1970–71 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

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The 1970–71 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team was head coach Adolph Rupp's second to last team. While not as successful as his past Wildcats teams, would go reach the Sweet Sixteen, finishing the season with a 22–6 record (16-2) and a Southeastern Conference regular season championship.

Integration on UK basketball team[]

The integration process at the University of Kentucky was a lengthy process to fully complete. Starting with a teenager named Charles Eubanks; he applied to the College of Engineering, but, was denied because of his skin color. Eubanks was denied because of the Kentucky Day Law; which didn't allow black and white students to attend the same school. The lawsuit led to the creation of the "separate but equal" program at the Historically Black College and University of Kentucky State University. The University of Kentucky became integrated in 1949. Lyman T.Johnson was the first African-American to enroll at Kentucky; making the class of 1949 the first integrated class. In 1954, admissions at the University fully opened to undergraduate black students. Adolph Rupp was the head coach of UK basketball team during the time of segregation within the basketball team. Rupp didn't sign a black player until 1969, even though all of the Universities athletic teams were officially desegregated. Adoplh did recruit black players, but they had to be the best of best and carry no flaws. The SEC, which Kentucky played conference basketball in, didn't all black players to play; making it very difficult for black players. Rupp finally signed a black player, Tom Payne, during his second to last season; integrating the University of Kentucky basketball team.

Adolph Rupp[]

Adolph Rupp's career at Kentucky was legendary and he is considered one of the greatest coach in collegiate basketball history. Rupp coached 41 season at UK and his record included coaching 32 All-Americans, 52 All-SEC players, 44 NBA draft picks, 2 National players of the year, 7 Olympic Gold medalist, and 4 Naismith Memorial basketball hall of fame members, However, Rupp had a lot of controversy during his career including the point shaving scandal, lack of integration, racism, and demanding coach style. The 1951 point shaving scandal, occurred while Rupp was the head coach; it involved four basketball players who were arrested for taking bribes from gambles to "shave points" during the National Invitation Tournament game against the Loyola Ramblers. The NCAA voted to ban Kentucky from competing for a year; canceling their 1952-53 season. Adoplh Rupp one of the early innovators of the fast break and set offense and "guard around" plays. Rupp's coaching style composed of repetition, as a result, he was demanding of his players; berating his players and putting maximum pressure on them. Adoplh Rupp was forced into retirement when he was 70; he later went on to coach in the ABA and later becoming a vice president within the ABA.

NCAA Appearance[]

Through the 1970's decade, Kentucky had the fifth-best winning percentage throughout all collegiate basketball teams in the nation. The University of Kentucky represented the mideast division in the NCAA tournament of the 1970-71 season. Their first opponent of that year was facing the independent school of Marquette University whose record that year was 28-1 and was lead by head coach, Al McGuire. Their next opponent and last would be Western Kentucky, lead by John Oldham in the Sweet Sixteen; the Hilltoppers would make history that year by being the first non-historically black Kentucky college to start all black players. WKU beat UK, subsequently ending their 1970-71 basketball season.

Breakout players[]

The University of Kentucky basketball team didn't accomplish their end goal of winning a national championship, but they did have two breakout players and an undefeated freshman team. Mike Casey was "Mr. Basketball" in Kentucky and averaged 18 points per game and led the team in free-throw shooting. After, UK he went on to be drafted by the Chicago Bulls. Larry Steele started all three of his college years and averaged 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 3.9 assist per game. Steele was selected 1st team All-SEC twice, co-caption, MVP, Leadership and hustle award. He lated went on to be drafted by the Trail Blazers in the NBA and the Kentucky Colones, but ultimately played for Portland and one a NBA championship in 1977. During Adloph Rupp's time at head coach, he played the freshman on a separate team from the upperclass men. University of Kentucky also had an undefeated freshman basketball team that year.

References[]

^[1]-Hale, Jon. “Why Did It Take so Long for Adolph Rupp to Sign a Black Player? Listen to His Explanation.” Journal, Louisville Courier-Journal, 30 July 2020, https://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/college/kentucky/2020/07/30/kentucky-basketball-adolph-rupp-defends-record-race/5532707002/.

-Jessewashington. “Kentucky Must Reckon with the Full Meaning of Adolph Rupp.” The Undefeated, The Undefeated, 7 Aug. 2020, https://theundefeated.com/features/kentucky-must-reckon-with-the-full-meaning-of-adolph-rupp/.

-Kentucky women in the Civil Rights Era. Kentucky Women in the Civil Rights Era Site Wide Activity RSS. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2021, from http://www.kywcrh.org/archives/930.

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