6. A fourth-place tie is shared by LSU and Tennessee at 11-7 with Kentucky and Ole Miss tied for sixth place at 8-10.
It wasn't supposed to be that way.
By all rights, Vanderbilt should be the undisputed king with a 13-5 conference record followed by Florida and Alabama at 12-6.
Vanderbilt had Florida beaten in Nashville several weeks ago only to have a technical foul called on the Vandy crowd for tossing tennis balls onto the court with one second left, Vandy in the lead and with Vandy having control of the ball.
Florida shot a pair of technical free throws, the game went into overtime and the Gators won.
It seems like the Gators just can't win a big-time conference title legitimately.
Remember their football title a few years back? It came with a victory over Kentucky, during their football mess and the school was later stripped of the title by the SEC.
Yet, Florida did survive its way to the top in the basketball race this season. It wasn't a total shock.
In the preseason, most experts figured it would be Georgia, Florida and Tennessee.
Georgia has to be the most disappointing team in the league with Tennessee and Kentucky not far behind.
Particularly Tennessee.
This was supposed to be Don DeVoe's year to right his ship, enjoy a top finish, perhaps win the SEC regular season and tourney (since it is being played at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville) and get a new contract.
The Vols have coixmiled.^n, 1,8-9 ,rjiark,. v
but the 11-7 SEC worksheet has been anything but impressive. Perhaps most disappointing to the Volunteer fans has been the bright spot for Kentucky fans this seasonthe Wildcats* rare sweep of UT.
LSU has been its usual self. Dale Brown once again teases the world with his up-and-down circus acts. How about shocking back-to-back losses to Mississippi State surrounding astounding upset wins over Georgetown and UNLV? And then how about that 113-112 overtime loss to Ole Miss Saturday? You can never figure out this man.
This should have also been the year for the two Mississippi schools to make big noise. Yes, each beat Kentucky once and LSU lost three of four with the Mississippi schools. And each escaped the league cellar, but only because Georgia collapsed and Auburn has fielded its worst team in recent memory.
Despite all the changes in the league and the unusual amount of youth, had Kentucky compiled its usualy 13-5 or so record, the final regular-season standings wouldn't have been all that unusual. But Kentucky didn't.
Most alarming about SEC basketball this season was the inability of league teams to be competitive against outside competition. With a few exceptions (most notably LSU's upsets over Georgetown and UNLV), the SEC has been beaten often.
We just might find out how badly when the NCAA announces its invitations this Sunday. Don't look for a half-dozen SEC schools to be included, more than likely it will be half that amount.
? ? ?
?A THIRD MEETING between Ken tucky and Vanderbilt, as baseball veterans would say, "and this is the rubber game of the series."
And a pretty emotional one perhaps.
At this stage of the season, each contest could be the last one for Kentucky. I can't remember the last time UK has been in such a fix.
There were symptons of such a situation back in 1985, but UK did have a 16-12 mark going into the SEC tourney and, of course, 16-12 gives you much better odds than 13-18.
This time, a loss and the 'Cats will put their sneakers away for the year. For the seniors, it'll be the final time to wear the Blue and White.
Teams react differently when such a time rolls around.
We can't help but remember two contrasting clubs of recent years in the SEC.
One was in 1985 when Auburn got on a roll and saved Sonny Smith's job. Sonny had announced his resignation during the middle of the season while under a lot of pressure. The university made no attempt to change his mind, until the Tigers rolled through the SEC tournament and made a big hit in the NCAA.
On the flip side of the coin was the play of Tennessee in the SEC tournament the last two years. Disappointments down the stretch, the Vols bottomed up in their first game and they appeared to be all too happy to close the season.
Which will it be for Kentucky this week?
One cannot overlook the other factor in this situation and that is the future status of Kentucky coach Eddie Sutton and his staff. Will the players win one for the Gipper?
Speculation continues to spread that Kentucky's next loss will be Sutton's last game as the head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats.
Only time will tell.
? ? ? "
?AND ON TO the future.
The good news for Kentucky: The 'Cats get to open with Vanderbilt in the SEC tourney and coach Sutton's club finds itself in a very favorable bracket, without the likes of Tennessee. LSU, Florida and Georgia.
Fact is, if Sutton could have penciled in the bracket himself, he couldn't have done a finer job. The 'Cats have escaped the teams which have in the past caused UK the most problems.
So in the lower bracket, it will be Auburn taking on Ole Miss for a right to meet Alabama in the second round. The survivor of those three clubs will meet the winner of the Kentucky-Vanderbilt game for a spot in the championship game on Sunday.
In the top bracket, Georgia and Mississippi State go at it and the winner will advance to the quarterfinals against Florida. The other quarterfinal game in the upper bracket has Tennessee playing LSU.
The winner will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament next week. Any other SEC invitees will have to earn a bid on their overall records.
Right now, it appears that Florida. Alabama and LSU have better-than-average shots at making the field. Vanderbilt, most likely, is one of those on the bubble and would get a bid unless the Commodores are upset by Kentucky.
Vanderbilt has played a tougher schedule than say Alabama and Florida, but an early-round loss could be damaging.
Tennessee, at 18-9. looks good on paper, but the Vols have not played a strong schedule. Here again is a situation where an upset at the hands of LSU could prove costly to the homestanding Vols.
