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Wall and Anderson were on totally different levels. Dirk was an outstanding athlete but not on their level.
Dirk Minnifield
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Is Morton the school close to Chevy Chase? I played in a church league in 1977 and I believe it was at Morton.
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Agree that he had a rough upbringing. I've always wondered if he would've made a difference playing PG on the 1984 and 86 teams.
1983 Elite 8 game. Knoxville was the host of that Regional.
Back then they didn't have the generic NCAA tourney court which every site uses like today. Instead, you used whatever court your host had to offer.
OP . . . your post, my Big Blue Friend, only indicates that you never saw Dwight Anderson play !
Go, 'Cats !
Go, 'Cats !
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You really think he was? In watching UK basketball for 50 years I can't recall seeing anyone with more athletic ability than Dwight Anderson and Wall was close behind.
Off Tates Creek Rd, not far from CC IIRC. I transferred from Southern, had an Uncle that taught at Morton. I remember DM just tearing up Southern whenever they played, he was a one man show. Morton was an eye opener for a white bread like me, more blacks attended there than were at Southern.
He's NOT a big blue friend Rip. Maryland Terp until he wore out his welcome with them, became a UNC board fanboy spewing many posts shitting on UK, our players, our coaches, and us fans... just an FYI.
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Thanks, looks as if I was thinking about the wrong side of town. I played at a middle school close to Chevy Chase and can't recall the name. Really a nice gym and a tough league at that.
The very obvious answer is no.
Not sure if playing with the names or if serious, but out of respect for a great, though small guard, it was Dickie Beal.
Did U of L really block the Minnifield lay up attempt late in the DG because it still hit backboard and rim; heck it almost dropped.
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Looked as if Dirk was surprised that Jones got over that fast and tried to put it up high. It wasn't like he missed a wide open layout.
He's right. Dirk's athleticism tends to get exaggerated because of how that one crazy dunk against Missisippi State has been replayed over and over through the years. But that dunk was an outlier, one of those "holy shit, where did that come from?" moments, but it's not the sort of thing he did regularly.
We've had other guards (Wall, Anderson Bledsoe, DA, etc.) that I think displayed breathtaking athleticism on a more consistent basis than Dirk.
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Don't know about "all", but the guy does know more than the vast majority here. MJ has always been one of the smartest and most knowledgeable posters on this board.
And the tone of your post suggests that you're probably just someone who's bitter over having had his ignorance exposed by him in the past.
LOVED dirk when I was a kid - Charles hurt and others in those ~ 81 to 83 teamsI remember watching “the white shadow” back then and thinking that Thorpe reminded me of Dirk
Looking back he didn’t quite seem to completely realize his potential at UK ....some of that was Halls coaching for guards - some of it was the nature of the game then - some of it was probably Dirk
Those early 80s teams never quite finished well either...I remember two back to back first round NCAA losses even though we had been top 10 or 5 all season ((UAB and MTSU)))
My aunt helped Dirk in school as well
Looking back he didn’t quite seem to completely realize his potential at UK ....some of that was Halls coaching for guards - some of it was the nature of the game then - some of it was probably Dirk
Those early 80s teams never quite finished well either...I remember two back to back first round NCAA losses even though we had been top 10 or 5 all season ((UAB and MTSU)))
My aunt helped Dirk in school as well
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I always thought that Dirk and Dickie Beal were in similar situations under Coach Hall, being that both were players better suited to a more "run and gun" offense as opposed to the structured offense at the time. Dirk never really lived up to his hype and I agree that some of it was coaching combined with the more deliberate pace of the college game back then. Not a knock on Coach Hall at all but games back then had become predictable and just boring when UK played in the SEC, especially on the road. Dickie Beal was probably one of the most improved players during his time at UK as during his first couple of seasons he couldn't throw a ball in the ocean.
Those eighties teams regularly scrimmaged the Yugoslavian national team and often hammered them?
