Calling it the toughest schedule in Kentucky basketball history, Adolph Rupp prepared for his 11th campaign as Wildcat coach. In 10 previous years ‘the man in the brown suit’ had compiled a record of 163-36. He now opened the 1940-41 season with his 200th game as Kentucky head coach. Like most coaches Rupp always considered each schedule as tougher then the last and this one he claimed was the toughest ever. A quick glance at the non-conference slate showed Rupp might not be exaggerating all that much, as it was hard to find more than one or two breathers anywhere. After a tune-up against an Alumni squad, Kentucky opened in earnest against West Virginia at Alumni Gym. The Cats would have a return engagement later in the year with the Mountaineers in Morgantown. The Wildcats had a Midwest road trip in December with three games in three nights, beginning at Nebraska, then Creighton and finishing at Kansas State. Kentucky would participate in the Sugar Bowl Tournament at New Orleans for the second season in a row. UK would face Branch McCracken’s Indiana. Hoosiers, last year’s NCAA champion, in the Cats third trip to the holiday bowl game. The pre-Southeastern Conference schedule rounded out with a contest against interstate rival Notre Dame in Louisville, finishing with tough games at Xavier and West Virginia.

           The SEC was always a challenge. No matter who the opponent or what the record, one could never be certain of the outcome….especially when a team came in fired-up to play the Wildcats. Aside from the opener against an always over-matched hodge-podge group of former UK players, the only two “easy” games appeared to be Maryville and Centenary. But a coach’s nature can find trouble in any opponent. When a reporter commented that Maryville could not be so tough, the Baron replied, “Maryville will be plenty mean, you just watch.” Empathizing the difficulty of the schedule as a whole, Rupp added, “This schedule is so tough I’m afraid some of the boys will want to join a basketball union to cut down working hours.”

           Coach Rupp’s roster for the ’41 Wildcats consisted of two of the four leading scorers from last season’s squad in Lee Huber and Keith Farnsley. Huber was the epitome of the Big Man on Campus. A handsome all around athlete, he was a championship caliber tennis player who had won the state high school singles title as a sophomore and senior. He very well could have made it three in a row, but the tournament was rained out his junior year. He was elected The Most Popular Man at the university by the student body; named captain of the 1941 UK squad and he was tabbed by Adolph Rupp as one of, if not the best, athletes he had ever coached.

           The Wildcats lost two starters from last season’s team, Mickey Rouse and Marion Cluggish, plus Harry Denham who saw only minimal action. Returning players at the forward position included Ermal Allen, Waller White, Donald Orme and James King who would have to spend time at center; plus guards Carl Staker and Carl Combs. Kentucky added several new faces to the varsity from the previous season’s undefeated freshman squad. Joining the ranks at guard were Ken England and Jess Robertson; at forward Milt Ticco, Lloyd Ramsey, Frank Etscorn and Louis Robertson. Mel Brewer was the only true center on this UK squad. Marvin Akers also moved up as a sophomore forward. Akers had been a member of the 1938-39 Lost Battalion team, but sat out the following year due to an over-abundance of forwards. The Wildcat’s entire 16 player line-up consisted of players from Kentucky (10) and Indiana (5), with one exception, Ermal Allen who hailed from Morristown, Tennessee. Unfortunately for Rupp, the top player from last season’s junior varsity squad did not return to school. Cliff Barker had decided to return home and get married. He later joined the Army Air Corp and was shot down and taken prisoner while serving as an engineer and gunner on a B-17. Barker was most likely the first of many whose days as Kentucky basketball players were directly affected by World War II. In a bizarre way, the war may have been the best thing that could have happened to Barker and others in respect to their careers as UK basketball players.

           While Rupp seemed to be predicting trouble for his charges from the difficult schedule, he admitted being optimistic about his team’s chances. “This set is smaller than the average Kentucky team, but it’s about 15mph faster.” He said. “Our only unsettled problem now is at center. Jim King and Mel Brewer have difficult jobs. We always depend on our centers to carry the burden on offense and if these two come through, as I think they will, we should have a splendid season. I think the club has a chance of developing into one of the most perfect machines in the business. It has no brilliant stars, with the exception of Lee Huber, who I think is an All-American, just by judging his play in practice. But Huber is a team cog, so there won’t be any prima donna stuff.” According to Rupp the best team in the SEC should be Tennessee. “They have three All-SEC men on a veteran squad. What more need be lamented?” Though the UK coach chose the Volunteers as the favorite to win the tournament, one could never count out the Wildcats. Kentucky had won the SEC Tournament four times, winning three of the last four. “If we can beat Tennessee,” Rupp said, “we can win it again.”

           Alumni Gym was probably the finest arena in the south when built in 1924. Still a great place for basketball, the gymnasium floor had undergone a complete reconditioning during the off-season. The floor was described as too beautiful to walk on. Sanded smooth as silk, the floor now sported an 18” bright blue border around the outside lines, a blue “K” in the center circle and was lacquered to a brilliant shine. Rupp was heard to remark, “If I can put as much polish on my boys as the sanders have put on this hardwood, then we’ll go a long way without being beaten.”

           Coach Rupp gave the new floor and his squad a workout with a scrimmage little more than a week before the opening contest. The practice session which was described as “strenuous”, ended with the “regulars” plastering the “yannigans” by a score of 74-44. Playing for the first team Capt. Lee Huber poured in 25 points, Keith Farnsley chucked in 19, Jim King had 11, Ken England 10 and Waller White nine. The second stringers were led by Carl Staker with 12, Marvin Akers 11, then Milt Ticco, Don Orme and Mel Brewer all finished with seven points each. Rupp said the workout was more to condition the players than to sharpen their game.

           Kentucky’s first encounter would come on December 7 against an Alumni club with an impressive roster. If one could put this array of former Wildcats all together, in their prime, they would strike absolute terror in any collegiate team in the nation. As a matter of fact, I’m not so sure there would have been a team anywhere who could have handled them. Well, it’s fun to imagine. Regardless though, this collection of former UK players certainly must have stirred many memories among Wildcat fans. John “Frenchy” DeMoisey was named manager of the team which included Mickey Rouse, former All-American Aggie Sale, Dave Lawrence, Ralph Carlisle, Elmo Head, C.D. Blair, Marion Cluggish, Ellis Johnson, Warfield Donahue, Andy Anderson and Maurice Jackson. While they were probably better than the usual sacrificial Alumni squad, no one seriously expected them to give their youthful counterparts any real competition.

           Looking like ghosts of stars from Kentucky’s historic past, the Alumni team huffed, puffed and labored, but they made it to the end. The result—a 62-25 pasting from the young Wildcats. The old crew delighted the crowd, especially those old enough to remember them, with flashes of the form that made them great in their day. All-American Aggie Sale led the Alumni and looked almost as sharp as when he was in his prime. The ghosts made it a tight battle, trailing only 11-10 after 10 minutes, but the five starters were exhausted by then and were looking toward the bench with pleading glances for relief. Finally their fellow teammates gave in and entered the game looking somewhat reluctant. It wasn’t hard to understand why either, since most of them were mere shadows of themselves in their heyday. Well in some cases, large shadows. Frenchy DeMoisey who once charged up and down the floor at 170, was now carrying 240 pounds on that same frame. By halftime the numbers read: varsity 37, alumni 14; half dead: alumni 12, varsity 0. The former Wildcats gave it all they had, but in the end they were just too rusty and wind challenged to make a close game of it.

           Coach Rupp started Farnsley and White at forward, King at center and Huber and Staker at guard. Ken England had been slated to start opposite Huber, but injured his hand in practice a few days before the game. He did make it into the contest and scored two points. White led with 12 points, King had 10 and Milt Ticco eight. The star of the night though was Sale who dropped in 11 points. Rupp remarked afterward that “Sale at 50 is still better than anything I’ve got at 20.” Adolph did exaggerate Aggie’s age a bit. Fans were delighted to see many players were still able to exhibit the unique talents that made them crowd favorites. Dave Lawrence still gave an effective fake; Andy Anderson still had that close to the floor dribble and Warfield “Warhorse” Donohue crashed the boards hard rebounding. Joe Hagan brought the crowd to its feet with a clean steal at mid-court that resulted in a driving lay-up. Coach Rupp obviously enjoyed seeing his former stars perform again as much as the fans. “What memories they brought back.” He reflected. “I owe those boys all my gratitude. It broke my heart to see Mickey Rouse and realize I’d never have him back again.

           “What makes it pleasant to see them again is that many of them have gone into basketball as coaches. Aggie Sale is at Harrodsburg, Red Hagan Fern Creek, Windy Blair Flemingsburg, Maurice Jackson at Lafayette, Ellis Johnson Morehead College, Elmo Head is at Irvine, Ralph Carlisle Madison, Dave Lawrence at Kavanaugh and Frenchy DeMoisey coaches a Greendale farm team.” After studying the alumni lineup he added, “Shucks, those boys have done alright.”

           With scrimmages and the 1940 version of an exhibition game behind them, Kentucky faced the first real opponent when West Virginia traveled to Lexington. The Cats had come out on top in a tight contest last season, pulling away late to win 47-38. The Mountaineers returned several players from that season’s squad and were much improved. West Virginia arrived in Lexington from Columbus, Ohio where they had lost to one of the Big Ten’s top teams, Ohio State by a score of 58-44. The Mountaineers stayed with the Buckeyes throughout most of the game, finally succumbing to the stronger Big Ten squad in the final 10 minutes. Coach Rupp had expressed concern with his team’s shooting. They had been struggling in practice since the first day and didn’t fair any better against an out of shape alumni team. The inability to score consistently can affect all phases of the offense, which in turn affects their confidence, which affects their shooting, which affects—well, you get the idea. Rupp expected a close contest and worked the Wildcats especially hard in practice hoping they would hit heir stride. It needed to come soon, because Kentucky was facing a tough two week stretch. After West Virginia on Thursday, UK faced Maryville on Friday; the following week…..three games on three consecutive nights at Nebraska , Creighton and Kansas State.

           Coach Chuck Raese’s West Virginia Mountaineers appeared ready to give Kentucky a real down to the wire battle. The Wildcats scored first, but the Mountaineers followed up quickly to move ahead 6-5. They added a bucket for an 8-5 lead before UK came back and tied it at 10-10. With about 10 minutes to go in the first half, the score was tied at 12-12, Chuck Raese began to substitute and the Cats began to pull away. The West Virginia starters may have been able to stay with Kentucky, but their reserves just weren’t up to the competition. At the break UK had moved out to a 34-20 lead.

           During the second half the Mountaineers did outscore Kentucky 14-12, but never really threatened to make a serious run at the Wildcats. The Kentucky crowd seemed intrigued by one West Virginia player named Scotty Hamilton. He led everyone in scoring with 16 points and while the fans were taken by his skill, they were as much or more so fascinated by his physique. Described as a chunky fellow, as wide as he was tall, there were obviously problems finding a uniform that would fit. His pants had to be held together with safety pins and he had no luck at all keeping his shirt tail tucked in. As usual Coach Rupp employed his bench liberally playing 10 players in the 46-34 win. Kentucky was led in scoring by sophomore reserve Milt Ticco with 12 points. Keith Farnsley, Lee Huber and Jim King all had seven each for the Cats. At one point in the second half a West Virginia substitute entered the game, then turned to his bench to inquire as to which player he was to guard. Standing in front of the UK bench Coach Rupp spoke up saying, “You are to guard #25.” Next up for Kentucky on the following evening was that Maryville team that Coach Rupp had insisted would be “plenty mean”.

           If this was the “mean” Maryville team Adolph Rupp had warned about before the season began then Kentucky should have no problem the rest of the way, of course it was all coach speak for the media. No one, including Rupp, expected the Highlanders to give the Wildcats any competition. The Cats struck on their first possession when Carl Staker broke open under the basket for an easy two. It was 8-0 before Bill Baird finally put Maryville on the board with a bucket. UK stretched the margin to 16 at 18-2 before the Highlanders could break into the scoring column again. At this point in the half they had what could be described as a “run”, outscoring Kentucky 6-2 to make it 20-8. The Cats returned the favor finishing the half with a 6-2 spurt of their own to lead 26-10 at intermission. In the second half it was more of the same and then some. The Wildcats almost shutout the Highlanders, holding them to just four points which came in the final four minutes. It was an easy 53-14 win with Coach Rupp clearing the bench. Carl Staker had 12 points, Lee Huber 10 and Milt Ticco added 10 for his second game in a row with double figures. Next up, that big three game trip to the Midwest.

           Coach Rupp arrived in Lincoln, Nebraska with 12 players, a trainer, manager and assistant coach. The UK coach and team were facing three tough opponents, in hostile environments, on three consecutive nights, with travel between and little time for rest. Aside from this the Cats would be facing more obstacles in the form of new equipment. Against Nebraska and Kansas State, both Big Six Conference members, they would find themselves firing at a totally strange object called the semi-circular backboard. Quite common on outside courts now, then it was about as foreign as a laced up basketball is today. The surface was quite a bit smaller than the square board. The idea was suggested by Kansas coach Phog Allen in an attempt to cut down scoring. Speaking of that laced up ball, another innovation the Wildcats were about to encounter was a molded ball that was constructed similar to a tennis ball. It had a rubber bladder that was filled with air then sealed. That was covered with a leather casing. There were no laces or air hole. I suppose, if it ever needed more air, you had to toss it and get a new one.

           Rupp was fairly confident the ball would not affect his team, but he wasn’t so sure about the backboards. “Several of our boys are pretty good shots from the corner and use the top of our boards for banking. If they try that out here, they’ll simply toss the ball out of bounds.” he commented. The 12 players Rupp brought on the trip were Lee Huber, Keith Farnsley, Waller White, Jim King, Carl Staker, Lloyd Ramsey, Milt Ticco, Mel Brewer, Carl Comb, Marvin Akers, Ken England and Ermal Allen.

