C'mon man....UK FIRED Coach Rupp. He didn't CHOOSE to leave.
What did you expect him to do, go home and quit coaching?
Coaching was his life and UK admin took that away from him.
How many knew Rupp accepted the Duke job after he retired?
- Thread starter VaxxedObamaCat
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What did you expect him to do, go home and quit coaching?
Coaching was his life and UK admin took that away from him.
And that was the intent. Rupp was pi$$ed about being forcefully retired after all he had done in building UK basketball into the greatest college team in the country.
Adolph Rupp built the UK Wildcat brand. Duke wanted him bad.
I don't think he ever meant to actually take the Duke job, so he backed out at the last minute.
If you've never read this, you should. It's the definitive Rupp biography.
I have a signed copy of that book by Mr Rice.
Forcing anyone into retirement isn't ideal and our elders are a little more unforgiving in most cases.
Hard to blame Rupp for trying to in his way get back at UK. At least he ultimately didn't take the job.
Duke was completely irrelevant to UK fans back then. They didn’t become “Duke” like we know it today until 7 years later when we beat them in 78 and they had be send the new Darlings of the NCAA with their underdog team led by the freshman Banks and Dennard.
Do you have the short version of that? Never heard that one. (Not saying it didn’t happen.)
This was common knowledge. I don’t think Rupp legacy can be changed. There were other things more important that happened during Rupp tenure , including the shaving points scandal that AJG and other boys were involved, which didn’t change how people looked at Rupp.
Of course , every now and then, someone rediscovers the wheel and makes a big thing out of it , just like during Calipari timewith some idiots were calling Rupp a racist, without knowing the history and how Rupp went way beyond his times to give opportunities to everyone.
Rupp is the grandfather of Kentucky basketball, and the measuring stick for every great basketball college coach including K.
He had a brilliant basketball mind, if you study his tactics that he invented you will see that some of the schemes are run today by the most advanced coaches.
There are certain things like the hook pass and semi hook pass that he was using and teaching all guards and pivots that almost disappeared, which is crazy because if executed correctly it’s unguardebel.
For instance , the offensive play through the pivot positioned at the approximate 3 point line ( albeit back then we didn’t have a 3 point line), could be easily studied by Coach Pope and implemented even today. If anything he could at least run few plays as tribute to Coach Rupp.
The way Coach Rupp was emphasizing passing and fast break was top notch stuff.
Coach Rupp will always be the GOAT!
I heard he felt Joe B wasn't up to the task and was telling people as much behind the scenes. I mean, Joe B didn't exactly have a killer resume when they handed him the reins.
Times were passing adolph by and no adjystment too it Kentucky needed a change no doubt
This is silly. The obvious distinction …which you seem to be missing …is that Rupp desperately wanted to still be the UK coach. He didn’t voluntarily leave, instead UK gave him no choice. It ain’t disloyalty to simply still want to do your job.
Plus Duke was not considered a hated rival back then. That version of Duke didn’t develop until the Coach K years.
This. If you were living then and followed or were involved with the program you knew.
Do you think Rupp had magical powers to see the future?
Duke did not become hated by UK fans until years after his death. At that time it was just another ACC school to us.
It’s laughable how some of you would say that Rupp would be considered less of a racist for coaching at Duke, like 1972 North Carolina at that time was a shining example of desegregation and civil rights in the south. 
In 1972, Duke basketball was technically desegregated (since C.B. Claiborne had played earlier), but the roster was almost entirely white, and the program was still in the early, careful stages of recruiting and supporting Black athletes. Full racial integration and real diversity on the team didn’t come until a little later in the 1970s
“By 1972: Duke still had very few Black players on its basketball roster. Claiborne had already graduated (he played from 1966–1969), and the team was still predominantly white. Recruiting Black athletes was happening very slowly, and Duke lagged behind some other major programs (especially compared to Northern schools or even some SEC schools that had started integrating).”