But would lose on the road to strong LSU and Auburn teams - Tennessee and the stokley jinks and a couple of one off ole miss or Florida games....
I remember Beal as a fifth year player (?) running point (occasionally dual point w/minnifield...but normally Macy and master were the two guards)
Beal was like a floor general for that 1984 final four team but was a lot quicker before his knee (?) injuries
Loved both
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Yes, they did beat the Yugoslavian National team badly and I was there to see it. Big difference was that the game was played under international rules with a shot clock. UK was not hindered by the "slow down and pack it in" type of game they would see later, especially in the SEC. The international games were fun to watch. Beal was just terrible his first year at UK and didn't see much PT simply because he could not throw a ball in a washtub. I can recall Coach Hall stating on one of his weekly shows that a guard in the SEC has to be able to hit free throws consistently, especially on the road. However, he worked at his game and improved a lot from his freshman to senior season and did lead the 1984 team to a Final Four.
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Remember those late season losses as well. Both of those teams looked simply worn out at the end of the season. UAB was actually a decent team but should have never beaten us in the tournament. UK had played them earlier in the season at Rupp and it was a fairly close game. The Middle Tennessee game was just strange to begin with as UK shot only two FT's the entire game. Team just didn't look motivated to play even though a matchup with UL would have been next.
Love pursuing the collective memory banks of UK fans
Truman Claytor was another guard for Coach Hall that I vaguely recall
He was before Beal and Minnifield and I THINK- ran point for the 78 title team?
Seems that he was a bigger / stronger guard than the others and was more in the mold of Liggins / Harrison twins than Minnifield / Wayne turner smaller guards
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Clayton was about 6'-1" but he was smooth. Really good penetrator and outside shooter. Another player whose skills were held back by the style of play during that era. However, Clayton and Macy combined for one of the best backcourts in UK history and winning the 1978 title pretty much proved it. Passed Clayton in a stairwell one day while going to class and he was complaining to Chris Gettlefinger about an upcoming weight training session. Apparently, he wasn't big on lifting weights, lol.
I gotta say, it kinda amazes me how one can profess to know all these details about a player, yet not even know his name.
Claytor, not Clayton.
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Ever hear of a typo? And for some odd reason it kept coming up with a "n" on the end. I know very well about Truman Claytor.
Sorry, my friend, but the typo excuse only works if you just do it once.
If you'd only done it once, I would've ignored it. But Instead you did it over and over EVERY time you referenced him. That suggests someone who simply doesn't know what his name was.
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There was another forward on those late 70's teams that I don't recall so well either --- I think he was in the 'mold' of Charles Hurt too -- LeVon Williams I think
Was he like.a 'do the dirty work' kind of player and not a scorer?
Intimidator?
The first UK team I really remember latching onto as a whole TEAM was probably that 1983 team that lost to UL
So Levon Williams, Robey, Phillips, Givens were all a little before the time where I was really getting old enough to dig in deeper etc
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False, and I could care less what you did or didn't ignore. Since you know so much tell us what Claytor's two best games were in a UK uniform.
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Lavon Williams was a freshman on the 1978 team that won the title. Did see some minutes that season but was better known for one of the reserves that started the second half against Florida State in the NCAA tournament when Hall was incensed at his starters. He made a couple of key defensive plays and a put back slam that kept UK in the game. He did resemble Hurt but Charles came later on. Another reserve was Chuck Alexsinas who also got some playing time during the 1978 season as a reserve. He was a starter the next season but suddenly left after the first semester and transferred to UCONN.
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Also, since you're obviously portray the image that you know more than anyone on the board, which you don't, tell us what Truman Claytor's pre-game ritual was.
Wait don't go yet! Dunk that ball Dirk! Draw the foul. I was there. So nerve racking. Devastating loss for me personally ...living in Lou and fighting the fight. We were double digit underdogs but played so hard and well. Deserved to win that game in regulation. However, we have hammered them ever since!
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