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In your opinion. UK's Top 5 players, BEFORE you became a fan

TopCatCal

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Dec 10, 2012
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I became a fan in 1969... My 5 are

Cliff Hagan
Alex Groza
Bill Spivey
Frank Ramsey
Ralph Beard

Let's give some of our old greats that made UK basketball great some well deserved pub.
 
I was born about five hours after we lost to Texas Western in the '66 title game. Which I can recall to this day royally pissed me off. Cried all night. Doctors said it was colic, but I couldn't speak so I couldn't explain myself.

SO, I'll go with Wah Wah Jones, Cliff Hagan, Frank Ramsey, Louis Dampier (although I was also angry with him about that '66 game), Alex Groza and Cotton Nash.
 
Wah Wah Jones, Ralph Beard, Cotton Nash, Bill Spivy, Cliff Hagan Wow, very difficult to cut the list to just five and still leave out some great players from UK, back in the day.
 
I'm not going to count Mashburn, I was 6 when he left UK and I don't remember watching him play but even by that age, I was definitely a fan and at least knew when Kentucky was winning and losing. Travis Ford, who obviously stayed one year longer, is the first player I remember watching play.

Going by what I heard from my dad, uncles, and grandpa about players in the past:

Issel
Macy
Givens
Bowie
Dampier

Didn't hear much about the individual players from back in the 40s and 50s, just stories about listening to the games on radio.
 
Here's my starters of players before my time:
5. Bill Spivey
4. Dan Issel
3. Cotton Nash
2. Louie Dampier
1. Ralph Beard
 
I was born about five hours after we lost to Texas Western in the '66 title game. Which I can recall to this day royally pissed me off. Cried all night. Doctors said it was colic, but I couldn't speak so I couldn't explain myself.

SO, I'll go with Wah Wah Jones, Cliff Hagan, Frank Ramsey, Louis Dampier (although I was also angry with him about that '66 game), Alex Groza and Cotton Nash.

Nice. Made me laugh.
 
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I became a fan in 1969... My 5 are

Cliff Hagan
Alex Groza
Bill Spivey
Frank Ramsey
Ralph Beard

Let's give some of our old greats that made UK basketball great some well deserved pub.


Since I never had the chance to hear or watch them play, I'll just have to go with the Kentucky All-Americans:

Basil Hayden AA 1921
Burgess Carey AA 1925
Louss McGinnis AA 1930
Bernie Opper AA 1938
Bob Brannum AA 1943

Became a fan in 1946 listened to the games on the old Marathon Oil Network
 
Have to think Hagan and Ramsey top my list (became a fan in 64-65 season). Not sure I can pick 3 out of Groza, Spivey, Beard, WahWah, Cotten Nash and Leroy Edwards (who Rupp reportedly said was the best center he ever had).
 
1978 was the first season I really knew what was happening so my cutoff is '77. I can never narrow these down to five, so I apologize in advance.

Ralph Beard
Kevin Grevey
Frank Ramsey
Cotton Nash
Dan Issel

Louie Dampier
Johnny Cox
Cliff Hagan
Al Groza
Bill Spivey
 
I became a fan in January, 1954, when I saw Hagan and Ramsey, et al beat Vandy in Nashville.
Before that, it has to be:

Bill Spivey
Alex Groza
Ralph Beard
Wah Wah Jones
Aggie Sale
 
I was born in '85. First team I rememeber watching was 1990. I'll go with favorite player before I was born.

Gotta be Dan Issel or Sky Walker
 
'66 was my first real season of following...so, Cotton Nash, Vernon Hatton, Ralph Beard, Bill Spivey, and Johnny Cox.

I saw Cliff Hagan, Frank Ramsey, and Adrian Smith play in the NBA
 
Where's Bert? I wanna hear some names of the guys who had to get the ball outta the peach baskets.
 
too difficult a question OP
there are so many - most here have them pretty well covered though

I have favorites, for different reasons than how they played:
Louie Dampier - actually went to HS with his kids; heckuva nice guy. Remember when my older son was in elementary school, they were coming home on the bus and it was a bit icy outside. The bus slid off the road a bit. This older guy helped the driver get back on track and made sure the kids were okay. When my son got home, he told me about it - said he didn't know who it was, but that the driver said "tell your parents Louie Dampier was the one who helped us out" I've run into him a time or two - always pleasant

Kenny Walker; don't know if you all remember Kybballloveaffair or not? Some of the AOLers probably do. I think she posted here some as well. Anyway - she had some really good season tickets, and took me to a few games. She knew Kenny and introduced me to him at a game during the season. 2003 SEC tourney in NOLA, we ran into him on Bourbon Street and ended up having dinner together; he remembered me and actually remembered my name, as well. Thought that was cool

Jeff Brassow: first (former) player I ever actually got to meet, and it was at the first UK game I ever actually got to attend. He signed my ticket stub

Woo Orbzut - this is pretty recent; I was at work a few weeks ago, and this guy walks in. Was going to make a smart aleck comment about us having a height limit (he's 7ft 1") when I realized who it was. Was pretty excited; the girl I was working with kept laughing at me because I got flustered. He is one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet, though.
 
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