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The Beginning of Kentucky Basketball
The very first University of Kentucky Men´s Basketball season was 1902-1903. They were coached by W. W. H. Mustaine. Their record was 1-2 after losing to Georgetown University and Kentucky University, but winning to the Lexington YMCA. -
The first ¨real¨ basketball coach.
In 1908 the first paid basketball coach was hired. His name was Edwin Sweetland, his first season as coach their record was 5-4. In their 1911 season they went undefeated for the first time -
The Brothers Legacy
In 1914 the team was led by two brothers named Karl and Tom Zerfoss and coached by Alpha Brummage. This year their record was 12-2 and they defeated all of their southern opponents. -
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George Buchheit and the "Wonder Team"
In 1919 another new coach was introduced, George Buchheit. When he became the coach he introduced a new method of coaching. The 1919 season was a losing season. However in 1921 they became known as the ¨wonder team¨ after winning the first-ever Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association tournament. In 1922 they had an unsuccessful season and were not able to live up to the ¨wonder team¨ name. In 1925 George Buchheit left to coach Trinity College. -
*Another* New Face on Campus
Clarence O. Applegran became head coach from 1925 to 1927. His first season as coach the teams record was a surprising 13-8. The next year (1926) their record was even better ending the season 15-3 which was good enough for them to win their first regular season conference championship in the Southern Conference. -
The Worst One Yet
After Clarence O. Applegran resigned a new coach was needed and former player Basil Hayden stepped up. He had never coached a team before and led them to a 3-13 record that season and he resigned at the end of that season. -
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The Rupp Era
Adolph Rupp became coach in 1930 and retired in 1972. In this time they became apart of the NCAA and the SEC. Their record was an impressive 876–190. They won four NCAA championships in 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958, 1 NIT title in 1946, appeared in 20 NCAA tournaments, had six NCAA Final Four appearances, captured twenty-seven SEC regular season titles, and won thirteen SEC tournaments. This was arguably there most successful period as a team. -
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The Follow Up
After Rupp retired the assistant coach Joe B. Hall was given title of head coach. In 1978 he coached them to their 5th NCAA championship. They also made the final four in 1975 and 1984 and the elite eight in 1972, 1973, 1977, 1983. -
The Emery Scandal
In ´89 the NCAA announced at the end of the season that its investigation into the basketball program had found the school guilty of violating numerous NCAA policies. Then an airline employees allegedly discovered $1,000 in cash in an envelope Kentucky assistant coach sent to a players father. The basketball program was almost shut down, but instead they were givem three years' probation, a two-year ban from postseason play and a ban from live television from 1989–90. -
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Let´s Try this Again
In 1989 the former New York Knicks coach Rick Pitino became coach. They were banned from the 1990 and 1991 post season and their 1990 season record was 14–14. In ´91 while still banned from post season they managed a record of 22–6. After the banned was lifted in 1992 they went to the elite eight for the first time since ´86. -
The Untouchables.
The team won its 6th championship after a season record of 34-2. This season was one of the most memorable in Kentucky history. -
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*Almost* Achieving Greatness
For two short seasons,Billy Gillispie was head coach. In these two seasons. These were not the best, but not the worst UK had ever seen.In the 07-08 season their record was 18-13 and in the 08-09 season there record was 22-14. It later came out that throughout his time as coach he battled high blood pressure an d alcoholism. -
The Beginning of Cal
In 2009 John Calipari put Kentucly Basketball on the map. The year he became coach he signed one of the best all time recruiting classes, that same year Kentucky become the first program in college basketball history to claim their 2000th victory. -
Coach Cal´s 2010 Season
By 2010 the team became #1 team in both the ESPN/Coaches poll and AP poll. To follow that up Kentucky won its 44th SEC regular season championship and won its 26th SEC Tournament Championship. Then received a No. 1 seed in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament and went to the Elite Eight once again. The same year Kentucky's made their 50th NCAA Tournament appearance. -
The Best is Yet to Come
Kentucky didn't have the best year. However, they did make the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight unfortunately they lost in the Final Four to UConn 56–55. -
The Big Leagues
Their record of the regular season was 30-1. Kentucky was selected as the No. 1 seed in the South Region and also the No. 1 seed overall of the entire NCAA Tournament. They dominated in the Sweet 16. Then destroyed in the Elite Eight. In the Final Four they won by measly 8 points. Finally, in the championships they defeated Kansas by almost 10 points. This team also set a record for most players drafted in the NBA from one team with 6 drafts. -
The Come Down
The season following their big NCAA title year was not quite as exciting. There regular season record was 21-12 and they did not take home the big title that year. -
High Hopes
There were high expectations for this season. But, they just couldn't live up without some of their best players. They went unranked at the end of the regular season and went another year without winning the coveted NCAA championship. -
Towns Year
This season clearly had a star. Karl Anthony Towns. They may have lost in the final four this year but a true star came out of the '15 team. Karl Antony Towns is still one to the greatest UK alumni and one of the best basketball players in the NBA. -
Nothing Special
'16 was not a particularly eventful year for statistics. But player wise it got kind of interesting. Twos of the NBA's best rookies came out of UK's 2016 roster, De'Aaron Fox and Hamidou Diallo. This was also the first year that Coach Cal's son, Bradley Calipari, made an appearance on the court. -
The Loss of a UK Legend
In '17 Fox announced that he would be headed to the NBA draft. With him the tam could not seem to get into the grove of things. This team had potential but they just couldn't pull it off. -
So Where Does That Leave Us?
The current team is on the road to what could be their 7th NCAA title. They are currently 3rd in the SEC and hold a 10-2 record. This years team is exceptionally promising and look like they will make it along way, even beyond the NCAA
