A ‘Dream Game,’ a dreamy dinner among lasting NCAA Tournament memories
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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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The NCAA Tournament is almost guaranteed to create long-lasting memories. Here, in chronological order, is a personal walk down memory lane from reporting on Kentucky basketball’s March Madness adventures.
1983: ‘Dream Game’
Kentucky and Louisville had not played since the 1959 NCAA Tournament. There had not been a regular-season game since 1922.
In the previous 11 years, Denny Crum led U of L to nine NCAA Tournament appearances that included four Final Fours and the 1980 national championship. Louisville saw itself — if not equal to Kentucky — at least worthy of a home-and-home series. For several years, U of L lobbied publicly for a series.
Kentucky, which had been to three fewer NCAA tournaments and two fewer Final Fours in that same 11-year period, showed no sign of enjoying being pressured to play Louisville. UK officials cited a “policy” that prohibited regular-season games against — ouch — in-state schools.
Given that backdrop, it was stunning to even see Kentucky and Louisville players warming up on the same court in the Mideast Region finals in — of all places — Knoxville.
U of L’s overtime victory lived up to being dubbed “the Dream Game.” The basketball drama was so delicious that the state legislature threatened to pass a law mandating a regular-season series. Thus cornered, Kentucky then made an exception to its “policy.”
A vivid personal memory came from my seat behind a baseline. A referee motioned for a television cameraman stationed near the basket to move out of the way so the ball could be put in play from the proper spot. The cameraman refused to move.
Any doubt about the influence TV wields vanished.
1984: Salmon dinner
The 1984 Final Four in Seattle included Kentucky making three of 33 shots in the second half in losing to Georgetown in the semifinals. Two days later, John Thompson became the first Black coach to win a national championship as Georgetown beat Virginia in the finals. When the game ended, Hall of Famer Bill Russell came onto the court and gave Thompson a congratulatory hug.
But the personal highlight was a salmon cookout for the media at The Kingdome on Friday. The fish was at least 3 inches thick and so good that some reporters arranged for salmon to be shipped home in dry ice after the Final Four.
1985: Joe B. retires
With a 16-12 regular-season record, Joe B. Hall was giddy (no exaggeration) on Selection Sunday when Kentucky was named the 12-seed in the West Region.
Rumors of Hall retiring swirled as Kentucky advanced to a Sweet 16 game against one-seed St. John’s in Denver.
When Hall arrived at the arena wearing a brown coat (Adolph Rupp’s signature color), it seemed like a fashion statement.
After Kentucky lost, Hall announced his retirement to iconic play-by-play announcer Cawood Ledford during the postgame radio show at courtside.
1995: A warm smile
Georgetown and Kentucky were two of the four teams in the 1995 Southeast Region semifinals in Birmingham, Ala. At that time, news conferences were less formal and coaches more approachable. That meant working up the courage to ask a question of John Thompson, an intimidating man who did not suffer fools gladly.
As a Boston Celtics fan since 1964, I knew Thompson had been Bill Russell’s backup for three seasons. And I was aware Red Auerbach championed social justice.
When I mentioned Auerbach, Thompson’s face softened and a warm smile appeared.
2003: Telethon for UK?
Beginning in 1993, Kentucky beat Utah five times in 11 NCAA Tournaments.
This caused Utah Coach Rick Majerus to quip, “When I die, they might as well bury me at the finish line at Churchill Downs so they can run over me again.”
After the first four UK victories, which came by an average margin of 18.5 points, the Utes were once again the opponent, this time in the second round of the 2003 Midwest Region in Nashville.
When a reporter suggested Kentucky was vulnerable that year, Majerus shot back, “Nobody’s going to hold a telethon to help Kentucky get players.”
2015: Relief, disbelief
With UK’s 38-0 record going into the 2015 Final Four, the loss to Wisconsin in the national semifinals resonates. But Kentucky’s escape against Notre Dame a week earlier in the Midwest Region finals in Cleveland also remains a vivid memory.
The look on the UK players’ faces as the game ended spoke volumes. There was part relief, part disbelief that Kentucky won 68-66.
Notre Dame led by six with five-plus minutes remaining, and 66-64 inside the final minute.
Karl-Anthony Towns tied it with a low-post basket, which was part of his 17-point second half. Notre Dame never double-teamed Towns.
Aaron Harrison made two free throws with six seconds left to win it.
“We didn’t play very well and Notre Dame, I thought, controlled the whole thing,” UK Coach John Calipari said after the game. “But we made the plays.”
2015: What might have been
Perhaps the best example of what-might-have-been came in the 2015 Final Four when Wisconsin beat UK in the national semifinals. During a decisive stretch of the second half, Kentucky had more than one shot-clock violation. That freshman stars Tyler Ulis and Devin Booker watched from the bench has not — and will not — be forgotten.
Those who could not understand how unbeaten Kentucky lost to Wisconsin had short memories.
Only three weeks earlier, Wisconsin was seen as the device the NCAA would use to thwart Kentucky. The fear was that the NCAA would put the Badgers, who had won the Big Ten regular-season and tournament championships, in the same region as Kentucky in order to keep UK out of the Final Four.
So, any surprise that Wisconsin beat Kentucky in the Final Four rang hollow.
2019: Comic relief
A stunning surprise came when it was learned that Kentucky, which had played more NCAA Tournament games than any program, had never played an NCAA Tournament game in Kansas City, which had been the site for more March Madness games than any city.
Another surprise came when checking into the downtown hotel. There was a Comic-Con convention going on in Kansas City.
On a drive to dinner one night, the Uber driver said he had given a ride to Spider-Man earlier in the evening.
That prompted a wise guy (blush) to ask, Spider-Man needs Uber?
This story was originally published April 4, 2021 at 5:16 AM.
