The most important takeaway from each of Kentucky’s eight national championships
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The Magic of Madness
The 2020-21 men’s basketball season did not go Kentucky’s way, but the Wildcats have delighted Kentuckians with peak postseason performances for decades. As the Final Four plays out this weekend in Indianapolis, the Herald-Leader has produced a 20-page, full-color commemorative special section inside Sunday’s newspaper celebrating Kentucky’s most memorable moments in the NCAA Tournament. Click below to read the stories from that section in digital form.
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One thing every University of Kentucky fan should cherish from each of UK basketball’s eight national championship teams:
1948
“The Fabulous Five.” Cliff Barker, Ralph Beard, Alex Groza, Wah Wah Jones and Kenny Rollins comprised one of the most legendary teams in the legendary annals of Kentucky basketball history. Known for their ball-handling and passing prowess, the “Fabulous Five” were near folk heroes who bestowed upon 49-year-old Adolph Rupp his first NCAA Tournament title. For an encore, they boarded a boat to London, England, where the five starters won the Olympic gold medal in basketball.
Rupp had arrived in Lexington in 1930 from Kansas, where he played under another legend, Phog Allen, and turned the Cats into instant basketball winners. Kentucky was crowned Helms National Champion in 1932, won the Premo-Poretta national title in 1934 and the NIT in 1946, but had not captured an NCAA Tournament title until the Cats defeated Baylor 54-42 in the 1948 championship game.
1949
UK’s one and only repeat champions. Rollins was the lone member of the Fabulous Five not to return for the defending champions in 1948-49 and Rupp’s club finished 32-2, including 13-0 in the SEC. Ranked No. 1 in the nation, UK was upset by No. 16 Loyola Chicago 67-56 in the quarterfinals of the NIT in New York. In those long-lost days, however, a team could double its fun by playing in both the NIT and NCAA. The Wildcats redeemed themselves by beating legendary coach Henry Iba and Oklahoma A&M 46-36 in the NCAA Tournament championship game in Seattle. Iba had won the NCAA in 1945 and 1946.
UK center Alex Groza was again the star, scoring 25 points in the title game, completing a year in which he averaged 20.5 points per game. Kentucky’s only other loss that year was to St. Louis, 42-40, in the finals of the Sugar Bowl Classic in New Orleans.
1951
The team that persevered. There might not have been a global pandemic in 1950-51, but illness accompanied the Cats much of what turned out to be a title season. With Bill Spivey and Cliff Hagan leading the way, Kentucky entered the NCAA Tournament having lost 61-57 to Vanderbilt in the finals of the SEC Tournament.
With key player Walt Hirsch ineligible and Cliff Hagan battling a throat infection, UK appeared up against it facing Kansas Sate in the finals. But down 20-12 in the first half, the ailing Hagan entered the game and teamed with Bill Spivey’s 22 points to give UK a 68-58 victory and Rupp his third national championship.
1958
“The Fiddlin’ Five.” Before the 1957-58 season, Rupp said, “We’ve got fiddlers. That’s all. They’re pretty good fiddlers. Be right entertaining at a barn dance. But I’ll tell you ... you need violinists to play in Carnegie Hall. We don’t have any violinists.”
The Wildcats proved their coach wrong. As Rupp himself said, they kept “fiddlin’ around and fiddlin’ around then finally pulling it out at the end,” on the way to the coach’s fourth national title. Vernon Hatton scored 30 points and Johnny Cox 24 to offset Elgin Baylor’s 25 points as Kentucky defeated Seattle 84-72 in the NCAA Tournament title game.
1978
“Win or Else.” That was title of the recent ESPN documentary featuring Kentucky’s 1977-78 national champions, who despite sky-high expectations and suffocating pressure, were able to go 30-2 and give the program its first national title in 20 years, its fifth overall, but its first in the post-Rupp era.
With Joe B. Hall as coach, the Wildcats won their first 14 games before losing to C.M. Newton and Alabama in Tuscaloosa. After a 95-94 overtime loss to Dale Brown and LSU in Baton Rouge on Feb. 11, 1978, UK won its final 13 games, including a 94-88 victory over Duke in the NCAA Tournament championship game when Jack “The Goose is Golden” Givens scored 41 points.
1996
The best Kentucky team ever? Much like the powerhouse 1977-78 edition under Joe B. Hall, Rick Pitino’s 1995-96 deep and ultra-talented team entered the season carrying the burden of lofty expectations and the bitter taste of losing in the regional finals the previous season.
The Cats were ranked No. 1 in the preseason, but lost to John Calipari and UMass 92-82 in the Great Eight at Auburn Hills, Michigan, on Nov. 28. It would be 29 games before UK would lose again, falling 84-73 to Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament finals. No problem. The Cats avenged the UMass defeat by mastering the Minutemen 81-74 in the Final Four before riding Tony Delk’s seven three-pointers to a 76-67 win over Syracuse in the NCAA title game.
1998
“The Comeback Cats.” After Rick Pitino departed Lexington for the Boston Celtics following UK’s 1996-97 NCAA runner-up season, UK athletics director C.M. Newton hired former Pitino assistant Tubby Smith to take over the program. With massive shoes to fill, Smith instilled a “never-say-die” mantra adopted by a veteran team.
The Comeback Cats rallied from 17 points down in the final 10 minutes to beat Duke in the NCAA Tournament’s South Region finals. They rallied from 10 down in the second half to beat Stanford in overtime in the Final Four. Last but not least, they rallied from 10 down in the second half to beat Rick Majerus and Utah 78-69 in the championship game in San Antonio.
2012
Anthony Davis. In this one-and-done era, Big Blue Nation was able to enjoy the spectacular talents of the 6-foot-10 center from Chicago for just 40 games, but Davis made every minute count. That was especially true in the NCAA Tournament championship game.
John Calipari’s team went 31-1 in the regular season, losing only to Indiana in Bloomington’s Assembly Hall on Dec. 10, 2011. The Cats were then upset by Vanderbilt 71-64 in the SEC title game. But as Pitino’s 1996 title team did, Kentucky shook off the defeat to roll through the NCAA Tournament, beating Pitino and Louisville 69-61 in the Final Four, then Kansas 67-59 in the title game, a game in which Davis was named Most Outstanding Player after scoring just six points, but grabbing 16 rebounds, blocking six shots and dishing five assists.
This story was originally published April 4, 2021 at 5:12 AM.