           Kentucky’s trip out west got off to a rough start both figuratively and physically as the Wildcats and their finesse game were simply out-muscled by a big Nebraska squad. UK gained the lead three times late in the game, but the Cornhuskers came back each time moving out in front for the final time with about three minutes to play, 38-37. Nebraska held the ball until Sid Held broke open under the basket to score when the UK defense broke down. Farnsley threw in a long set shot to pull the Cats to one, 40-39, but the Huskers ran out the final 45 seconds to seal the win. The Wildcats fouled several times down the stretch, but Nebraska decided not to chance the free throw line and took the ball out of bounds. Don Fritz was the leading scorer with 12 points for Nebraska and Held added seven. Huber and Akers had eight each for Kentucky, followed by Farnsley and Staker with six each. They took their bruises to Omaha for the tilt with Creighton the following night.

           The scenery changed, but the results were about the same. Kentucky lost its second game on the trip at Creighton , 54-45. UK stayed close in the first half. Creighton jumped out to the lead early, but the Cats fought back to trail 16-14 with 10 minutes to go. Creighton then ran off seven straight to lead 23-14 with five minutes remaining. Milt Ticco entered the game and sparked a Wildcat spurt that had UK trailing by four at the half, 27-23. During the second half the squad from Omaha was too sharp for the Cats. With 14 minutes to play Creighton pulled away 41-28 and Kentucky never threatened again. The winners had two players with 12 a piece, Don Fleming and Dick Nolen, then nine each for Arthur Jaquay and Gene Haldeman. For the Cats King led with eight, Akers had five and four other players had four points each. Kentucky had one more chance to avoid the shutout on this road trip, in Manhattan, Kansas against Kansas State.

           Last season Jack Gardner had brought his first major college team to Alumni Gym where they were completely outplayed 53-26. Kansas State figured to be improved from the previous year, but Kentucky was still favored to gain an easy victory. As is often the case, things don’t always go the way they are supposed to. The results of the last stop on the trip were not exactly what the Cats and Coach Rupp had in mind. Oh UK came away on top, but 28-25 was closer and fewer points then was expected. It’s very possible the Wildcats were fatigued by the third contest with all the traveling involved. The lead never grew more then five points and changed hands eight times with four ties. UK’s play was obviously superior to that of their Kansas rivals, but their shooting eye belied them once again. The Wildcats were also fortunate that Kansas State missed 10 free throws or things might have been different. Farnsley scored eight points for Kentucky, Huber and King had five each. One out of three on the road and a very tired and banged up team was happy to be headed home for some much needed rest. Milt Ticco was the only casualty of the trip, suffering torn rib cartilage when he crashed into the bleachers at Creighton .

           When the Kentucky entourage returned from their Midwest tour Coach Rupp talked about the three games. “If Coach Horace Greeley said ‘Go west young man go west’, he must have said it before they had basketball teams out there. Personally I wouldn’t give that advice to me best enemy.

           “Besides finding a foot and a half of snow at Lincoln, we ran into the biggest crowd of basketball players we’ve ever seen. When our boys trotted out against Nebraska, they heard me gasp. The whole scene looked like something Walt Disney drew to get a laugh. Nebraska had two guards 6’4” and a center 6’6”. Not only that, they were physically huge. They banged us around as if we were church leaguers. Jim King, our center, was so beat up that he couldn’t take a mild rub down two days later.

           “Despite Nebraska’s superiority in size, we didn’t do so badly. If we had played a little smarter at the end, we might have won. But one of our boys took two long shots in the last minutes when we had a one point lead. We should have been putting on the merry-go-round freeze act. Nebraska recovered one of those long shots and went down the floor and took away our lead. On top of that careless playing, we were hampered by foul interpretations. In the first half, Nebraska had 20 foul shots and we had seven. Three of my regulars had three personal fouls each at the end of the first half, so we had to be too cautious.

           “Now this next bunch, Creighton , is the greatest basketball team I’ve ever seen. Creighton is loaded with dead shots. I think their shooting average was 45% against us. But the most attractive quality of the team is its speed. Those Creighton boys can cover the length of the floor in three strides. We lost to Creighton 54-45, a nine point difference, but we played our best game against them. We fought hard, shot with them and but for one hot streak they had we might have done better. Right after the second half started, Creighton took five shots from the middle of the floor and every one of them went right in. Couldn’t stop them. We were sick. Creighton comes to Cincinnati January 3rd to play Xavier. And I’m inviting all the skeptics to go along with me just to show you I’m not kidding about this Creighton outfit. It’s a great team. I think it’s on par with my 1935 club.

           “At Kansas State, the last stop, we had trouble but won 28-25. Kansas State has a much better club now than it had last year when we beat it easily at Lexington. They really had the noise organization. They cheered so hard for their team, we felt a little guilty about beating them.” From the lips of Adolph Rupp! The Kentucky coach’s humor didn’t stop there adding the meals they received along the way were outstanding. He said the players were feed so well… “I was afraid we might have some deserters.”

           Despite losing two of three games, Rupp appeared to feel the trip provided good experience for his players saying, ...“we are not downhearted. We had 12 players with us and each one played plenty. They picked up lots of experience. Right now, we’re thinking about Indiana and the Sugar Bowl.” Of course as was the case during the years Adolph Rupp was at UK, what the media and public heard was quite different then what the players heard. “If you had played against Nebraska like you did against Creighton,” Rupp told the players, “you might have beaten them. And if you had played against Creighton like you did against Kansas State, you might have won that one. But you didn’t. And now we’ll have to worry about Indiana.” Before Indiana, the Wildcats had an encounter with Centenary. to deal with. Players are told to never over-look anyone, but there are a few times that even coaches don’t follow their own advice. In this case there would be no need for worry.

           Christmas had arrived and Coach Rupp had given his players a brief vacation, allowing them to return home for the holiday. Rupp turned them loose Christmas Eve with strict orders to be back the day after Christmas by 4:30pm. All the players left Lexington but four. Lee Huber, Jim King, Carl Combs and Ermal Allen were treated to Christmas dinner as guests of Adolph Rupp Jr.

           The Centenary. Gentlemen brought a veteran team to Lexington. It was one of the best ever for the Shreveport, Louisiana school…..at least according to Adolph Rupp. This is the same coach that declared after the recent Midwest trip he was concerned “next” with Indiana. It was possible Centenary could give Kentucky a bit of a challenge. They were undefeated; their starting five consisted of senior Lurlin Harmon and four juniors; A.R. Jowers, Alex Penny, Ed Murphy and Melbourne Crawford. Among their reserves were three more seniors, so they had experience. But the consensus was the Wildcats would have no trouble coming up with another W. Rupp was still not satisfied with the offense and wanted more scoring punch. Marvin Akers, who had been playing well, would replace Carl Staker at guard and Ermal Allen would start at forward in place of Waller White. Allen had gotten a late start playing football, but had improved steadily. Rupp also decided to move Staker from the guard position to forward, most likely because Milt Ticco had not recovered sufficiently from his rib injury to see action. Ticco had played so well it’s possible he could have moved into the starting line-up had he not been injured. The other starters would remain at their usual positions. It was hard to get a ticket to a UK basketball game even 60 years ago. Much like today, fans took advantage of the fact that students were away for the holidays to get a seat to see the Wildcats play.

           It was a Sugar Bowl tune-up of sorts for Kentucky, but it was a nightmare for the Gentlemen of Centenary. Using a new line-up, the Wildcats completely flabbergasted the boys from Shreveport. The Ruppmen used a lightning fast break to race through and around their bewildered opponents. They cut loose time after time to score on fast-breaking plays that ended with a Big Blue cager driving in for a well-timed crip shot. Kentucky raced out to a 43-11 lead at the break and held Centenary to one field goal in the second half winning 70-18.

           Rupp was looking for more scoring and better shooting accuracy and the change in the starting five worked right out of the gate. Farnsley broke the ice first for the Cats, then AR Jowers tied it for the Gents. Farnsley hit again from the top of the circle and that was it for Centenary. King, Huber, Allen and Akers all fired in field goals in the next two minutes and with 10 to go in the first half Kentucky held a 24-8 lead. While UK’s shooting eye was much sharper, hitting 29 of 66 attempts for 44%, Centenary. not only hit only one field goal in the second half, but made just four for the entire contest finishing at 07% for the game. Lee Huber led the scoring with 12, Jim King and Farnsley both added nine each and Mel Brewer scored eight.

           For the second year in a row the Kentucky Wildcats were headed to the Sugar Bowl. The Cats were making their third trip to New Orleans and had won their other two contests against Pittsburgh in 1938 and last year against Ohio State.

           Rupp didn’t seem to be giving the Cats much of a chance, but he did say they had been showing improvement. “In defeating Centenary. Friday, the team displayed more speed and finesse than it ever has this season. The fast break we employed against Centenary. worked, although our competition had plenty to do with the large score we ran up.”

           Rupp said the same five that opened against Centenary. would start the Sugar Bowl game. “King is banged up considerably and may not be able to play the whole game.” said Rupp. “Ticco, a substitute forward, is also on the ailing list. Aside from those two boys, the squad is in good shape for Indiana.”

           While declaring his team huge underdogs, Rupp admitted he felt they had a good chance if they could put together a solid performance. “As to who will win, I couldn’t say because my boys are capable of playing a better brand of basketball then they have exhibited so far this year. If we are hot, we’ll give the Hoosiers plenty of trouble.”

           The Sugar Bowl has changed considerably over the years. At one time it was not just a football game, but a host of athletic events and other attractions for an entire week. The athletes of all the various sports were treated to outings around the city and there were banquets where the public could meet the participants…..all for a price of course. The first activity for the basketball squads was the Sugar Bowl track meet, where the players and coaches were introduced to the crowd. This outing was cut short for the Hoosiers when several of them complained of being sick. Coach Branch McCracken took his team to the hotel and later said some of them were probably suffering from air sickness. Indiana had flown into New Orleans from California while Kentucky had traveled by train. McCracken said five players were most affected and that he would not attempt to put his squad through a practice. “I’ve got them all in bed.” he said. “Some of the guys are pretty sick. We cancelled a workout tonight and probably won’t be able to work at all Monday. There was a storm over the mountains last night and we hit some pretty rough weather. It’s hard to say what the team can do Monday night.”

           Coach Adolph Rupp brought the same 12 man squad that had made the Midwest swing earlier. They had a spirited practice before a large crowd at the Young Hebrew Men’s Association Gym. “We’re as ready as we ever will be.” Rupp said. “We expect as great a game as always here. We’re pulling for our third Sugar Bowl victory.”

           No matter where Adolph Rupp went, with or without his basketball team, people were interested. His personality and unusual sense of humor seemed to intrigue everyone. More often then not, when Kentucky participated in an event like the Sugar Bowl, Rupp was asked to speak at some gathering. One only has to listen two minutes to that dead-panned, hill-billy drawl of his to understand why other speakers might suddenly develop creeping indigestion when they learn they are to appear on the same program with him. He can get up on his hind legs and make an impromptu talk that keeps his listeners in spasms. One certainly didn’t want to have to follow Rupp to the rostrum, you just couldn’t top him. The man’s popularity was shown by the fact that he was invited to speak at the New Orleans Quarterback Club, a football organization, during Sugar Bowl week, where the main event was the football game.

           Rupp demonstrated his quick wit when someone asked, do you proselyte your basketball players? “Well, you see, we just have a little bunch of mountain boys who come down to get a little education. You know we’re poor folks up there in Kentucky and the boys get an acre of ground up on a hill or down in a hollow and plant corn. Of course they have to liquidate their crop to get money to come to school and we have to help market the product. That’s as far as we go in proselyting. They’re just a skinny, scrawny bunch of boys doing the best they can.”

           Rupp was asked to pick the Sugar Bowl winner. “Well, now, I’m glad you asked me that. There’s a game I know something about. I’m probably the first football coach to ever have a perfect record. I never won a game. I’d like to try coaching football again. I’ve figured out a lot of plays I’d like to try out. I understand there are a lot of good jobs open.”

           Rupp would have to put aside his football aspirations and concentrate on a tough Indiana team. When Rupp said Kentucky was the biggest underdog in Sugar Bowl history, he was exaggerating a bit, but not much. The Wildcats were not expected to win this one. As a matter of fact, almost no one believed UK would be able to even stay close to the Hoosiers.

           Described as the largest crowd to ever see a basketball game in the city of New Orleans, approximately 7500 filled Municipal Auditorium to watch Indiana and Kentucky. Branch McCracken’s squad had apparently recovered from their bout with air sickness, as none of the Hoosiers appeared to be having any difficulties at all. Indiana had an advantage in height, but the Wildcats should be quicker and had used quickness to overcome taller opponents many times over the years. The Hoosiers intended to make it a rough and tumble affair, but the Cats were used to mixing up.

           Indiana jumped ahead early 13-3 and it appeared the game might get out of hand before intermission. During the next few minutes, the Cats began to warm-up and outscored the Hoosiers 11-1 to tie the game at 14-14. Lee Huber fired in a long shot and Kentucky took the lead, but Indiana was not fazed, making a run of their own to take a 26-22 halftime lead.

           The second half was very similar to the first. Indiana got off to another fast start scoring eight points before UK could get on the board. For several minutes the two teams fought to a stalemate. Then with eight minutes to play and trailing 42-30, Huber began to get hot for the Wildcats. Before long, what had seemed like an insurmountable lead began to disappear. With each step closer the Wildcats made, the crowd became louder and more excited. Huber was the Cats number one option and each shot he hit was further out on the floor than the last. The Sugar Bowl crowd reached a frenzy when Milt Ticco’s 20 foot set shot pulled Kentucky to within one at 44-43 with just under two minutes to play. Curly Armstrong, who had seemed to be everywhere, extended the Indiana lead to 46-43 with a short jumper. Even though UK had hoped to out-quick the Hoosiers, Armstrong had played havoc with the Kentucky defense, driving by the Wildcats time after time. Twice, Armstrong drove the length of the floor, then dribbled through the UK defense for crip shots. The Hoosiers added a free throw to make it 47-43. With one minute remaining, the Cats were unable to shake the tight Indiana defense for open look. Finally Huber fired up a towering shot from far out on the floor that was dead on the mark. However, the Wildcats could not come up with a steal as Indiana ran out the clock, adding a free throw by Bill Menke to make the final score 48-45.

