Kentucky’s next game will feature a Happy Birthday salute
Kentucky’s game against UAB on Friday will include a happy birthday salute. Former UK coach Joe B. Hall’s 91st birthday is Saturday.
Hall has accepted UK’s invitation to attend the game, be recognized and, no doubt, bask in a rousing ovation.
When asked Monday what he thought of being such a beloved figure in UK’s rich basketball history, Hall noted how the exalted status of the present contrasted with how he was perceived when he had the unenviable task of following Adolph Rupp as coach.
For Hall, the cheers he’ll hear Friday mean “that people have a tendency to remember the good things,” he said. “I did a fairly good job. Maybe they didn’t give me enough credit back then. Now, they’re realizing I had some good qualities.”
Hall was Kentucky coach for 13 seasons beginning in 1972-73. He compiled a win-loss record of 297-100. He guided UK to three Final Fours, which included the 1978 national championship.
But following Rupp, the founding father of Kentucky basketball, set an impossibly high standard. It also divided the Big Blue Nation into pro-Hall and pro-Rupp factions.
“People almost secretly, in the back of their minds, wanted me to fail in order to honor Adolph more,” Hall said. “But I think now they think I did a good job. I carried on the tradition.”
Hall, who lives in Louisville with a daughter and son-in-law, attends fewer Kentucky games than he would like. Friday’s game will be the second he’s attended this season. He also went to the home opener against Eastern Kentucky.
He described the UK team of 2019-20 as inconsistent in this pre-conference portion of the season, but rich with potential.
“When they’re together, they look pretty good,” Hall said. Of the victory over Lamar on Sunday, he said, “I thought they went to (Nick) Richards a little more. I thought (EJ) Montgomery showed a little spark.
“And if that grows, with those good guards that they have, they should come together. And I think they’ll be very good.”
Hall said freshman Tyrese Maxey has “talent to burn.” And the former UK coach also said he liked graduate transfer Nate Sestina. “He can be the hustle leader,” Hall said.
Hall said he’s also liked what he’s seen in Louisville’s team so far this season.
“Their defense is what ours usually is,” he said.
Hall, who grew up in Cynthiana, has been a UK fan for more than 80 years. He recalled as a child listening to the radio call of Ermal Allen playing for the Wildcats. Allen played for UK from 1939-40 through the 1941-42 seasons.
The next page in Hall’s encyclopedic history with Kentucky basketball — as fan, player, coach and again fan — comes on Friday.
When asked what it will feel like to be cheered by appreciative fans, his always-at-the-ready sense of humor kicked in.
“I wish I had a little more of it when I was coaching,” Hall said, “but they kept me humble. I’ll say that.”
Next game
UAB at No. 9 Kentucky
7 p.m. Friday (SEC Network)
This story was originally published November 26, 2019 at 2:22 PM.