“1972 North Carolina was in the middle of very real, very emotional desegregation struggles, driven by court orders, forced busing, and a lot of social tension.” - (Chat GPT)
In 1972, Duke basketball was technically desegregated (since C.B. Claiborne had played earlier), but the roster was almost entirely white, and the program was still in the early, careful stages of recruiting and supporting Black athletes. Full racial integration and real diversity on the team didn’t come until a little later in the 1970s
“By 1972: Duke still had very few Black players on its basketball roster. Claiborne had already graduated (he played from 1966–1969), and the team was still predominantly white. Recruiting Black athletes was happening very slowly, and Duke lagged behind some other major programs (especially compared to Northern schools or even some SEC schools that had started integrating).”
“1972 North Carolina was in the middle of very real, very emotional desegregation struggles, driven by court orders, forced busing, and a lot of social tension.” - (Chat GPT)
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Sounds like you might not have been around at that time, because there was a LOT of drama around Coach Rupp being forced to retire against his will.
Yes, it was state law at the time. But everyone, including Coach Rupp knew that issue could have been mitigated IF the right people actually wanted him to stay as HC.....
They didn't. And there was a LOT of hard feelings with the Rupp family and all the KY fans that idolized CR, and wanted to allow him to retire on his own terms.
Sound familiar??? Was there any drama when Cal left for Arkansas?? Nah. SMH.
They weren't the mortal enemy most UK fans perceive them to be even then. That '78 team was a Cinderella, came out of nowhere to make the title game. They underachieved the next two seasons, Foster left, and they had to start over with Coach K in 1980-81.
UK fans didn't begin to loathe them until K started winning everything in sight in the mid-80s, culminating with the 1992 game that solidified them as Public Enemy #1 for much of the BBN.
"K winning everything in sight in the mid 80s?"
They won their first title in 91, only had two ACC tournament titles (86, 89) and their winning percentage was 80.2% from 85-89.
They never played in Maui and lost in the first round of the Great Alaskan Shootout in 1985 to Northeastern.
K was there for all of that.
.
Not sure about the Duke thing, but one article I read from that time period, Rupp was not ready to quite coaching.
Who were these people you speak of who can change / ignore laws? I thought the state legislature did that.
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Rupp and my grandfather (Georgetown) were in the registered cattle business together.
Catlett probably would’ve succeeded big here if had gotten it. He was a damn good coach who went on to have a very nice career at Cincy and WVU.
Another one of those UK “what if?” scenarios to think about….
Bear in mind that Rupp did not want to retire. He was forced out. The UK administration tried to force him out at age 65, but he was popular enough to stop it then, but was forced out 5 years later in a very contentious manner.
Benn around a while, followed the program since I was a kid(little kid) Luckily my memory is still pretty much intact. UK sports has been a staple in my life and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything
You're a daisy. Was just reading a story about that movie.
A big issue at the time, I suspect there were many moving parts behind the scenes. There was a mandatory retirement age of 70(at UK) but if the powers that be had wanted to waive it in his case it probably could have been done. I wonder if the loss to WKU might have sealed his fate.
I was involved with the program during Coach Rupp’s last years, the transition to Coach Hall and the Super Kittens. The loss to Western Kentucky did not seal anything regarding Coach Rupp’s fate at UK. Otis Singletary had to enforce the UK mandatory retirement policy of 70 and he did not bend to the external pressure to make an exception.
True. That 78 team did come out of nowhere and became the darlings partly because of their two freshman Banks and Dennard who were portrayed as the Ebony and Ivory combo of the day.
With all the talk about how many titles Pitino would have won if he stayed.... Look no further than this. How many did coach k get after that great run ended in 94 or 95
He won 3 in his last 30 years years of coaching.
So Duke hired a racist coach???!!! 😱😉Say it ain't so!!!
Seriously I didn't know that Rupp was offered the Duke job.
Seriously I didn't know that Rupp was offered the Duke job.
This is the way I thought it went and I was just in HS at the time but was already following UKBB super closely.... best you could in those days.
Several thought the game had passed Rupp by around that time. The Cats had a good run in 70 and were rebuilding in 71. I was a young college kid at that point in time but I remember thinking Rupp had a few good years left. I was for Hall over Catlett at the time. Interested in your thoughts on the matter
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