           Kentucky had lost the game, but their stirring rally had won over the crowd which gave the Cats and Huber a rousing ovation. Branch McCracken claimed the final 10 minutes had been more nerve racking than any of last season’s NCAA tournament games. The IU coach added, “Kentucky is the best team we’ve played all season.” Armstrong and Menke finished with 14 points each for Indiana. Huber led UK with 12 and Ticco continued his strong play with 10. Huber’s performance during the Sugar Bowl games he participated in, earned him a place on the All-Time Sugar Bowl team. Huber has pretty good company; Bob Cousey-Holy Cross and the Boston Celtics; Paul Arizin-Villanova and the Philadelphia Warriors; Bob Davies-Seton Hall and the Rochester Royals; and Ed MaCauley-St. Louis University and several pro teams. After some thought, may be it’s THESE guys that are in pretty good company with Lee Huber.

           History seemed to be repeating itself. Last season Rupp’s team had been hit by flu, strep throat and just plain old colds. Lee Huber had been one of the players most severely affected, after getting off to a great start. He was one of the two leading scorers before becoming ill and he never really recovered to his early season form. When the UK team returned to Lexington from New Orleans, Lee Huber and Milt Ticco were taken straight from the train station to Good Samaritan Hospital. Huber was suffering from a high temperature and congestion. Ticco’s problems on the other hand appeared more serious. Ticco was experiencing severe abdominal pain and doctors speculated he may have been suffering from appendicitis. If that wasn’t enough, it seemed every other player had come down with some type of virus or another. Last year it had hit the team after the Notre Dame game, now it was coming before. Coach Rupp’s chances of getting his first win against the Irish looked doubtful.

           Adolph Rupp’s troubles mounted; just two days before the Notre Dame game, two of the Wildcat regulars that had not been sick, were dismissed from practice and ordered to bed by doctors. Keith Farnsley and Jim King joined Huber and Ticco as players that may be unable to see action against the Irish. Later, there was a bit of good news. It appeared Huber and Ticco were beginning to improve. The fears that Ticco could be having trouble with his appendix, fortunately were not true. Doctors reported he would be released later in the day. Rupp said he would have to see how Ticco performed in practice before knowing if he could play on Saturday night. However Huber’s doctors said they would have to wait and see how long he would have to remain hospitalized.

           A well known name connected with college basketball over the years was in the news the day before the Notre Dame-Kentucky contest. Notre Dame announced that former Irish basketball star Ray Meyer was being appointed assistant basketball coach. Meyer had been Notre Dame Captain from 1936-38. Meyer was named to assist Coach George Keogan after doctors suggested he cut back on his coaching activities. The condition of Keogan’s health wasn’t revealed, only that Meyer would be taking over some of the coaching responsibilities. Meyer became head coach of DePaul University in 1942 and had a long successful career. Unfortunately, some of his notoriety fell under the infamous variety when a couple of his best teams were eliminated in the early rounds of the NCAA tournament by teams that were huge underdogs. In 1981 DePaul entered the tournament as the #1 team in the nation, but was upset by St. Joseph, 49-48, in their first game in the second round.

           George Keogan had a string of five victories over Adolph Rupp and it goes with out saying the Wildcat coach wanted to beat the Irish about as much as he wanted air to breathe. Last season Kentucky had been unable to defend Notre Dame star Ed Riska who had a big scoring night. UK had the height advantage inside with Marion Cluggish, but he was out-rebounded by smaller, quicker players and the Cats weren’t able to feed the ball to him because of the Irish defense. Now Rupp and his Wildcats were facing another uphill battle against what had become one of their fiercest rivals. Notre Dame put experience and talent on the floor and even a healthy Kentucky squad would have its hands full. Along with Riska, the Irish returned three starters from last year’s team; Bob Smith, George Sobek and Larry Ryan. Several new players had been added to the varsity roster, the best of which was center Frank Quinn.

           On game day most of the sick Wildcats seemed well enough to play, but it was difficult to say how well or long they could go. Most of them had not been able to spend much time on the practice floor. Ticco on the other hand, had looked so good that Coach Rupp was seriously considering putting the sharp-shooting sophomore into the starting line-up. Ticco had played well all season and lately had been making a strong bid to break into that first five. Meanwhile, the Wildcat medical report showed Jim King and Keith Farnsley back at practice Friday. Lee Huber remained in the hospital, but his temperature was back to normal and he had told Coach Rupp he would be with the team when they left for Louisville. A Lee Huber at less than 100%, was better than no Lee Huber at all. While all the sick players were in some stage of recovery or another, Adolph Rupp was taking no chances. He brought in two varsity reserve players, Vince Splane and J.S. Robertson. Both players had been seeing action with the Lost Battalion squad.

           When Notre Dame and Kentucky met on the hardwood, it always turned out to be a highly competitive and hard fought contest. This season’s game would be that and more-much more. The teams provided the Jefferson County Armory crowd with thrilling scoring runs, exciting ball handling and brilliant offense; followed by minutes of air-tight defense. For a time in the early going it appeared the flu-riddled Wildcats might make a battle of it, leading 11-10 after the first 10 minutes. The momentum was about to change though, Huber who had basically came from the hospital to the playing floor, had to come out of the game for a rest. At that point it seemed the entire UK squad ran out of gas along with him. The Irish charged ahead to take a 28-19 lead at the half. The Cats were a hopeless-looking bunch when they dragged themselves to the locker-room.

           When the second half began Notre Dame scored eight quick points on two long field goals, followed by a couple of shots underneath the basket. It looked like that was it for Kentucky. The Irish had pushed their lead to 36-19 with just over two minutes played. At that point Carl Staker entered the game and immediately hit a long hook shot that seemed to spark the Wildcats. Though it would be his only points of the night, his aggressive play was contagious. Waller White, who had basically been a two point a game man so far, really came on strong. During the next eight minutes Kentucky cut into the Irish lead with a 15-3 run, fueled by White, Huber and Brewer. Notre Dame could only muster three free throws during the eight minute stretch and saw their 17 point margin sliced to five at 39-34 with just over seven minutes to play. The first half had been a hard physical game, but now with the Wildcats making a serious charge, both teams really turned up the heat. The late scrapping made the early contact look like a pink tea party. During one mix-up Staker suffered a cut to the eye brow. He came to the sideline, wiped off the blood, put a piece of tape on it and went right back into the fray.

           When the game reached the four minute mark, Notre Dame had only been able to hit two more field goals, but had stayed in front at the free throw line. It became a contrast of strategies; Kentucky racing up the court to score quickly, while the Irish tried to stall out the clock on their end. With 1:30 remaining, UK trailed 47-43 on the scoreboard. Waller White had poured in 13 points and after Lloyd Ramsey missed a free throw, White grabbed the rebound and put it back in. With their lead down to two, the Irish refused to shoot, even after Huber committed a deliberate foul. Notre Dame may have regretted not attempting to put another point on the board, because moments later Huber stole the ball and charged down the court. The Wildcats worked the ball around until Marvin Akers fired up a shot with :15 seconds to go. It missed, but Huber was waiting for the rebound and put it in for a 47-47 tie. The pro UK crowd which had been worked up to a frenzy by this point, roared its approval and when Kentucky almost stole the inbounds pass, the air was electric with anticipation of an exciting over-time period. But Kentucky and their fans were in for a very disappointing surprise.

           Moments after time expired in regulation, the officials were called to the scorers table. As both fans and players wondered what it was all about, the discussion continued for two or three long minutes. At one point the officials were behind the table looking over the scoring sheets. Finally both coaches were called over and after a brief explanation it was announced the game was over and Notre Dame had won 48-47. At first the players and crowd looked confused, but as it began to sink in, the Irish began to congratulate one another, while the Wildcats stood with bewildered looks of disbelief on their faces. Coach Rupp had remained calm for a few moments, but was now standing at the scorers table with the rest of the UK players demanding to be shown the records.

           During the next several minutes it seemed anyone who had kept a record of the games stats were being called to the floor. Both teams own scoring sheets were compared to the official ones. Sportswriters scoring records were pored over and over, as a stunned crowd stayed hoping, as was Kentucky, that a mistake had been made. Unfortunately for UK, after going over all the records several times, it was apparent Notre Dame had won. At some point during the late stages of the game, the scoreboard operator had failed to add a Notre Dame free throw to the board. The contest had reached such an exciting pitch, that no one noticed. It was tough to lose a close game, but the manner in which it occurred was a bitter disappointment to the Kentucky players. It had been the best opportunity to knock off the squad from South Bend since Adolph Rupp had become coach, but instead it turned out to be their sixth loss in a row to the Irish. While the UK players were upset, the crowd had become so angry they almost started a riot. Considering Kentucky’s physical condition, their near win was an outstanding result. If both teams had been completely healthy, Notre Dame would have still been a solid favorite. Rupp had to hope his troops would get healthy quickly and use this game as incentive for the rest of the season.

           Despite having not yet recovered from the flu, Huber had a good outing, scoring nine points and stealing several passes. Mel Brewer started in place of Jim King and finished with eight points, but made only two of seven free throws. Aside from his errant tries from the charity stripe, he played well over all. The surprise of the night was Waller White’s game high 15 points. In last season’s clash, Ed Riska had led the Notre Dame attack, this time UK was able to subdue him somewhat, holding him to six points. While the Cats had held Riska in check, Cyrines Singer hit them with 14 and George Sobek put nine on the board.

           Kentucky had suffered two tough losses in a row; one where they may have just ran out of time and the other in which they ran out of luck. Their next encounter would take place in Cincinnati against Xavier. Kentucky had dominated the series between the two teams winning 11 of 12 games, but the Musketeers always made those wins hard to come by. This time UK was a clear favorite…..that is according to the media experts. On the other hand Coach Rupp warned everyone a victory over the Musketeers was no foregone conclusion. The UK coach pointed out that Xavier always played harder against Kentucky than against other opponents; something that Kentucky basketball has had to deal with to this very day. In one of two contests last season, Xavier had battled Kentucky to a tie in regulation only to lose by one point in overtime. The Musketeers attack would likely be led by a couple of Louisville natives, Bert Robben and Bill Gates. Gates was a former St. Xavier High School teammate of Lee Huber. Both players were doing extremely well at their respective schools. Huber was captaining the Wildcats and Gates led the Musketeers.

           The Cats record now stood at 4-4, not quite the mark the man in the brown suit had hoped for. This Kentucky squad was certainly not the tallest, fastest or strongest team Rupp had ever had; they did, however, have a good basketball IQ and were talented enough to beat any team. Of course while they could beat anyone out there, they could just as easily lose to any of those same squads.

           Kentucky’s inconsistent season was about to go through a yo-yo period. The Cats stopped a two game losing streak with a win over Xavier, 48-43. Adolph Rupp was right, it was a tight game all the way to the end. Rupp used only seven players, which was unusual. The Baron normally ran as many as 12 players in and out of a contest. It may have been due to the illness that had run through the squad, some of the players had not completely recovered. Keith Farnsley had started the game, but after six minutes it was obvious he just couldn’t get going. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Rupp replaced him with Milt Ticco who proceeded to burn up the nets. Ticco scored 18 points in the first half, accounting for Kentucky’s last 16 by himself. Still the Musketeers were hanging with Kentucky, trailing just 27-22 at halftime.

           The second half was nip and tuck. After 10 minutes UK had pulled away to a 33-24 margin, but just three minutes later the Musketeers had cut the lead to three, at 36-33. The Wildcats stretched their lead back to nine at 48-39 with a minute to go. Xavier added two more field goals to make the final 48-43. Ticco was the star of the night finishing with 26 points for the Wildcats, Jim King had nine and Waller White added seven. Two Kentucky boys were the top scorers for the Musketeers, Gates with 11 and Robben 14. So much for the up yo.

           The down yo came two days later at Morgantown, West Virginia. Kentucky ran head on into a Mountaineer buzz saw that was primed to avenge an earlier loss at the hands of the Wildcats. West Virginia jumped to the front right away and Kentucky could never catch up. UK did make a couple of hard charges. After trailing 15-4 early, the Cats fought back to trail 28-24 at the half. In the second half Kentucky played well enough to stay close for awhile, but the Mountaineers maintained their lead and eventually pulled away 47-32. The final count was 56-43. The West Virginia starters scored all but two of their 56 points. Rudy Baric had 18, Jimmy Ruch and Scotty Hamilton added 12 points each, Roger Hicks eight and Samual Mandich four. Kentucky’s top man was Ken England with nine, Carl Combs had seven and Lloyd Ramsey six.

           It went without saying that Huber’s presence on the floor was important, but it was now clear the Ticco’s loss was just as damaging. Huber had been one of the best guards in the country for two years, but Ticco was a big surprise and was the leading scorer for the Cats so far. Both players had been injured in the Xavier game and Coach Rupp was not sure if either would be ready for UK’s next contest. If they couldn’t go it was coming at a difficult time for the Wildcats because the next game was at Tennessee.

           Kentucky took their .500 record to Knoxville to face their first Southeastern Conference opponent. John Mauer had developed Tennessee into a championship contender in the conference and they were at their most competitive when they saw Kentucky on their opponent’s jersey. The Volunteers and Wildcats were considered co-favorites for this season’s conference title. This first match-up would give one for them a leg up in that chase. It appeared both teams may have to go into this game at less than full strength. Though nothing official had been reported, there was word that both Volunteer starting guards were suffering from influenza and may be unable to play. Adolph Rupp was left to ponder his own starting line-up. While Huber likely would be ready to go, Ticco was still hobbled with his leg injury and it was looking more and more unlikely that he would see action. Ticco’s unexpected play had basically over-shadowed everyone on the Wildcat squad. His absence would certainly be a handicap to Kentucky. Rupp may not have his star sophomore forward, but he felt the rest of the Cats were in pretty good shape.