All those clubs have a good shot at the NCAAs. but the only hope for the remaining five is to win the automatic bid. And if say, Kentucky or one of the other four should stage a phenomenal rally, then one of those top five most assuredly will be reappointed when the NCAA bids go out; @aje 4
&7i& (jots'
Farmer's shot plants Rebs 70-69
Richie shaved his mustache, then shaved Ole Miss with a three at buzzer that gave 'Cats sixth place all to themselves
By TCP staff writer Pancho Easterwood
Kentucky's Richie Farmer trimmed his mustache and then shaved Ole Miss Wednesday night to make his roomie a happy man.
But Richie's game-winning three-point basket did more than lift the spirits of Mike Scott on Senior Night at Rupp Aret.a.
The latest feat of the Clay County native also helped restore some of the magic that seemed to have gone out of his game.
The shot that didn't miss Ole Miss came after he had entered the game for Sean Sutton with 21 seconds to play.
It was vintage Farmer, a high arching 21-footer launched from three-point land that got all net on its way down with :01 left on the clock. Kentucky wins 70-69.
"I won it for my roomie, 'Chief (Scott)," said Farmer in the joyous Wildcat locker room. "And for Jeff Ginnan (the other senior)."
Scott took the gift from his roomie and got this pleased look on his baby face. Two eastern Kentucky boys had made good.. .a tale of two cities, Manchester and South Shore.
"I was looking on this game as something I can tell my grandkids," said the 6-11 Scott. "Richie is a legend in Kentucky, especially eastern Kentucky. That will add much more to it...Richie hit the winning shot on my Senior Night."
Richie had been something less than a legend with his shooting of late. In fact, the jumper was only his first basket in the last five games.
But then who's counting? Certainly not Scott.
"I believe in my roomie," said Scott. "I had confidence in him. But I'm going to take him out to a steak dinner tomorrow night."
Farmer, who played only briefly, was bringing up the ball in the waning seconds when Kentucky coach Eddie Sutton called a timeout.
Time for the "Bama" shuffle, a play designed to jam the ball inside to pivot LeRon Ellis and hope for a layup to tie the game and send it into overtime.
However, Ole Miss had decided the ball inside was about as welcome as Happy Chandler at an NAACP rally. They converged on Ellis and he managed to kick it back outside to Farmer.
But Ole Miss guard John Matthews, who had turned to join his teammates on the double-team of Ellis, was all over Farmer when he got the ball with three seconds left.
"I was in his face, man," said Matthews. "I was close enough to where I could touch the ball. But he got it up quickly and shot it. He has a quick release."
Farmer's shot with one tick of the clock left sent the Rupp crowd of 23,022 fansthey must have counted Chandler's book-signers at Lexington Centerinto a frenzy. And the "shot" brought the Wildcats bench onto the floor to tackle Farmer and leave him under an avalanche of bodies.
Mississippi star Gerald Glass just looked at the scene in utter amazement. He couldn't believe his 35 points, 23 in the second half, had come down to this mad scene.
"After he shot it I thought it looked good," said the 6-6 junior. "I was just hoping it would rim out. But those are the breaks."
Matthews said Farmer was able to move
slightly to the side to get off the winning shot. Those inches meant a mile.
"I guess they will call it the Clay County special," said Farmer of the last-second maneuvering. "I throw it to LeRon and he throws it back. I thought he (Matthews) fouled me on the play...but it went in."
The crowd, cheerleaders and 'Cats were not the only ones overjoyed with the finish.
Eddie Sutton, one of the more reserved members of the coaching profession, was hopping around with joy.
"The way I jumped out there at the end you'd think I was on a pogo stick," said Sutton...you would have thought we had just won the SEC."
Mississippi coach Ed Murphy had been on the giving and receiving end of many a nail-biter. Yet he still had a hard time wiping the taste of bitters out with a mouthful of Sprite, either.
"I'm very disappointed," said Murphy. "We played about as well as we can play. They hit a tough shot off a scrambled loose ball. It was dead center. A great shot. And it puts Kentucky in sixth."
The win means UK, now 13-17 overall and 8-9 in conference, will probably avoid playing the first night of the SEC tournament...and will face only three games instead of four.
But it also had a deeper meaning for Sutton, the beleaguered coach who is rumored to be on his way out in the wake of the NCAA investigation.
But is he? Will a crowd of boosters at a pre-game rally sway the UK administration? Will "Keep Sutton" bumper stickers and "Sutton Buttons" influence UK president David Roselle.?
Doubtful. But if Murphy had his way they would.
"After 30 honorable years he (Sutton) deserves better," said Murphy. "I don't think he's had it from some of the people in this room (the post-game media room) and some of the people in other rooms and places."
Murphy also felt Sutton's fellow coaches had let him downand said so in rather harsh tones.
"I don't think they have supported him like they should have," said Murphy. "There is a lot of jealousy out there.. .a lot of guys are jealous of the UK position. Yes, I don't think the support has been there. You do it right for 30 years and come up with nothing."
Murphy, who had a good seat, said Kentucky's refusal to give up spoke well of Sutton.
"For Kentucky to play that kind of basketball tonight given all the distractions and dificulties they have gone through is a testimony to leadership and coaching," said Murphy. "Kentucky has one of the finest coaches in America."
Sutton said he didn't have any special feelings about possibly winning at Rupp for the last time as the UK coach.
(Continued on page 25)
No	Ole Mis'. 1-id)	"Ti		h		FT	FTA	....."			PF	TP
			Hi					9"	ft			
SI	T\JJrff Ct:		
A	TO	slx	S	MIN
I	P	'n	2	37
/	2	0	3	33
0	Q	3	o	33
4	H	c	o	
4		O	/	
2	i	0	I	n
I	0	!	I	|0
				
