Did any of you guys attend the 1985 Final Four in Lexington?
- Thread starter Robcatt24
- Start date
That’s the week that Joe B. was cordially invited to “resign,” no?
The Failed Lute Olson to UK Courtship 1.0 was in full effect.
The Failed Lute Olson to UK Courtship 1.0 was in full effect.
I was down there on game day because the accounting firm I worked for had businesses there and I had to deliver payroll. Place was packed and of course parking terrible. If you go to the internet and type in "pics of the crowd during the 1985 national championship game in Rupp Arena", there are several shots showing the crowd.
With 3 Big East teams there, I can only imagine how many Yankees were in town.
LOL, I had forgot about that, yes there was that loud mouth BE favor in the Civic Center that day for sure.
Watching the 85 final the other day brought back memories of how much excitement was in town. I was a sophomore at UK and pretty much partied from Thursday to Monday. We met some young ladies from St Johns out at the Campbell House on Thurs and showed them the best the Lex had to offer to 2 days. Hung out at the Hyatt on semifinal Saturday sporting a major hangover. Recuperated on Sunday from the past 3 days. Me and my girlfriend got to Rupp 2 hours before game time looking for tickets and lo and behold a Memphis fan 5 mins before Gametime sold us 2 uppers 3rd Row for $75. Its amazing how generic looking the tickets were, but we were there to witness to history.
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anon_q409idbs5m40a
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Had a chance to go but couldn't. Had just moved to Texas the year prior and the HC for the Fort Hood Basketball team said he could get me in for about $500. Simply could not swing getting off work and making arrangements on short notice.
I was with Committee of 101 hosted Georgetown went everywhere with them John Thompson the nastiest SOB. I ever met
I was in Rupp in 1984 for the game to go to the final four with UK and Illinois U. UK won in overtime but we had to do some home cooking to get there. Very intense crowd.
I attended the Saturday games.Having three Big East teams was a bummer. Memphis with Kieth Lee was the fourth team. I along with the world was shocked when Villanova beat Georgetown on Monday night. The Wildcats played nearly perfectly to win and the had to.
Nope, But I did attend both of UK’s games in SLC. We won both in upsets. Then we went to Denver and lost to St Johns. I was there. Had we made it to Rupp Arena I would have been there. Kenny “Skywalker” was the star of that team.
Is that a well-known and commonly accepted notion, that Hall was pushed aside? I'm trying to recall if I've heard this. Wouldn't surprise me, I've just always had the idea that - you know, UK job ages you in dog years, etc. - that 13 years was enough and he was likely exhausted.
Dad was a 101er and the folks made the trip up to Lexington from Austin and he took his jacket on the off chance they'd let him, he still kept in touch with many other members of the group, and sure enough, he was able to attend the FF that season.
Joe knew the storm clouds were on the horizon. He wanted out before all hell broke loose.
Yep. As I recall, rumors were that Olson had accepted, and we'd already gone into "done deal" mode assuming he'd be our next coach.
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anon_q409idbs5m40a
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I had also heard that he complained that the FF was in an arena that was named for Rupp. Did you hear anything like that?
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anon_q409idbs5m40a
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Illinois was very good that year and we had to have some major luck to beat them twice. First time was with the "replacement" referees in Champaign with a shot at the buzzer.
I was 2 at the time. Wish Id been old enough to at least remember it and have been able to feel the atmosphere around the city then.
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anon_q409idbs5m40a
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I did not hear that he was asked to leave but no doubt the job wore on him. I saw him at the Fayette Mall once with his wife and he had the nastiest, most dour look on his face and this was while he was still coaching. However, I met him at an Alumni Function in Dallas and he was the most cordial and polite individual one could have met. No doubt that the job stress was killing him.
No Sutton caused those storms
Are you insane? Joe played on 1951 NCAA Championship team for Coach Rupp Adolph got him his first College coaching job at SW Missouri State hired him at UK when Joe wasn’t good enough to play at UK helped him transfer to Sewanee to finish his career
Joe idolized Rupp
Think he was talking about Thompson
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anon_q409idbs5m40a
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Insane, I think that probably describes you better. What makes you think I was talking about Coach Hall? I was referring to John Thompson.
Yes. I was glad to see Chris Mullen play, but I was surprised that St. Johns didn't give G'town a better game. And, of course, I'm sure everybody has already read everything that can be said about Ed Pickney's game in the Finals.
It's been so long ago, though, that this old mind had forgotten that all the controversy about Joe B. was going on that weekend.
It's been so long ago, though, that this old mind had forgotten that all the controversy about Joe B. was going on that weekend.
This is quite wrong. I know it happened at least five more times after that ....in 86, 88, 90, 94 and 96.
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anon_q409idbs5m40a
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I was there, for both sessions. It was an incredible time to be in Lexington. The tournament was already so big that it was hard to believe the FF was in such a small city... but that’s the power of Kentucky Basketball. Every room in Lexington was sold out, and there were people staying as far away as Louisville.
I remember talking to quite a few people from the Northeast, and despite what you might think, they were all blown away by Lexington’s hospitality and style.
At the games, Memphis had the most fans by far, with Villanova next. St John’s was such a rinky-dink operation that they had to have the
Lafayette HS pep band play for them- true story.
Seeing Villanova clip Georgetown- who I despised at the time- was one of the great moments in my sports life, and of course in American sports history.
I remember talking to quite a few people from the Northeast, and despite what you might think, they were all blown away by Lexington’s hospitality and style.
At the games, Memphis had the most fans by far, with Villanova next. St John’s was such a rinky-dink operation that they had to have the
Lafayette HS pep band play for them- true story.
Seeing Villanova clip Georgetown- who I despised at the time- was one of the great moments in my sports life, and of course in American sports history.
Working for a video crew at that time. did the regional in Dayton week before with interviews and what not. So long ago don't remember much. Came back to Lex finals week and did interviews. Best interview was with Dickie V. Before he went nuts. Nicest person we met. Didn't get to do games but came out with the poster they had for the final four.
Nicest person we met. Didn't get to do games but came out with the poster they had for the final four.
Hung out at Griffin Gate with some friends as the coaches convention was there. We met some famous coaches like Lefty Driesell. The fun thing was two of us sat with two little known coaches for a couple hours, drinking and talking basketball and had a blast. One was from North Dakota and had played in the ABA I think. The other was from Montana. The Montana coach was Mike Montgomery. It was fun to watch him progress over the years.
I've always heard that Joe B wanted out. He felt that 1985 team would be successful and a good starting block for a new coach to inherit.
The only done deal that was associated with Olsen during this was the BIG RAISE he got when he went back home. They didn't call him LOOT Olsen for nothing.