           “The boys have battled off the flu pretty well this week and should be ready to make Tennessee run pretty hard. I would say we are underdogs in this game, mostly because Milt Ticco may not play. Tick has a sore shin and it won’t heal. He won’t play but a few minutes if he plays at all. However Lee Huber will be at guard along with Ken England, Keith Farnsley and Waller White will be at forward and Jim King at center.” Rupp added, “Ermal Allen might start in place of Farnsley, I just don’t know.” Farnsley’s play had not been up to par with his results of last season. He had particularly not played well in recent games. Rupp said it should not surprise anyone if they saw Carl Staker at center. Staker had begun the year as a guard, but was moved to forward and now might be used in the middle. Rupp said the reason for moving Staker around was to help his scoring potential.

           Rupp said he had not been very happy with his team’s workouts in the past couple of days. “On Monday,” he remarked, “we held coughing practice, on Tuesday we held missing practice, missing the basket, Wednesday we were so bad I let the freshman team come in and demonstrate what I wanted. Thursday we looked better, but not good and this afternoon we were all thinking solemnly of Tennessee.” Though he considered Tennessee the stronger team at the moment, as usual he expected his boys to give a hard battle. “We’ll be in there from start to finish and if we click Tennessee won’t win by a lopsided score. Tennessee has a tough team despite the fact it has dropped several decisions this season. We’ll be playing for keeps,” continued Rupp, “for the remainder of our games are the ones that count most. But remember, against Tennessee we’re the underdogs.”

           It could be said to an extent every game Kentucky played was a rivalry game; everyone wanted to beat the Wildcats. While that may have been stretching things a bit, it was pretty much true against any of the SEC teams. Some games were more intense than others and none were more so than when the Cats faced Tennessee. Over the years Kentucky and especially Rupp seemed to bring out the craziness in fans when UK went on the road. At this period the craziest place had to be Knoxville. They had a hecklers row section just above the visitor’s bench that was always filled when Rupp brought his team to town and the jabs that came out of there would rival the best efforts of any Brooklyn fan. It was said the game was almost incidental to Rupp’s appearance; 50% of the crowd watched the game and 50% watched Rupp. Adolph said he couldn’t understand why the Knoxville crowd was always laying for him. “I’ve never done anything to them, ‘cept cuss ‘em out a few times, just like any Kentucky fan would.” Rupp observed. “In my recollection, Tennessee is the only school in the nation that has an official section for hecklers who do nothing but ride the visiting coach and his players. Somebody, not me, ought to name the Tennessee arena, ‘Ebbetts Gym’ in comparison to the famous hecklers place in Brooklyn.” Though Rupp was considered the villain and a complainer, he usually took the ribbing good naturedly and he could dish it out too. During last season’s SEC Tournament final, Tennessee fans were still smarting over the Vols loss to Southern California in the Rose Bowl, at one point they were really getting after Rupp. Tennessee took the lead briefly late in the game, when they did hecklers began to ask Rupp what his excuse was going to be this time. Rupp turned and said, “My boys are tired, they just came back from the Rose Bowl.” That ended most of the heckling. While Rupp’s sense of humor wasn’t always appreciated and he could be sarcastic at times, he had a gift for amusing quotes and quick wit. As he finished his talk with the sports media he asked, “Where’s my ear plugs?”

           Kentucky versus Tennessee; coaches, players and fans had come to expect a fierce battle every time they met and the majority of the time that’s exactly what they got. When the teams took the floor, Volunteer starting guards Gilbert Huffman and Paul Herman were not in uniform. What normally would have been an advantage for Kentucky simply meant this time the two teams were probably about evenly matched because several UK players were still not up to full speed from the colds and flu that had run through the team.

           As happens many times at the beginning of a big game, one or both teams have their adrenalin flowing so high they’re unable to do anything. That appeared to be the case in this one as it took eight minutes for anyone to dent the scoreboard. Mike Balitaris, subbing for Huffman, finally got the first point of the game hitting a charity toss for the Volunteers. Jim King broke the ice for the Cats a few moments later with a long shot. Both teams got going and the rest of the half was tight with neither team getting more than a two point lead. In the final minute of the half, with Tennessee leading 15-13, Ermal Allen nailed a long set shot just before the buzzer to tie the game at intermission.

           Both teams got off to a fast pace in the second half, but while Kentucky was matching Tennessee’s intensity, they weren’t getting any results. The Volunteers on the other hand were making their quick start pay off. On their first possession Balitaris dribbled right through the Wildcat defense for a crip shot. Veteran Vol Bernie Mehen hit a short jumper, then Buzzy O’Neil, who was playing for Herman, cashed in two free throws. Frank Thomas scored on a slick pivot move and when Doc Clark broke open for a crip shot the score was 25-15. It was seven minutes before Ermal Allen threw in a long jumper for UK. Kentucky’s long scoring droughts were their downfall. The Vols had been able to dribble through the Wildcat defense for easy crip shots, but on the other end they were forcing the Cats to fire up long shots of which not nearly enough connected. The final score was 32-22, which meant Kentucky had scored just seven points in the second half. It was the lowest output in a half for the season so far.

           John Mauer used just seven players in the game, but to be honest the five starters actually did all the work. Mauer used two substitutes to relay instructions from the bench and they remained on the floor only a few seconds at a time. Balitaris had been having trouble hitting his shots, so he was fitted with a pair of glasses earlier in the week and his accuracy improved immediately. Those glasses came in handy as he and Bernie Mehen both scored six points. Clark led with nine, Thomas seven and O’Neil had four. The best UK could do was King with five, Huber, Allen and England had four points each.

           May be Kentucky should have had the advantage in this contest. True they were missing Ticco and several players were still a bit weak from the flu, but Tennessee was without both starting guards which can be a major handicap for any squad. Kentucky may have had the physical edge, but the Volunteers came into the game psychologically fired up and displayed sheer determination to win from start to finish. That fact was not lost on Adolph Rupp either.

           “Tennessee outfought us all the way.” He said. “Those boys were keyed up for the game. I’ve never seen such a scrapping team. We scored only 22 points, the lowest we’ve been held to in a long time.”

           Former UK coach John Mauer was pleased with the results. “I’m the proudest man in the world,” he said. “In all my coaching experience I’ve never seen a team display the morale and spirit my boys showed. Every player was splendid”

           Kentucky was near the bottom of the standings, but it was early. The conference records were quirky during this period of time. UK had played its first SEC game, while some other teams had played eight. Vandy was in last place with a record of 0-2. Kentucky was next at 0-1, then came Mississippi 1-7 and Georgia at 1-2. The top squad in the conference was a surprise. Georgia Tech,was in the lead with a 2-0 mark, Auburn in second 1-0, third was Florida at 5-1, Tulane was fourth with a record of 3-1, then Alabama 4-3, Mississippi State and LSU tied at 4-4 and Tennessee 1-1. From time to time there had been talk of discontinuing the tournament and establishing the champion by winning percentage, but there was never any mention of making certain all teams played an equal number of games. Apparently at this point in time, it was not an issue.

           Conference leader Georgia Tech would be Kentucky’s next opponent in Atlanta. By all reasoning they should be down near the bottom and the Cats up at the top. Tech coach Roy Mundorff’s team was made up of seven inexperienced sophomores and three veteran players. It was a team that was not expected to have much of a season, but there they were with an overall mark of 6-0. Despite their undefeated record, this would be the game that would tell the tale for the Yellow Jackets and most folks figured they would have their hands full.

           Beat up, sniffling and coughing, the Wildcats took advantage of the inexperienced Yellow Jackets and when it was over the young Tech squad may have felt like they had just experienced a modern day version of Sherman’s march to Atlanta. The Wildcats took control of the game from the opening tip. Kentucky throttled the Jacket sharp-shooters who had been averaging 50 points a game. UK frustrated the Yellow Jackets to the point they were left throwing up long desperate shots that seldom found their mark. The quick Kentucky defenders darted in to pick off pass after pass, many of them leading to easy crip shots. Huber was especially adept at thievery, intercepting several passes in both halves. The Yellow Jacket fans had little to cheer about, as Georgia Tech suffered its first defeat of the year 47-37. The final score was a bit deceiving for it was really not that close. Tech had two players with 10 points each, Hoyt Blackwell and Carlton Lewis. The Cats had three players in double figures and almost a fourth. Huber and Brewer scored 12 each, Ramsey had 10 and Ermal Allen finished with nine.

           For the second year in a row, the Kentucky basketball team had been hit by a wave of illness in the middle of their schedule. It seemed almost every player had suffered some type of cold or flu at one point or another and some of them had still not fully recovered. Huber and Farnsley had been hit hardest it seemed. Last season Huber caught a bug sometime after the Notre Dame game and never regained the form he had before becoming sick. At least this year had played well despite being sick to some degree or another for several games. Farnsley on the other hand, seemed to be experiencing the same problem Huber had last season. Since Farnsley became sick his play had dropped considerably. One of the most consistent players from last year, Farnsley appeared ready to repeat that performance and possibly better it, but in the last several games, he had been completely shutout of the scoring column. If you had told a Kentucky follower, before the season began, that would happen, he would have probably offered to sell you farm land in the Florida Everglades. If all of that wasn’t enough, now the UK coach had contracted a severe cold. Adolph Rupp reluctantly entered Good Samaritan Hospital the day before the Wildcats faced Xavier at Alumni Gym. Doctors had strongly advised Rupp not to attend the game, but the Baron was somewhat……stubborn. He would have to be practically dead before he would miss a game.

           Over the years Xavier had won just one game against the Wildcats in 13 tries. Clem Crowe’s Musketeers had already lost earlier to the Cats and he had decided to try some changes to reverse his team’s fortunes. The games in Cincinnati were usually close, while those in Lexington had been more one-sided. Crowe hoped a line-up change would help his team’s scoring punch. “I intend to move Bert Robben from center to forward,” said Crowe, “Then slip 6’5” sophomore Stan Zenze into the pivot spot. We may try one or two more changes as well.”

           Those changes paid off and Xavier beat Kentucky 49-44. The Musketeers grabbed the lead moments after the tip-off and was never headed. UK fell behind by several points three or four times during the contest, but was able to pull back to within striking distance each time; unfortunately they never completely caught up. It was a very physical game and the Cats downfall was probably due to that reason. The Musketeers man-handled the Wildcats, controlling the boards at both ends of the floor and tipping in many missed field goal attempts. Jim King was the only Wildcat able to get on the boards and fight with Xavier. While he played only a portion of the second half, he led UK in scoring with 10 points. All but one of his field goals came on tip-ins. The game was described as rough, rip snorting, a mayhem and a travesty on the game of basketball, among other things. Up and down the court the two blood thirsty bands raced. It was pitch and duck, and the devil take the hindmost. And if you didn’t get tripped or tromped on, or slammed pretty rudely in one of the scrimmages, you stood a good chance of getting an arm pulled off or a shoulder knocked out of joint.

           It was Xavier’s first win in Lexington and only their second ever over Kentucky. Bill Gates and Bert Robben came through big this time scoring 16 and 12 points respectively. Along with King’s 10 points, Waller White and Mel Brewer put up seven a piece and Ramsey and Huber finished with five each.

           Doctors had urged Coach Rupp to remain in the hospital, but that stubborn streak won out and the UK coach was in his normal spot on the bench when the Cats took on Xavier. Rupp had persuaded his doctor’s to permit him to leave the hospital to direct his squad. They probably realized if they forbid him to do it, he would have just left anyway. Rupp sat on the bench wrapped in a huge overcoat with his doctor directly behind him. His presence though on this night, was not enough for Kentucky. Rupp returned straight to the hospital after the game. The next day he had company when Lee Huber had to enter the hospital for the second time of the season. Huber hadn’t exactly contracted another virus, but had never really recovered from the earlier one. Even though he had been in the line-up, he had been playing sick. Huber had been feeling better, but had suffered a sort of relapse overnight. UK was set to depart on a two game road trip to Vanderbilt and Alabama. Huber had told the coaching staff he would be ready to go when the team left for Nashville. It was hoped he would not be needed much if at all.

           The Commodores had still not won an SEC game and was in last place in the standings. It would appear to be a good chance for a UK win, but considering all the adversity Kentucky had been faced with, anything could happen. UK missed Ticco whose leg injury just would not heal. Doctor’s had been baffled by the nature of the injury. Despite a thorough examination, it had still not been diagnosed, nor had the cause been established. Since doctors did not know what they were dealing with, they were unable to treat it properly. The coaches had a real dilemma, it was impossible to tell if Ticco would last a minute or an entire game. Kentucky did have Huber, but at less than 100%; of course a Huber at half speed was better than no Huber at all. And, they might have Ticco, and they might not. And another set back could be looming-a road trip with out Coach Rupp. Rupp had made it to the Xavier game, but it was being reported that his doctors were absolutely forbidding him to make the current trip. If that was the case, it would be the first time in his career that he would miss a road game.

           Coach Rupp’s doctors put their foot down and the Wildcat coach was not with his team when they left for games at Nashville and then Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The man in the brown suit was a very sick man. Assistant coach Paul McBrayer took the reins for Coach Rupp. Mc Brayer had been assistant coach for Rupp since 1934 and was a very capable basketball coach in his own right. He had played on all three of John Mauer’s UK teams and was named All-American as a senior in 1930. McBrayer played with some of the top Wildcat players of the period, such as All-Southern Conference players Paul Jenkins and Louis McGinnis, plus All-American Carey Spicer. Paul McBrayer was an ideal choice for the Kentucky coaching staff, one because he was a former player and second he had played his three years of basketball under Mauer, which were the only season’s Mauer spent at Kentucky. It is a little known fact, but the basic system UK used through the early years was initiated by Mauer and adopted by Rupp. While Mauer’s and Rupp’s philosophies differed, Rupp took the Mauer play book and adapted it to his style of play. McBrayer was in complete control of the freshman team and the fact that the majority of those players moved up to the varsity squad shows he had the ability to prepare them to play for Coach Rupp. With the varsity, McBrayer handled almost all of the technical X’s & O’s of coaching. In practice he explained new plays and gave instructions before the start of a game and during time-outs. Rupp did most of the inspirational things as well as any chastising. It was an arrangement that fit Rupp’s style well and one he employed again with Harry Lancaster. There were some that believed McBrayer would make a fine head coach someday and that may have resulted in him not having position on the UK staff when he returned from World War II.