				
				
				
				
				
				
I3l lol 3 I S \20o
TOTAL FG %: 1st Half . 3-Pt FG %: 1st Half _ FT %: 1st Hah*_
4S-3
0,0.0
2nd Hall_ 2nd Half-2nd Half.
5ii
Game-Game-
$0Q
Deadball Rebounds-
0,9. j.
HOME (Last Name. First)
Mo	KrnhcAv 03-/7, t-q)					FT	FTA				PF	TP
		AS	PGA	K	FG*			On				
	Mills ttir.s i	1	1!	!	ft	5	el		1		4	19
	[-.man   .)ftr '	o	O	f)	n	n	n		-		n	r.
0		2	ie		O	0	r>				0	4
;	M.ller   LerricL 0	t	1-4	I	q-	1	i	2	-	5	1	It
2"	Sl-Ltton. Seosi 9	A			+	0	0	n	0	O	1	(n
-----	P.'/lS Lc&n	4-	10	0	o	4	q	3	r?		?	12
34		1	1		0	0		0	3	'J	1	J
1 -	i-f.ii (ctdWiLtl Hern		o	.'	o		r	Iff	H	10	H	10
	F-otirrr fr'ichifc".	!	)	1	3	p	c	0		r	0	3
												
												
												
												
												
	TEAM REBOUNDS (included in Totals)							1	f	i		
	TOTALS                           US 1 SI 1 -J 1  II 1 10 1 /S							11		y	Ml 70	
a	TO	blk	5	min
'1	4	1	P	40
p	0	0	<">'	s
r?	2	0	o	IS
I		o	0	i
	3	0	4	31
	1		0	3.1
a	1	1	0	s
	,3	O	I	33
	0	0	0	
				
				
				
				
				