           Paul McBrayer was getting the chance to lead the Kentucky basketball team in action. As was pointed out earlier, McBrayer regularly directed the Wildcats during games, but Rupp was there and when it came to motivating the squad he always took over. Whether it was by inspiration or outright fear, he usually got the job done. There was little argument that were few better than Rupp at that. There was no doubt that McBrayer could handle the pure coaching duties, but if it was needed could he motivate the team to a victory without Rupp. On the surface Vandy looked to be a sure win for UK, of course the outcome of no game is ever certain, but even with the Cats ailing their chances looked pretty good.

           The Wildcats had been slapped silly by sickness, injuries and some really physical games. Things didn’t get any better when the team arrived in Nashville and Mel Brewer was feeling sick. McBrayer did what most coaches do and sent him to the hotel to rest. With Rupp back in Lexington the Commodores had to be thinking it was the perfect situation to take advantage of. Having lost all five of their conference games, what could be better then to win their first one against Kentucky; with or with out Rupp. The Wildcats had another concern other then Brewer’s health and that was Pinky Lipscomb. Lipscomb was a sharp-shooting forward and was one of the best players in the SEC.

           When the game began Kentucky jumped out quickly and after six minutes led 11-4 with Lloyd Ramsey and Mel Brewer leading the charge. Five minutes later the Wildcats had extended the lead out to 19-9. A few moments later Brewer ran by the UK bench and asked to be taken out. Brewer was completely exhausted and without his presence on the floor the Cats seemed to lose something. Whatever it was it put the Commodores back in the game. During the final eight minutes of the half Vandy outscored Kentucky 16-8 and trailed only 27-25 at halftime. Vanderbilt’s run came directly after Brewer left the game. Mel had simply run out of gas and it was difficult to say what he would be able to do in the second half. What had begun looking like an easy victory had turned into a real battle. It appeared someone may have to come through big for the Wildcats if they were going to get out of Nashville with a W.

           In the second half Vanderbilt started with a surge and after four minutes had tied the game at 30-30. Vandy continued to find the range taking their first lead of the contest and pushing it out to 38-32. That eight point spurt was fueled by a field goal by Lipscomb and three more by a reserve forward, Julian Olson. Lipscomb had lived up to his reputation so far by scoring 16 points in the first half. Vanderbilt continued to shoot well, but Kentucky was staying with them and began to chip away at the lead. The Cats now needed that someone to come through and it was Ermal Allen to rescue. Brewer had started the second half, but hit only two baskets before having to leave the game for good. What appeared to be a bad break for Kentucky turned into an opportunity for Allen. Allen came in hitting and with four minutes to play Huber, who had played only a few minutes, hit his second and last field goal that tied the game at 46-46.

           After a Vandy miss, Allen fired in a long shot from the side that was followed by another Commodore misfire. On the Wildcats next trip down the floor Keith Farnsley tipped in a Ramsey miss and Kentucky led 50-46 with one minute left. Poyner Thweatt grabbed a rebound and scored for Vanderbilt. UK then put the ball in the freezer until Maurice Holdgraf fouled Farnsley who stepped to the stripe and made the charity toss with only a few seconds remaining. Joe Davis raced to the other end and laid in an unmolested crip shot as time ran out.

           Kentucky had escaped by the skin of their teeth, 51-50. Farnsley had been struggling for several games and his tip in and free throw were his only points, but they were three big ones when the Cats needed them. Vanderbilt’s 50 points were the highest single game total so far for the season. The close score might appear that Kentucky had an off night, but in reality Vandy played a very good game. Lipscomb led the Commodores with 21 points, Olson had eight all in the second half and Davis finished with six. UK was headed by Brewer with 13 even though he was hampered by sickness. Allen was the man of the hour coming through with 10 second half points. Ramsey had a nice night with eight, Huber played briefly and had four. Marvin Akers only had five points, but he played a solid game on defense and pulled down several rebounds. McBrayer had been successful in his first stint as substitute head coach and he still had at least one more contest at the position against an always tough Alabama team.

           The man in the brown suit became the man in the brown pajamas-if only temporarily. Adolph Rupp was allowed to go home, but no further than that. Rupp couldn’t be in Nashville, but he was on the phone to Paul McBrayer within minutes after the game was over. For a man that wasn’t there, he had all the details. “According to Mac we controlled the ball three-quarters of the time, yet we made only one point more than Vanderbilt did. McBrayer said that if possession of the ball had been divided equally. We would have been beaten by 20 points. The best man on the floor for us was Marvin Akers. He retrieved most of the rebounds and generally played a good defensive game, in addition to getting five points. Ermal Allen did the clutch shooting when we needed it most. May be the little man is back in the scoring groove. If he is, then we’re going to be hard on everybody from here on out.

           “We had a 19-9 lead in the first half when Mel Brewer asked to be taken out of the game. McBrayer said when the team landed in Nashville, Brewer complained of feeling weak, so Mac rushed him to bed. Brewer felt better at game time, but he just didn’t have the strength to make a night out of it. As it turned out, he made 13 points, but when he left the game in the first half, Vandy managed to pull up behind us 27-25. McBrayer said Vanderbilt was the best shooting team he has seen this season. He was particular generous in his praise of Pinky Lipscomb, the Vandy forward who made 21points. Mac compared Lipscomb’s shooting to that of our Milt Ticco when Tick scored 26 points against Xavier at Cincinnati. Lipscomb just wouldn’t miss”

           Rupp admitted he had planned on getting out of bed and catching a south bound train so he could be on the bench when the team faced Alabama in Tuscaloosa. However, his severe cold had drained him of his strength. He vowed though to back in charge when the Ruppmen returned to Lexington for their next contest which would be against Alabama again. The Kentucky coach said he was not too keen on being simply a fan. “I’m too old to miss games,” he muttered. “Especially that 51-50 kind. I heard the radio report on the game and paced back and forth across the room so fast I had a relapse.”

           Paul McBrayer led the Wildcats to their second, down to the wire victory in a row. He was getting better at it though, his coaching improved 100% against Alabama- instead of winning by one point, this time UK won by two, 38-36. The finish of the game had a bit of controversy. It was second time during the season that UK had been involved in a strange finish; at least this time Kentucky walked away smiling.

           The Wildcats took an early lead, stretched it at the beginning of the second half and held on to stave off a late rush by the Tide. Kentucky led 38-30 with less than two minutes to go, but consecutive field goals by Alan Roth, Toby Seals and Bill Finnegan cut the margin to 38-36. Alabama regained the ball and somehow Seals slipped through the UK defense and looped a shot into the basket for what appeared to be the tying score. With the crowd wild, the time keeper finally got the attention of the officials and another conference was underway at the scorers table. The Kentucky players must have been thinking, what another missed free throw? Not this time. The time keeper ruled that time had run out before Seals got his shot away and the horn could not be heard because of the noise of the crowd. Just like in Louisville, the crowd was not happy.

           Mel Brewer was top man for the Wildcats for the second game in a row with 14 points this time. Brewer had no lack of strength in this contest. He used his height to control the boards and defend the inside. Marvin Akers poured in nine and Waller White finished with six. For the Tide Roth put up 11 points and four others including Seals and Finnegan had four points each. Kentucky headed home to get ready for Alabama again in a few days. This time Rupp was sure to be on hand, regardless of doctors orders.

           With five games remaining in the season, UK stood in second place in the conference at 3-1. A week and a half ago the Cats were next to last. Because of the uneven number of conference games schools would play, a single win or loss could move a team several places. Kentucky’s overall mark was barely over .500 at 8-7. Before the season began most experts expected Tennessee and Kentucky to slug it out for the top spot and the tournament. Alabama was always a threat, but the surprise at the top of the heap was Florida with a 5-1 record. Rupp had to be satisfied with his team’s SEC mark all things considered, but that 8-7 overall record was going to be his most losses in one season.

           The Cats last encounter had been at Tuscaloosa where they were guests of Alabama. It was the polite thing to do to return the favor, so UK hosted the Crimson Tide the following weekend. Coach Rupp would be back on the sidelines and out of the brown pajamas and back in the brown suit. This year it seemed the Kentucky coaching staff had a medical report before every game, but this time Coach Rupp began with his own status. The coach said he was feeling better, but wondered how long his strength would hold out. If Rupp could just make it to the bench, then you couldn’t get away from there before the game ended with a team of mules. For the rest of that medical report, Lee Huber was much better after suffering another flare-up of sickness. Milt Ticco was still hobbled by a sore shin; Jim King was hurt in practice, but was okay for the game; Keith Farnsley was still not up to pre-season expectations; Ken England was a green sophomore and Carl ‘Hoot’ Combs had not shown the form he reached last year.

           Both Alabama and Kentucky looked like teams beginning to gel at just the right time. ‘Bama coach Hank Crisp had what was considered his best team ever. The two squads scrapped hard start to finish and if anyone in the crowd of 3000 that watched the struggle felt he didn’t get his money’s worth, he must have gone to the place expecting to see the balcony scene from “Romeo and Juliet’ enacted with all the fandangles of modern woo-pitching. In the earlier encounter, the Cats had limited the Tide to just two field goals in the first half; Alabama was determined that wasn’t going to happen this time.

           Marvin Akers put Kentucky on the board first with a couple of free throws and moments later drove through the ‘Bama defense for a crip. Alabama was ready to answer the Cats with Wheeler Leath lobbing in a spinning hook and after Louis Adair threw in two high arching shots from far outside the Tide led 6-4. For the next several minutes Veo Story and Ermal Allen entertained the crowd with a shooting match that ended in a tie after both players hit four field goals each that made the score 14-12. For the rest of the half ‘Bama maintained a lead of between one to five points. With just a little more than a minute remaining in the half, Akers fired in a long jumper and Waller White converted two charity tosses that gave the lead back to the Wildcats 23-22.

           It looked like this game was going to be won by whoever took the last shot or the first team to take control. Kentucky seized the opportunity to take control first as soon as the second half began. Allen drove under for a twisting crip shot; King hit a free throw; then Huber flipped in a short one-hander from the baseline and as Alabama worked for a shot, Huber made a clean steal at mid-court and dribbled in for an unmolested crip. UK led 30-22, but the Tide didn’t roll over. They never let Kentucky get completely away, but they weren’t able to get closer than four points and the Cats posted their second win over the Tide 46-38.

           Most everyone who witnessed the contest agreed it was one of the best games played in Alumni Gym in a long while. The key to Kentucky’s victory was due partly to fouls. After UK took a lead in the second half, Alabama battled hard to catch the Wildcats and in doing so committed a number of fouls. When the game ended a look at the box score showed fouls and free throws very close; ‘Bama made 10-17, Kentucky 12-19. The big difference was that most of Alabama’s fouls came in the second half. The Cats had three more field goals and it seemed every time the Crimson Tide made a run at UK one or two free throws held them off. For Alabama Storey finished with 12 points, Adair eight and Leeth had seven. Allen led Kentucky in scoring with 15 and Akers had 10. King and Brewer both played well, even though they scored only four points total, they hit the boards and were very aggressive on defense.

           Their latest conquest gave the Wildcats a conference record of 4-1. After losing the SEC opener to Tennessee and languishing near the bottom of the standings, Kentucky was now near the top and once again the biggest threat to take the tournament. At least that was everyone’s opinion except-Adolph Rupp, who saw his team having little or no chance; or that’s what he was saying. When asked who he thought would win the tournament that was being held at Louisville this year, “The Vols are a lock to take the tournament.” He answered. What about his team? “Just one of the other teams trying to beat Tennessee”

           Rupp the continued, “The dark horse is Florida. And after Florida comes Auburn, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Georgia, Georgia Tech and Kentucky. Kentucky used to be an annual powerhouse, but this time we’re just one of the little fellows trying to get along. We don’t have any individual stars like our colleagues, but we seem to depend on one guy to have a hot night. Early in the season, Lee Huber carried the scoring brunt. Then Milt Ticco took us past Xavier. Lloyd Ramsey put the heat on against Georgia Tech, Ermal Allen wrecked Vanderbilt, Mel Brewer and Marvin Akers led us through Alabama twice.

           “Now these other SEC teams have a gent they can count on to do a big share of the work. Vandy has Pinky Lipscomb, Alabama has Storey and Adair, Tulane has Johnny McGee, Tennessee has Bernie Mehen and Florida has Bug Walton and John Ellish. Why after we beat Alabama Saturday night all the fans were talking about were Storey and Adair. Nobody was thinking about us. You see those other clubs have a definite hot man. Our team goes out and hopes somebody is warm so we can win the game.”

           Coach Rupp wasn’t totally pessimistic about everything. “All I can say in favor of the tournament this year is that it will be played in the finest basketball arena south of the Ohio River-and I mean the Louisville Armory. Some people think the Louisville Armory was built for Notre Dame – Kentucky basketball games. I know different. That armory should be 100% satisfactory to all the competing teams.”

           The conference tournament had not been the kind of success that SEC schools had hoped. The product, that is the games themselves, was of high quality; unfortunately the economical aspects were the problem. The public just did not turn out in the kind of numbers that were needed to make the tourney profitable. The first tournament was held in 1933 in Atlanta, the Wildcats won that first one and it was held there again in 1934. Both years attendance was fair, but still not nearly enough. Another factor was that Adolph Rupp was opposed to the tournament. How much influence his stance had isn’t clear, but the tournament was not held in 1935 and there certainly had to be some who thought Rupp was responsible. It was the first real rift between Rupp and his fellow SEC coaches; and it wouldn’t be the last.

           The tournament was back in 1936, this time in Knoxville, Tennessee; then it went to Baton Rogue for one year and back to Knoxville for the next two. Now they were trying Louisville. Today that would most likely result in Long and Loud protests that playing in Louisville would give UK an unfair advantage and they would probably be right-especially if the Wildcats got by the first round. In reality no matter where the tournament is located, the further Kentucky makes it, the bigger their advantage in the crowd will be. UK will always bring more fans than can possibly get tickets for the opening round, so as other teams fall out, Wildcat fans gobble up those tickets. So it could be said no matter where the tournament is played the Cats will have a big crowd there, especially if they make it to the semi-finals or finals. In 1941 it was a bit different. True Kentucky was already the team everyone wanted to beat or see beaten, but that was about as far as it went. Of course SEC coaches considered playing in Louisville an advantage for UK, but they were realistic. In 1941 the south was basically only interested in football. That is somewhat true today, but not nearly to the extent it was 60 years ago. Schools realized their southern fans would not travel to Louisville, because they would not turn out for the tournament when it was held in a southern city. Public interest in the tourney was reflected by the fact that the UK athletic department had already sold 200 all-tournament tickets over two weeks before it started.

           It was announced before the Mississippi game that Adolph Rupp had been appointed to the four member committee of the Third National District, which was to name a representative to the national championship tournament. Along with Rupp were N. W. Shepherd of Davidson College, James Weaver from Wake Forest and Roy Mundroff of Georgia Tech. The team representing the district the last two years had been Western Kentucky State Teachers College, now just Western Kentucky.

           Kentucky found itself in a great position as far as the conference standings were concerned, in second place and their last four games would take place at home. Mississippi was the first of those four and the Wildcats put another one in the win column 60-40. The game started slow and sloppy, both teams struggled to get anything done. Kentucky led the entire half, but couldn’t get away from the Rebels and led only 23-21 at halftime. Coach Rupp was obviously not pleased with his team’s effort, the crimson hue of Coach Rupp’s face indicated great turmoil in his soul. The Cats finally got going in the second half and pulled away to a 45-29 lead. With five minutes remaining Coach Rupp put in the reserves and one of them was Staker who had started the game, but had been pulled in the first half with a couple of others when the Wildcats were struggling. Staker fired in eight points in those five minutes. What had to be a bit frustrating for Rupp and the Kentucky players was the way Mississippi just threw up wild shots that were right on the mark. The Rebels were a clumsy looking lot compared to the Wildcats, most of them were football players, but they were game and not at all hesitant to fire at the basket practically every time they got as much as one hand or two fingers on the ball; in a strange way it made the encounter somewhat entertaining. Mississippi was led by Jackie Flack with 12 points and Ray Terrell had seven. Ermal Allen fired in 15 for the Cats; Akers had 14 and Brewer 13.

           The win over Mississippi moved Kentucky into the conference lead. Florida followed in second and Tennessee stood in third. The Wildcats next game was huge. Kentucky faced Tennessee for the second time. The Volunteers had been the only SEC team to beat UK so far. This second encounter in Lexington would most likely decide who would occupy the top spot in the final conference standings. A win for UK would put the Cats in the driver’s seat and it was highly unlikely anyone would catch them. A win for the Volunteers would virtually eliminate Kentucky from clinching the top spot in the conference going into the tournament. While UK had improved since the first game, Tennessee was favored by 10 points even though the Cats had the home court advantage. Strangely, Coach Rupp seemed to be resigned to the fact that his Wildcats had no chance to come away with a victory. Coaches have been known to publicly build up an opponent in an attempt to get their own team ready to play. Coach Rupp was second to none in using this technique and had done so many times in the past; how sincere he was this time was hard to say since Tennessee had one of the top squads in the south.

           Rupp was still suffering from the affects of the cold that had sidelined him earlier and after putting the team through a brisk work out, he headed home to rest. Before leaving the gym he announced he would be starting Allen, White, King, Staker and Huber. He also voiced his concern with Tennessee’s top players. “Consider, please that Mehen and Thomas made All-SEC last year and Huffman was All-SEC two years ago. It is certainly going to be tough beating those boys.”

           Fans that simply showed up at Alumni Gym for the Tennessee – Kentucky scrap without tickets were left out in the cold. Tickets were gone days before, after all it was being tabbed as the game of the year in the SEC. Everyone expected a battle royal between the conferences to top teams and that is exactly what they got. Bowser Chest, the SEC’s busiest official, tossed up the ball and Frank Thomas and Jim King tapped it into play. Tennessee got the games first possession and after being fouled Thomas put the first point on the board with a free throw. Carl Staker tied it at the other end of the floor. The Volunteers took the lead on a free throw by Gilbert Huffman and extended it when he hit two more. Bernie Mehen threw in a shot from the corner and Tennessee was on top 6-1. Thomas was fouled on a pivot shot and converted both free throws, then Marvin Akers scored on a long set shot to make it 8-3 with 14 minutes to go in the half. Mehen hit again from the same corner, then Doc Clark made good on a twisting hook and Tennessee pulled out to a nine point lead, 12-3. A nervous ripple went through the UK crowd and it looked like the Vols might have UK’s number this year. Staker fired in a short shot from the lane, Mel Brewer hit a spinning one-hander and Lee Huber entered the fray and immediately hit Akers racing down the lane for an open crip that cut the margin to 12-10.

           Mike Balistsaris increased the Tennessee lead to three with a free throw. It was Lloyd Ramsey’s second foul and he was replaced by Waller White. Akers broke open again and drove for the open basket and an easy lay-in. Huber gave the Cats their first lead on a 20 footer, followed by a charity toss by Akers. The nervous crowd was roaring after Akers landed a long bomb that gave Kentucky a 17-13 lead with just under three minutes to go in the half. Both teams exchanged free throws, for Akers it was his 11th point of the half. During the last minute Thomas worked open to score in the lane and on the Volunteers next trip he was fouled and hit the charity shot to end the scoring at 18-17. With the score 12-3 it appeared Kentucky was in big trouble, but behind Akers’ out-burst the Cats had been able to catch all the way up and lead by one at the intermission.

           The second half began the same as the first when Buzzy O’Neil scored on a long heave for Tennessee. Carl Staker was fouled and missed the free throw, but Jim King grabbed the rebound and flipped it back in from the baseline. Doc Clark missed at the free throw line moments later; it was the Vols first miss after nine in a row to start the game. The play was becoming rougher by the minute and for a period the action turned into one parade to the foul line after another. King cashed in one at the stripe and then it was Farnsley’s turn. Huffman was next hitting two free throws. Farnsley scored again and then Thomas hit one for UT. After all of this action Kentucky’s lead remained at a single point, 23-22. Staker was on target with a jumper and it was Akers back to the line for one. With the game approaching midway of the second half, Tennessee coach John Mauer sent his top man, Bernie Mehen, back into the battle. Mehen had been on the bench after he was called for his third foul just before half time.

           Mehen was fouled on an attempted lay-up, but missed both free throws. King was sent to the line and he missed. That was followed by Thomas blowing two from the stripe after he had hit five straight for UT. With nine minutes left, Mehen committed his forth foul and while Farnsley hit the free throw Mehen headed to the bench. It was a huge blow to the Volunteers. Mehen had played only two minutes in the second half and had been held scoreless, finishing with only four points for the game. After a time out the action returned to the floor. King sandwiched a pair of free throws between field goals by both Clark and Balitsaris. Moments later King hit from the line two more times and Kentucky led 31-26. With four minutes remaining, White was called for his fourth foul and Thomas collected the charity toss. At the other end Farnsley hit another free throw, then Balitsaris was sent to the line and converted to make it 33-28 with two minutes to go.

           The road to the free throw stripe stayed busy right to the end. Farnsley may have been tiring from all those unmolested 15’ heaves and missed two in a row, but Ramsey ripped the second miss from the air and shoved it back through. It wasn’t long before Farnsley was back at the line hitting two as Huffman fouled out. In the final seconds King connected at the stripe as O’Neil left with four fouls. The score board read 37-28 when the horn sounded.

           Thomas was high man for the Vols with eight points, Huffman had five. Clark and Balitsaris had four each along with Bernie Mehen. Mehen, the Volunteer All-Star, had hit two field goals in the first six minutes of the game, but was basically never heard from again. For the Wildcats Marvin Akers poured in 12 points, 11 of them in the first half. King had eight and Farnsley six. The second half deteriorated into a free throw shooting contest where both teams made only three field goals each. It was a big victory for UK that put them alone at the top of the SEC with a 6-1 conference mark. The conference record may have made their 11-7 over-all tally a bit more bearable for Coach Rupp…………And then again, it may not. Before the main event of the night, the Kentucky freshmen improved to 4-1 beating Ashland Junior College 66-44. Paul McBrayer was getting a new crop ready to move up to the Kentucky basketball big time.

           The Cats faced two more opponents before the Big 12 tournament. First was Georgia Tech, followed by Vanderbilt. Kentucky had performed quite well against Tennessee and Rupp seemed satisfied. “Kentucky played better than it did at Knoxville earlier in the season when the Vols beat us 32-22.” The Wildcats were now the clear favorite going into the tournament. Adolph Rupp’s “poor little mountain boys” were back in a familiar spot and in a reversal of his earlier position that UK was “just another team trying to beat Tennessee, he accepted the favorite’s roll. Rupp said someone has to be the choice, declaring “Kentucky doesn’t mind.”

           The Wildcats had beaten Georgia Tech earlier in the season 47-37 and the Engineers came into the second encounter down near the bottom of the standings. Both teams were eager to put this game in the win column. Kentucky wanted to continue their string of conference wins, while Tech wanted to avenge that earlier defeat. This set the stage for an aggressive and physical battle from both sides. Battle turned out to be the best description of what took place between Georgia Tech and Kentucky. Afterwards even the normally biased UK fans agreed both sides were guilty of taking shots at his opponent when the officials weren’t looking. The Cats hung another loss on Tech, 60-41 this time, in a game that saw 32 fouls and one technical called. There had been contests in which more fouls were charged on Kentucky and their opponents, but none were quite this rough. In reality, several more infractions could have been called, but both squads would have probably run out of players. It wasn’t just the players, but both coaches were hot under the collar at the end. A short war of words ensued as Tech coach Roy Mundroff and Rupp exchanged pleasantries. Rupp charged that the Engineers got overly aggressive after Kentucky started the second period with a 10-0 spurt. Mundroff said the Wildcats played “dirty” all game long. Mundroff went so far as to ask reporters to quote him saying, “If that’s the kind of basketball Kentucky wants to play, we’ll play it when they come to Atlanta next year. If that’s the kind of basketball the Kentucky fans want to see I’m inviting every one of them to come to Atlanta too, so that they can see the kind of show we can put on.”

           Since Mundroff had thrown down the gauntlet, Rupp replied, “We’ll be there.”

           The game turned into somewhat of a sideline compared to the sparing of the coaches. The Wildcats jumped out to a 6-1 lead and led by that same five point margin at the half, 27-22. UK dominated the second half beginning with that 10 point scoring streak. Tech finally broke through with a free throw. The Cats then ran off four more followed by another free toss by the engineers to make it 41-24. Carl Staker led the way for Kentucky with 15 points, Jim King added 13 and Keith Farnsley had one of his best games in some time with nine. Georgia Tech was headed by Carlton Lewis with 13, Jim Hearn had 10 and Hoyte Blackwell and David Crosby both scored eight each. The Kentucky freshmen added another victory to their total by knocking off my former school Cumberland College 50-33.

           Kentucky’s final regular season bout came against Vanderbilt which UK had slipped by 51-50 earlier in Nashville. During that game the Cats had been without Coach Rupp who was hospitalized. Ironically that one point loss seemed to turn the season around for the Commodores. Coach Jimmy Buford lost four starters from last year’s team. He did have one of the top players in Pinky Lipscomb back, but the rest of the team was made up of sophomores or players with very little experience. Coming into that earlier game, Vandy had a 2-6 record and had lost four in a row. After playing UK the Commodores ran off four straight victories before falling to Tennessee 37-36.

           Coach Rupp didn’t relish having to go up against Vanderbilt and Lipscomb……or so he said. “We got the best teams in the SEC this year the conference has ever had. Not only are the teams as a whole outstanding but the Big 12 probably can boast of more individual stars than any other section of the United States. Take Pinky Lipscomb of Vanderbilt for instance. That boy probably is the greatest player Vandy has ever had. Why, when we played down there he started hitting with that left-handed shot of his and by the time he left the floor he had scored 21 points. I sure wish we didn’t have to play against that kid any more." It was probably no coincidence that Kentucky’s next opponent was Vanderbilt.

           For two Wildcats it would be their final time to play on the brilliant Alumni Gym floor. Keith Farnsley and Capt. Lee Huber would have to say goodbye to the UK fans that had admired them so. Their senior year was a bit inconsistent, especially for Farnsley who had been a starter, but in several games had not played well and had lost his spot. Farnsley had improved in the last couple of games and was back in the starting line-up along with Huber for their final game. Huber had suffered through bouts of illness the last two seasons, but this year he had been able to work through it and was the top scorer on the team.

           The Wildcats had been involved in some bruising games of late and the tone was set for another one in the opening minute of the Vandy contest. Pinky Lipscomb drove for the basket, Carl Staker was guarding him and the two players became tangled up and went to the floor. Stakers leg ended up around Lipscomb’s body, sort of like the old pro wrestling scissor hold. Staker was called for the foul, but Coach Buford and several players on the bench were not satisfied with that only and charged out onto the floor. In 1941 there was no rule about players leaving the bench; it was up to the official’s discretion to call an infraction. Everyone held their composure and returned to their spot on the floor or the sideline. Nothing happened, but it put both teams on the edge and you could just sense the tension in the air. Lipscomb hit the free throw to open the scoring and after about eight minutes Vandy led 8-3. UK went into the lead 10-8, then Lipscomb tied it at 10-10. Keith Farnsley began to find the range and when the half ended the Cats had run off 12 unanswered points to lead 22-10.

           The first half had been rough, but it really heated up in the second. Farnsley continued to hit and the outcome was never really in doubt. The only issue to decide was how many players were going to foul out. The first to go was Lipscomb, then Staker followed; after him went Charles Metz, Maurice Haldfraf and Jack Jenkins. In Jenkins case he didn’t commit too many fouls but was ejected for a flagrant foul against Lloyd Ramsey. Jenkins, a football player, must have forgotten which sport he was participating in when he threw a body block to Ramsey’s stomach. In 1941 a common foul resulted in one foul shot, but in this contest several times two shots were awarded because of the severity of the foul. The Cats outscored the Commodores from the field and the free throw line. It resulted in a 58-31 blow out. Lipscomb was held to seven points this time and two others scored six each. Farnsley went out with a bang scoring 17 points, but Huber’s senior farewell was not so successful. Huber was completely shutout. Waller White put 10 on the board, Staker had six and three other players scored five each. The season was finally over and after losing their first conference game. Kentucky ran the table the rest of the way and finished on top of the Big 12 standings.