5oI IC\ 4 I 5 \X4
TOTAL fg %: 1st Halt .
3-Pt. fg %: 1st Hart _
ft %: 1st Halt_
2nd Hall-2nd Hall_ 2nd Halt.
14.4 Game-31. S Game. T-J.Q Game.
41./
%4
6u,7
Deadball Rebounds_L
nFFiriAi 65-67 65-69 67-69 70-69
Glass FTA, FT
Glass 16 ft.
Turner 15 ft. Glass 14 ft., FT
Glass follow layup
Glass 14 ft. Midlick 17 ft.
Sylve FT, FT Glass 19 ft.
Glass 16 ft., FT Glass tip
Turner follow layup Matthews 10 ft.
Sylve layup Glass 21 ft.
Glass FT, FTA Glass 15 ft.
FINAL
70-69
-Cats' Pause chart BUZZER-BEATER
(Top left, clockwise)
? UK's Eric Manuel and injured forward Reggie Hanson share a laugh during Senior Night. UK won over Ole Miss at the buzzer 70-69 thanks to...
? ...Richie Farmer's timely three-pointer. As expected, after a game-winning bucket, Farmer chats on the UK Network's star of the game show.
?Trying to get this basket in a roundabout way is LeRon Ellis. Sean Murphy attempts to disrupt Ellis with a hand in the face.
?Gerald Class, who scored a game-high 35 points, dishes off to a teammate as Ellis tries to hold
his ground.
UM-UK photos by Gary Cromwell  Basil Hay den was UK's first hoop All-American...
.and last Wildcat coach to have losing season
When Ray Eklund resigned as Wildcat head basketball coach shortly before the opening game of the 1927 season, the University of Kentucky sought help from Basil Hayden, captain and star player on the Wildcat
Russell Rice
Cats' Pause Columnist
squad that six years earlier had won the first "Championship of the South."
Upon receiving "Momma's call," Hayden ignored the extenuating circumstances, put his insurance business on hold, and returned to the university, where he held the distinction of being named its first All-American.
After graduating from UK, Hayden had worked one summer for Dodge in Detroit, then returned to Kentucky and coached at Stanford and Clark County high schools before spending two years in the insurance business at Richmond. He accepted the UK coaching job "simply because they asked me to."
The former Paris High School star had lettered three years at UK under George C Buchheit, who came to UK as an assistant to football coach Andy Gill in the fall of 1919 from the University of Illinois, where he was an all-western end in football and star of the basketball and track teams.
The custom in those days was for the football coach or one of his assistants to serve in a secondary capacity as head basketball coach. After coaching the Wildcat cagers to a 6-8 record in 1919, Gill turned the basketball team over to his new assistant Buchheit. who began his five-year reign as UK cage coach in rather unimpressive fashion, winning only five of 12 games as influenza took a toll of the squad in late season.
The university and the community became basketball-conscious the following year, when the 1921 Wildcats lost only to Centre, 29-27, at Danville, en route to a 13-1 season that included wins over Tulane. Mercer, Mississippi A&M and Georgia in the first SIAA tournament, which was held in Atlanta. The Wildcats defeated the Bulldogs 20-19 in the championship game on a free throw by Lexingtonian Bill King with time expired on the clock.
The victory spurred public clamor in Lexington for a new arena to showcase Wildcat teams, whose antiquated home facility was located in old Buell Armory in Barker Hall.
Buchheit's high hopes for the 1922 season were crushed when Hayden received a knee injury prior to the first game and guard Sam Ridgeway, another starter for the 1921 championship team, was out for the season with an illness. While Hayden hobbled through the season, the Wildcats struggled to a 10-6 record, losing to Mercer 35-22 in the Southern tournament.
With Hayden graduated and Ridgeway out with a broken ankle, the 1923 season was a disaster, although the Wildcats were better than their 3-10 record indicated. They opened with a victory over Georgetown, lost to Tennessee 30-26 at Knoxville, and defeated Chattanooga 25-18 at home before losing the next nine in a row, longest losing streak in the school's history. They closed with a 30-14 victory over Sewanee. Although they came up short in the won-lost column, the Wildcats were outscored only 348-289 by their combined opponents.
The Wildcats bounced back with a 13-3 record in 1924 and Buchheit, who had served under three different football coaches in his five years on campus, was asked to remain after the university hired Harry Gamage, another former Illinois star athlete, to replace J.J. Winn as grid
Basil Haydenshown here during his playing days at UK (left) and receiving a plaque from then-UK athletics director Cliff Hagan a couple of years ago in Rupp Arenawill always be remembered as UK's first All-American in 1921...but also as the last coach to guide the Wildcats to a losing season.
mentor; however, he finally decided to accept the head coaching job at Trinity College (now Duke University).
The Wildcats were coached the following two years by assistant football coaches CO. Applegran (13-8 in 1924) and Eklund (15-3 in 1925).
Led by Burgess Carey, an All-American back guard the year before, the 1926 Wildcats opened with back-to-back losses to Depauw (A) and Indiana (H) and then swept their remaining 12 games before losing to Mississippi A&M in the third game of the Southern tournament.
Carey and four other startersJim McFarland, Will Milvvard, Len Tracy and Lovell "Cowboy" Underwood, along with substitute Foster Helmfrom the 1922 Lexington Senior High School national champions had joined the Wildcats freshman team as a unit in 1923. McFarland was team captain in 1925, Carey in 1926.
Now an 89-year-old retired banker living in a nursing home in Paris, Hayden said the Athletics Council asked him to coach until they could get somebody else.
"I knew all those good players, including members of Senior High's national championship team, had graduated, and it was going to be tough," he said. "We had to play Cincinnati one week after the Council called me. I started the game with a lineup of football players. They were Paul Jenkins and Ray Ellis at forward, Elmer Gilb at running guard, Clair Dees at back guard and Foster Helm at center. We hadn't had time to put anything together."
Ailing with to