           Before the Vanderbilt-Kentucky game was even played tournament brackets were already set up. Kentucky was seeded #1, Tennessee #2, but those seeds didn’t mean very much since the match-ups were done by a blind draw. The only thing seeding did was to put the top seeds in different brackets. The top two seeds along with the fourth, Alabama, ended up playing in the first round. Florida was the number three seed and received one of the first round byes. Georgia, Auburn and Tulane drew the others. The opening round was Thursday with LSU and Vanderbilt at 2pm; Tennessee and Mississippi State at 3:30. In the evening Alabama and Georgia Tech met at 7:30 and then Kentucky faced Mississippi in the final game of the day.

           Through the years Kentucky has annually been considered the team to beat come tourney time and this year was no exception. They had finished the season with only one loss in SEC play, but there were a few other teams that felt they were just as capable as the Cats to take the title. Besides UK, Tennessee was certainly capable of winning the championship and many felt the Volunteers were just as good as the Wildcats or better. Alabama always seemed to have a formidable squad and this year there was the possibility of an intriguing second round match-up with Auburn. The two schools had not faced one another in any sport for several years because of the intensity of the rivalry. The last time the two schools met in any sporting contest was in the 1924 Southern Conference Basketball Tournament, a game won by ‘Bama 40-19.

           Every tournament has to have a dark horse or two and this year Florida and Vanderbilt seemed to be filling those roles. The Gators had been a surprise from the very start of the season, holding the top spot in the conference standings for basically the first half of the SEC slate. They remained near the top all year and were given the third seed. The Commodores had gone from a cellar dweller to a middle of the pack spoiler. They basically stunk up the place for the first half of their schedule before finishing strong. Vandy was a young inexperienced squad with one star, but they had developed into a real threat against anyone.

           At this point in SEC basket the rules stated teams were allowed only 10 players during the tournament. This was a dilemma for all coaches, but especially so for Rupp who regularly used his entire bench. It was not unusual for the Cats to have 12 or more players see action and not necessarily in games that were lopsided blowouts. Kentucky had been using 11 players for most of the season, so Rupp needed to pare his roster down by one. He had narrowed his choices down to either Ken England or Milt Ticco. It goes with out saying if Ticco had not injured his leg, the choice would have been easy. Ticco had played so well it was quite possible he not only would have been on the roster, but more then likely in the starting line-up. The day before leaving for Louisville Rupp decided Milt Ticco would be the odd man out. It was the best choice since it was difficult to say how effective Ticco could be.

           Kentucky took the first step toward another Southeastern Conference title by eliminating Mississippi 62-52. It wasn’t easy as the Rebels fought every inch of the way. It was an entertaining contest and it was marked by a recent trend in UK games—it was rough with a lot of fouls called. Forty-one infractions were called in the game and the officials showed no favorites calling 21 on the Wildcats and 20 on the Rebels. Kentucky hit 24 of 30 attempts and Mississippi made 20 out of 26. The Cats got out of the gate fast pulling out to a 14-6 lead. Ole Miss kept chipping away at the Kentucky margin and with just a few minutes left in the half they trailed only 23-22. The lead bounced back and forth until half-time which found the Rebels leading 31-29. It was all Kentucky in the second half even though they were not very sharp. The deciding factor was shooting accuracy. While the Cats were clumsy handling the ball, their aim was good; on the other hand, the Rebels simply threw up wild shots, if they could be called shots, as soon as they crossed the center court line. Junis Hoious scored 15 points for Ole Miss and Loren Burnette had 10. Jim King led UK with 12, Akers and Huber finished with 10 each and White had nine. The Wildcats suffered two injuries in their first round contest. Lee Huber turned his ankle and Waller White received a severe contusion to his thigh. Their status for UK’s next game against Tulane would be decided at game time.

           The rest of the games in the first round opened with LSU and Vanderbilt. The Commodores put LSU away 63-49 with Pinky Lipscomb firing in 28 points. In the days second game Tennessee had a tough time with Mississippi State, slipping by 35-29. State had attempted to speed up the pace and had success for awhile, but John Mauer’s deliberate style finally won out. In the evenings first contest Alabama eliminated Georgia 39-33 in a slow moving game. ‘Bama’s win ensured that the Tide would meet Auburn in the next round. No one was certain what to expect from a rivalry that had become so heated the teams quit playing each other. Would it be Cain and Abel or Damon and Pythias?

           In the first game of round two Florida ousted Vanderbilt 48-41. Once again Lipscomb was the top point getter with 26. The Commodores got off to a slow start falling behind 9-0 before Lipscomb got on the score board. From that point on Vandy had the better of things until half-time and led 20-17 at the break. In the second half the Gators took charge with a crisp passing game that led to several easy baskets. For Vanderbilt things turned into a one man attack, of course that one man was Lipscomb, but he alone was not enough. After Lipscomb’s 26, Julian Olson had eight and no other player had more than two points. Florida put three players in double figures; Walton and Steve Ellish scored 14 each, Zdanzukas added 10 and Thompson finished with eight.

           Tennessee moved on to the semi-finals with another narrow escape beating Georgia 41-39. For some 37 minutes it appeared the Volunteers were in complete control taking a 22-9 lead at the half. UT had more or less done anything they pleased until late in the second half. With the score 41-31 and just three minutes left things began to unravel. Tennessee strangely lost that control they held so capably throughout most of the contest. The Vols had gone to a stall, but it proved to only stymie themselves while Georgia went on a hot streak. Bobby Moore and Roy Chatham hit four baskets to pull the Bulldogs to within two points, 41-39. Time ran out on the Dawgs though, as the Vols opted to take the ball out of bounds instead of foul shots for the final seconds. Chatham fired in 14 points, Moore had 13 and Joe Killian added nine for Georgia. Tennessee was led by Frank Thomas with 11, Bernie Mehen had eight and Mike Balitsaris finished with seven. Tennessee moved on to face Florida in the first semi-final game on Saturday.

           The third game of the day was the most anticipated by far. Alabama and Auburn were squaring off in an athletic contest for the first time in 17 years. Since the two schools just didn’t like each other, so much so that they had to stop playing, no one knew what to expect. It might be an old time family reunion or it could be the family feud that most seemed to expect and that some apparently wanted. What actually happened was a basketball game. Ironically it was one of the most civilized contests of the tourney to that point. It seemed both teams had decided to do whatever it needed to make sure there was no trouble on the court and therefore no good excuse for it off the court.

           As far as the game went it turned into a one-sided affair with Alabama putting their ‘neighbors’ away 38-16. It was an odd game with long scoring droughts for both teams. Auburn’s top player was Shag Hawkins and ‘Bama kept a double team on him the entire time he was on the floor. The Tide led 14-4 after eight minutes, then neither team managed a single point until half-time. Auburn didn’t make a shot from the floor in the opening period and they lost their leading scorer when Hawkins fouled out before the break. It would be over six minutes into the second half before Earl Parks hit from the baseline to give the Tigers their first basket. Neither team had anyone in double figures. John Hines and Louis Adair had seven points each and Veo Story added six for Alabama. Hawkins was held to just four points all coming on free throws, but the Tiger’s leading scorer for the game didn’t fair much better as Parks tallied only five. Since this game went off with no problems, it was hoped it could pave the way for the two schools to resume sports competition. All indications were that the former combatants had buried the hatchet and not where some believed.

           Now it was the Wildcats turn. Their opponent, the Green Wave of Tulane, was coached by former Transylvania football and basketball coach Monk Simons. Tulane jumped out to a fast start and for awhile appeared to be ready to give Kentucky a tough battle. With 15 minutes to go until half-time, the Wave led 7-6, but that would be the last time they would be in front. Keith Farnsley and Jim King shot UK into the lead and a 32-15 half-time mark. Tulane was outclassed by the Wildcats and when time ran out the Cats were on top of a 59-30 rout. Peter Mandich led the Green Wave with 11 points and John McGee had 10. Keith Farnsley was coming out of his season long slump and poured in 17 for the Ruppmen. Jim King played well and finished with 15 and Carl Staker added eight. It was a good opportunity to get some minutes for everyone on the Kentucky squad, plus it allowed Rupp to rest Waller White and Lee Huber. White didn’t play at all and though Huber saw action it was very brief. Hopefully both players would be ready for their next opponent Alabama.

           A sort of trend was broken in this contest in that it was much less physical than the games UK had been involved in during the latter half of the schedule. Whether it was the opponent or a conscious effort by the teams, there were far less fouls called than in any of the recent Kentucky games. Only 23 fouls were called; 13 on the Wildcats and 10 on Tulane. Many coaches, players, fans and sportswriters had complained about Kentucky and the rough play in their games and one has only to compare the Mississippi encounter with this one to see a big difference. In that game the Wildcats had 24 fouls called against them alone. Rupp insisted his boys were no more aggressive than any other team. Most of the time Kentucky’s opponent would raise their level of play far above what it would be against other teams. Kentucky always gets the opponent’s best effort.

           In Saturday’s semi-finals UK was in an unenviable position having to play the second game of the afternoon. That left just around four hours to rest for the title game that evening. To add to their difficulty Tennessee advanced to the final with an easy win over Florida 47-26. The Vols basically had the game in the bag by half-time and just coasted the rest of the way. Meanwhile the Wildcats had a fierce battle with Alabama. UK was attempting to beat the Crimson Tide for the third time in the season and it goes without saying ‘Bama had not only the incentive of the tournament, but the desire to avenge the two earlier losses to the Cats.

           The game began ominously for Kentucky ass they couldn’t get anything to fall except free throws and found themselves trailing 9-4 with 10 minutes to go until intermission. Lee Huber, who did not start, replaced Carl Staker and immediately hit a long arching field goal. Alabama increased their lead on a fielder by Louis Adair and three free throws, before Marvin Akers hit for the Cats to make it 14-8. During the final six minutes of the half, Alabama managed just two free throws, while Akers connected twice and Huber hit again then added a charity toss and the half ended 16-16.

           The second period was an exhausting fight for all 20 minutes that saw seven ties and five lead changes. With just under five minutes to play Jim Roth tossed in two free throws to even the game at 33-33. Roth then moved the Tide ahead with a twisting shot that somehow found the basket. With two minutes remaining Huber fired in a long jumper and it was tied again 35-35. Roth came back with another acrobatic shot, but Farnsley raced under with a crip shot that evened it again. Alabama held the ball for a long possession apparently going for the final shot, but Blaine Thomas threw up a short flip from the lane that hit the front of the rim and was grabbed by UK. Huber dribbled to the Kentucky end of the floor and shot from the corner. The ball landed in the net as the buzzer sounded, but it was flipped back out by Wheeler Leeth. The officials called the goal good and Kentucky was moving on to their third straight championship game with a 39-37 win. It had been a physically draining battle. Adair was the high point man of the game scoring 15 points, Roth was next with 10. Farnsley continued to play well contributing eight points this time, but Huber had the big game for UK with 13. Akers was quietly having a strong tournament adding nine points to make his total 26 for the three games so far.

           It didn’t take an expert in sports physiology to know that Tennessee would have a big advantage in the final. The Kentucky players had just a short time to recuperate from a game that would still be affecting some teams a day or two later. Waller White’s injury had looked to be only a bad bruise and not as serious as Huber’s ankle, but White had been able to play for only a few minutes. Huber’s ankle was still bothering him, but so far he had been able to play through it. The exhausting encounter the Cats had just been through could cause these nagging injuries to be much more bothersome. Coach Rupp would have to just wait and see what kind of shape his team would be in at game time.

           The tournament itself was already a success. For the first time it was going to make money. After the second round it was announced the conference had already turned a profit including the advance sell of tickets for Saturday’s games. With the walk up sales adding to that, everyone involved was very satisfied. How much UK had to do with this was best measured in attendance. That number had grown steadily each game starting with approximately 3500 for their first contest to nearly 5000 for their semi-final game. Kentucky’s games were averaging about 4200 people; none of the other games were drawing those kinds of numbers. The Armory would hold approximately 6800 configured for basketball and with a marquee final of Tennessee and Kentucky, it was possible the building just might be full.

           Last year’s semi-final combatants were ready to face off in the final this time. Kentucky and Tennessee had split two games during the season. It seemed that Kentucky was always one of the pre-season favorites in the SEC and this year had been no exception, but during the Wildcat non-conference schedule they had stumbled a few times. When the first conference game arrived, UK’s record was 5-6 and after losing to Tennessee in that first game it appeared Kentucky was not likely to finish on top. After the loss to UT put their record at 5-7, the Wildcats ran off seven straight SEC wins that put them in first place going into the tournament. Neither Kentucky nor Tennessee had the luxury of a first round bye; both teams had to win three games to make it to the championship. An all out battle was expected from the two best teams in the Big 12.

           A crowd of over 6000 nearly filled the Jefferson County Armory. There was no doubt that the SEC tournament had found a home………..at least for awhile. Action began with the Wildcats getting off first when Lee Huber scored on a hook shot that was followed by a set shot by Keith Farnsley. The Vols took no time catching up. Gilbert Huffman ran under for a crip and moments later Frank Thomas hit a free throw. After jumping to a quick lead, the Cats lost the range for awhile. John’Doc’ Clark missed two fouls shots, but Mike Balitsaris came down with the second miss and was fouled. Balitsaris cashed in the charity toss to tie the score at 4-4. Bernie Mehen put the Vols into the lead hitting a long shot, then Lloyd Ramsey hit a free throw and at that point UT pulled away. Balitsaris drove under for a crip and was fouled, then hit the foul shot. Thomas hit two shots from close in and with eight minutes to go in the half, Tennessee had stretched their margin to 13-5. Huber misfired at the charity stripe, but Kentucky got the rebound and moments later Huber sank a long distance field goal only to see Mehen answer at the other end. Ramsey made one of two free throws and Marvin Akers let go a shot from near mid court that cut the lead to 15-10 with three minutes remaining. Bernard O’Neil scored for the Vols and Balitsaris stole a pass at mid court and dribbled in for an uncontested crip. Just before the half ended Farnsley hit from the free throw line and the teams went to the locker room with Tennessee in front 19-11.

           The fear that the Cats might tire because of the short time between their game with Alabama and the final was coming true. Kentucky had a rugged encounter with ‘Bama and it may have affected more than just their stamina. UK missed two wide open crips and a couple of follow up tips that hung on the rim tantalizingly and fell off. How well Rupp’s boys would be able to execute down the stretch was a great concern for the Wildcats.

           The second half scoring got under way when Thomas stepped to the line to put the first point on the board for Tennessee. Mel Brewer fired in two charity tosses that were followed by a tip in by Staker. Kentucky had cut the deficit to five at 20-15, but Tennessee was about to pull away again. Huffman hit a running flip shot, Balitsaris sank a free throw and Clark hooked one in from the lane and the Vols were out by 25-15. After Thomas scored on a tip in, the leg weary Wildcats tried to battle back. Ermal Allen fired in a one hander, Huber hit a short shot and White lobbed in a hook from the side. The Cats 6-0 run had cut the lead in half at 27-21. The intense action continued back and forth as one team would make a charge and the other would answer.

           Huffman connected with a charity toss, then Allen cashed in from the baseline. Huffman hit from the charity line again and Clark broke open underneath the goal for an easy lay in. After Huber and Brewer both missed free throws, Mehen nailed a long shot from near the half court line and the Volunteers were back up by 10 at 33-23 with eight minutes to play. With Tennessee stalling the Wildcats needed to summon up the strength for one last run. No matter what the result, the season was over after this contest; there was no reason to hold back, they would have nine months to rest after tonight. The UK captain led the way like a cavalry officer at the head of the charge. Huber hit a set shot, then Thomas answered for Tennessee on a crip. Staker scored with a close under hand toss and Huber hit on a twisting shot in traffic that sliced the margin to 35-29 with three minutes to go. Tennessee continued to stall with Kentucky chasing them allover the floor. With two minutes remaining Allen picked off a pass, raced to the other end and flipped it in to move the Cats closer than they had been in the second half.

           The score stood at 35-31 with the near capacity crowd on their feet. The Wildcats pressured the Volunteers as they tried to retain the ball and run out the clock. With Allen harassing Huffman, the Tennessee guard became rattled, turned and threw the ball into the Volunteer bench. With one minute remaining Huber dribbled the ball down the floor and calmly arched a short shot over the defense and into the basket. As we say today, it was a one possession game. The Vols continued to stall and this time they made no mistakes, nor could the Cats come up with another theft. Finally Huffman was fouled with six seconds left. He hit one free throw and Tennessee elected to take the ball out of bounds instead of the second shot and ran the clock out.

           Kentucky fell 36-33, but they had left it all on the court; as a matter of fact after the horn sounded Huber and Akers were too exhausted to walk to the bench and simply sank to the floor and sat there. The UK players and fans were disappointed, but the Cats had played one of the best games in years. They had appeared down for the count three times but fought back on every occasion. Their come back in the final minutes certainly had the Tennesseans sweating. Lee Huber went out in championship style as the games leading scorer with 12, but he had delivered so much more in this contest. His crisp passing and floor leadership kept the Wildcats in the game. His fellow senior, Keith Farnsley managed just three points but overall had played well during the tournament. Marvin Akers’ defense and rebounding remained steady and Ermal Allen’s six points and thievery was paramount in UK’s rally. The champion Tennessee squad was headed by Frank Thomas with 10, Huffman and Balitsaris added seven points each and Bernie Mehen had six.

           Kentucky’s late afternoon game with Alabama had really taken its toll and softened up the Cats for the Volunteers. Tennessee may have taken UK anyway, but the Wildcats did not have the legs in the end. Coach Rupp realized his boys had done their best. “I have no complaints whatsoever.” Rupp said the following day. “My boys gave all they had and I am certainly delighted with the fine showing they made against Tennessee. They had to go all out to eliminate Alabama in the semi-finals and this tended to take some of the sap out of them. I’m not saying we could have beaten Tennessee had we slipped past Alabama more easily because Tennessee has a great ball team.” As exciting as the championship game was, many felt the Kentucky – Alabama semi-final was the game of the tournament. Tony Hinkle, Butler University head basketball coach, said the Wildcat – Tide tilt was as good as anyone will see anywhere.

           The All-SEC Tournament team was dominated by Tennessee and Kentucky players. The first team consisted of Pinky Lipscomb, Frank Thomas and . Gilbert Huffman, Lee Huber and Marvin Akers-Kentucky. The second team had Jim King and Keith Farnsley-Kentucky, Louis Adair, Bernie Mehen and Roy Chatham-Georgia. The teams were selected by position and the first squad actually had three guards. The reason given was that the committee placed Akers at forward because he was just too good to leave off. Lipscomb of Vandy played only two games but finished as the leading scorer of the tournament with 54 points. He far outpaced his nearest competitor Thomas of Tennessee who scored 38 points in four games. Kentucky put four players in the top ten; Huber finished in third with 36, Farnsley and King tied for fifth with 34, Akers was eighth with 28.

           Until the 1941 season the SEC tournament had simply been an added expense. It had moved around to different cities without much interest. The move to Louisville might have saw the end of it had the tourney not been such a financial and on court success. Even so, some coaches were in favor of eliminating it and adopting a new method of naming a season champion. The proposal being considered would divide the conference into two divisions, north and south, and the top teams from each division would meet in a playoff at the end of the season, The playoff teams would be selected by winning percentage, but there would still be no uniform number of games for each team. A team could play any number of squads from the other division, but a minimum number of games would have to be played within their own division to qualify for the playoff. The playoff would last at least two games and possibly more. This would guarantee that a team having a bad night could avoid an upset. At a coaches meeting during the early rounds of the tournament, the playoff was initially given a 7-5 approval. Later when questioned by members of the media, some coaches who had supported the new format seemed to be hedging. Roy Mundroff of Georgia Tech served as chairman of the meeting and had voted against the idea. He stated that if Louisville and the people of Kentucky invited the conference back next year, they would undoubtedly accept the invitation. Since the tournament began it seemed this subject came up every year and since Louisville appeared to provide a venue that made it possible to earn a profit, it was likely the tourney would continue for sometime.

           Certainly some coaches or schools were not happy with the tournament for the simple fact that Kentucky had dominated it so far. But even with the proposed change the fact remained that Tennessee or Kentucky would be the northern representative most of the time. The south would probably be left to Alabama, since most of the SEC members there were mainly interested in football; in fact, some teams were made up of mostly football players after their season had ended…..plus many teams had coaches whose main duties were assistant football coaches.

           The success of the tournament at Louisville didn’t happen by chance. The city bent over backwards to please all involved. The Kentucky Hotel was the headquarters for tournament officials and most of the teams were staying there. The hotel, which was less than a block away from the Jefferson Armory, was managed by Turner Milam whose brother raised thoroughbred race horses in Lexington, one of which was Exterminator. The hotel a had grand party on opening night for coaches, media and others working the tournament, which lasted into the wee hours of the morning. Food and drink flowed into the Fountain of Mirrors room until the last soul had retired; without a doubt a few were likely late for the following day’s activities.

           The palaver from the smoke filled room, yielded many interesting comments. Among those were; “If I ran Scotland Yard I’d have a job for referee Bowser Chest. He’s a real detective. He calls ‘em on suspicion.”

           Also: “He’d rather call a foul on Farnsley than have a $4.50 steak served to him in bed.”

           In reference to Georgia’s ambidextrous guard Roy Chatham: “He can do better running south and shooting north than anyone I ever saw.”

           Many comments were heard throughout the evening praising the facilities and the lavish entertainment. One person went so far as to suggest: “Let’s hold next year’s tournament here without any games.” He may have partaken of a little too much entertainment.

           After the first round Vanderbilt’s Pinky Lipscomb had gained a new nickname, ‘Lucky Lipscomb’. A member of the media was heard to remark from press row: “Nothing will ever happen to Lipscomb.” His shots did seem to refuse to miss, even the most impossible looking of them. “His teammates automatically pass to his spot on the left side of the floor and if he isn’t there, the ball simply goes out of bounds and no one seems to care, because they do it again the next time down. When Pinky does catch a pass if he’s not wide open, he makes the defense look like he is. Every time he charges into a defender, he comes out of the collision with two free throws. As a matter of fact it’s gotten to the point that each time the whistle blows, ol’ Lip doesn’t even look; he just strolls to the foul line.”

           When Vandy and Florida showed up for their second round contest both teams were dressed in black. While black is one of Vanderbilt’s normal colors, it was unexpected to see the Gators sporting it and since they didn’t bring another color, the Commodores switched to white trunks and jerseys trimmed in gold and black. They looked sharp, but it didn’t help them on the floor. Florida had a couple of players with names that just sounded foreign to the sunshine state-Zdanzukas and Yinshanis. One sportswriter quipped, “Say both names and it sounds like a sneeze in a wind tunnel.”

           After scoring only four points and hitting no field goals in the first half, Auburn coach Ralph Jordan didn’t bother to even take his team to the locker room for the break. They remained on the sideline and none of them appeared at all undone by the fact they had just set a tournament record-the first team to fail to make a field goal in the first half.

           A few days following the SEC Tournament Vanderbilt coach Jim Buford stated they would not be scheduling Kentucky next season. After the two schools played in Lexington this year, Adolph Rupp said Buford told him. “I no longer intend to play Kentucky.” Coach Rupp was in Nashville attending the Mississippi Valley Conference Tournament when local Sportswriters approached him about the situation. Rupp commented, “We haven’t a game scheduled with Vanderbilt for next year, but I believe we will be able to work out the difficulty.” UK athletic director Bernie Shively agreed saying, “We haven’t completed the schedule and I don’t know whether Vandy will be on it or not.” He added he hoped things could be resolved. Those ‘difficulties’ were related to the two games between the Commodores and Wildcats, but especially the second in Lexington. That game became particularly rough and physical. Three Vanderbilt players fouled out and one was ejected for a flagrant foul. Kentucky had one player foul out and the Commodores felt the game had not been called fairly, plus they claimed the rough stuff was started by the UK squad at the very beginning of the game. Carl Staker and Pinky Lipscomb had become tangled up and the Vandy coaches and players thought Staker’s take down was not accidental. Immediately after the game was when Buford informed Rupp he wasn’t playing the Cats again.

           At the time Rupp assumed it was just words in the heat of the moment and did not take it all that seriously. Since nothing else was said, the Kentucky coach did not give the matter anymore thought. When asked about the game Rupp said it was “…pretty rough, but when you send a gang of boys out on the floor, you can’t tell every time what they’re going to do in the excitement of the game.” Rupp continued that the UK schedule was about filled and “….if they want to play us, they’ll have to come to us.” Tom Zerfoss, Vanderbilt athletic director, said their basketball schedule would be set in the next three weeks. Zerfoss refused to say yes or no when asked if the school would go along with Buford or if he would be told to schedule UK. Most figured Vanderbilt would support Buford’s position and it appeared doubtful the Commodores and Wildcats would be facing one another on the hardwood, at least for the time being.

           When two sides can’t come to an agreement, often a third party is brought in as a mediator. Well someone was ready to step in and attempt to bring Kentucky and Vanderbilt together. School officials of the city of Madisonville, Kentucky offered to host a game between UK and the Commodores. The idea was definitely popular with the locals; after all it was an opportunity to see the Wildcats play by fans that would otherwise never have the chance. Adolph Rupp was in western Kentucky attending the high school district tournaments when he learned of the offer. He said he was very interested in the proposal and hoped a game could be worked out. When asked what his thoughts were on the suggestion, Coach Buford sounded as though the decision was set in stone saying, “The fact is, Kentucky isn’t on our next year’s schedule and probably won’t be.” For those western Kentucky fans, there would be no game. Vanderbilt made good on their promise and did not play Kentucky the following season. As has been pointed out before, the SEC had no real requirements as far as the schedule was concerned. Each school made their own, both conference and non-conference.

           Coach Rupp lost three players from this team; Carl Combs who had not lived up to expectation after a good junior season; Keith Farnsley went through a small slump, but recovered during the conference tournament; Lee Huber was forced to suffer through another season of flu, colds and minor injuries. This year however, Huber had been able to play through it all unlike the previous season when his play fell off after a mid-season illness. He played so well he was named All-American.

           It certainly would be difficult to lose three players; two of them the top scorers, but a look at the returning roster had to give Rupp optimism. His 1941 team had just finished the year with his worst record since coming to Kentucky, 17-8. The one positive form this was that almost everyone on the squad had seen playing time. Rupp was known for using his bench extensively, but as with most coaches he usually had a core of regulars who got the significant time on the floor. While that was somewhat true this season, Rupp had moved more than the usual number of players in and out of that core. That meant practically all the returning squad had experienced some amount of time on the floor with the game on the line.

           Milt Ticco, Jim King, Marvin Akers, Mel Brewer, Ermal Allen, Waller White, Carl Staker, Ken England and Lloyd Ramsey appeared to be a solid foundation of a team that could become one of Rupp’s best. Adolph Rupp had achieved success in stages at Kentucky. He first set out to establish a program that would be competitive with the teams in Kentucky’s region of the country and to become consistently the top team in their conference. Rupp then built his teams into competitors on a national level, taking on the best from the east and Midwest and traveling the country to do so. The next logical step was to play in the national championship tournament and eventually bring the title to Lexington.

           In his first 10 years as the University of Kentucky basketball coach, Adolph Rupp had accomplished those first two goals. How long would it take for the man in the brown suit to achieve that ultimate prize of national champion? The Kentucky fans were hungry for ‘their’ Wildcats to be crowned the undisputed best in the country and not simply once, but year after year. If that could be attained before the end of the decade, then the 1940’s certainly would be fabulous.