ESPN has released a new documentary on the 1978 Kentucky Wildcats, called "Win Or Else." I'm watching it now. Comments, as Eric says, will flow.
ESPN has released a new documentary on the 1978 Kentucky Wildcats, called "Win Or Else." I'm watching it now. Comments, as Eric says, will flow.
We start with Jack Givens shooting baskets by himself in what appears to be the UK practice facility. He's making those shots from the free throw line that beat Duke.
ReplyDeleteJack Givens is our narrator. We start with the seniors being introduced at the first practice of the year. They play the clip from Dick Enberg before the title game about how it had been a season without celebration.
ReplyDeleteSo we go to black-and-white clips of Rupp. They tell us that he was an authoritarian.
ReplyDeleteRupp was forced to resign in 1972, because he had reached the maximum age of 70. Now we are getting clips of Joe Hall and Cynthiana.
ReplyDeleteNow Givens is telling us about watching the 1966 Game with Texas Western. He would have been nine years old. He rooted for Texas Western. But now we are recruiting African American players. There's Leonard Hamilton! Here's Reggie Warford!
ReplyDeleteGivens grew up in Lexington. He went to Bryan Station. James Lee went to Lexington Henry Clay. Lee's dad was a minister, and Givens and Lee knew each other growing up. Reggie Warford says that Givens was "Mr. Silk" and Lee was "Mr. Steel."
ReplyDeleteThat 1978 team had to be the last UK team with two major players from Lexington.
ReplyDeleteGivens says that he didn't have a connection to UK. Fred Cowan (from Union County) says the older guys in his community told him not to go. Givens says that a lot of older guys at his church said the same thing.
ReplyDeleteBut Givens says he and Lee didn't want to leave home. Lee says he had a long talk with his Dad. His Dad had grown up near UK, and couldn't even walk on campus. Lee told him, "If I sign with UK, you can walk all over campus." So they signed.
ReplyDeleteNow Robey and Phillips are there -- can these big freshman really help? Robey tells us that Hall was ahead of his time in terms of weightlifting and workouts. Here's LaVon Williams -- who was a big favorite at our house. He was also a weightlifter.
ReplyDeleteSo we have the 1974-75 season. THERE'S A SHOT OF MEMORIAL COLISEUM WITH THE MAP OF KENTUCKY ON THE FLOOR! I loved that design, and it's never been replicated at Rupp.
ReplyDeleteThey quickly reach the Finals, where they have to play UCLA. Hall tell us that Wooden has announced that this will be his last game. I remember that he made that announce on Sunday, the day before the game, and my mother told me then that UK would lose. She was right.
ReplyDeleteUCLA 92, Kentucky 85. But hey, our freshmen -- Givens, Lee, Phillips, and Robey -- have three more years!
ReplyDeleteReggie Warford said that UK was smart to get African-Americans who were from Kentucky and knew the state.
ReplyDeleteIn 1975-76, Robey got hurt in January and was out for the rest of the year. Without the 1975 seniors and Robey, the team was struggling. At one point they were 10-10. But they had a players' meeting and stayed strong.
ReplyDeleteThey won the last six games of the season and went to the 1976 NIT, which was a bigger deal back then. It was a 16-team tournament, with all games played at Madison Square Garden. Kentucky beat Niagara (67-61), Kansas State (81-78), and Providence (79-78) to reach the final against UNC-Charlotte.
ReplyDeleteDown 37-34 at the half, UK beat UNCC 71-67. That was a big deal, and everyone was happy when they came back to Lexington.
ReplyDeleteIn 1976-77, they were really good. They added Jay Shidler, and went 24-3.
ReplyDeleteAfter crushing Princeton and VMI, they were in the Regional Final against UNC. It's a game I have never forgotten. Givens says, "The first half was up and down the floor the way we liked to play. But at halftime we found ourselves down by 12." And then, of course, UNC ran the Four Corners for almost the entire second half.
ReplyDeleteUK eventually got to within 71-70 with about a minute left, but of course UNC could keep running down the clock. UNC made its last eight free throws, and won 79-72.
ReplyDeleteNow the Cats are desperate. One chance left. They worked hard all summer. Now everyone is complaining that UK is too "physical."
ReplyDeleteNow they're talking about the blizzards of January 1978 -- which I remember very well -- and a big coal mining strike in 1978, which I don't remember at all.
ReplyDeleteThe Cats go 25-2, and there's a nice shot of the scoreboard at Tennessee, where UK won 68-57. The documentary skips the losses at Alabama and LSU, which traumatized me.
ReplyDelete1978 was the last season where the SEC did not have a post-season tournament. So after the regular season, UK's next game was at Knoxville against Florida State. UK entered the tournament as the number-1 team in the nation.
ReplyDeleteWith less than four minutes to go in the first half, Florida State -- who won the last game Adolph Rupp ever coached -- is up 37-27. UK never looked right to me when they were at the Stokely Center. In fact, this is the same gym where we lost to Louisville in the 1983 Elite Eight.
ReplyDeleteMacy says they were "lethargic" and "tight." Just then we see Truman Claytor trying to throw a pass to LaVon Williams -- but Williams doesn't know the pass is coming, and cuts toward the basket. The ball goes out of bounds.
ReplyDeleteIt was Cowan who missed this pass -- not Williams.
DeleteHall chewed everyone out at the half. Fred Cowan and LaVon Williams were sitting at the back -- only to realize that they will be starting the second half. UK's lineup for the second half was Macy, Claytor, Cowan, Williams, and Phillips.
ReplyDeleteDick Enberg and Billy Packer, calling the game for NBC are skeptical. Hall says that everyone thought he was crazy, but the Cats started playing "defense with urgency."
ReplyDeleteThe UK fans were skeptical of the new lineup at first, but as the team started to do better, the fans rallied behind them. Williams says that it felt good.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, the UK fans in our house on Cairo Road in Paducah were skeptical--and then rallied behind the charging Wildcats.
DeleteAfter the backups got UK back into the game, Hall put his regular starters back in. UK then rolled to an 85-76 victory. On to Dayton and a regional semi-final against Miami (Ohio). UK wins 91-69.
ReplyDeleteI remember Dad was very impressed that Hall went back to the starters when he did. This might've been the only night I can really remember Dad being excited about Coach Hall.
DeleteNow they have to beat Michigan State. This was, of course, one of the great games of all time -- and a game that has to be in the running for greatest UK win ever.
ReplyDeleteThink about it: If UK loses this game, Michigan State probably would have won the title. They would have won it again in 1979. The back-to-back MSU champions would have been one of the greatest teams ever. And UK would have failed. But UK pulled it out 52-49, as Macy went 10-11 from the line to seal the victory.
ReplyDeleteThat performance made Kyle Macy my hero.
DeleteNext up: Arkansas and Eddie Sutton. Arkansas came really close to going all the way in both 1978 and 1979. In 1978 they lost to UK; in 1979 they lost in the Elite Eight to Indiana State.
ReplyDeleteWith just under two minutes to go, and a 61-59 lead, Macy is inbounding the ball under his own goal. Arkansas is pressing. But Givens runs deep -- and Macy hits him with a long pass that turns into a layup. The Cats go up 63-59, and win the game 64-59.
ReplyDeleteUK's uniforms in 1978 are the best uniforms UK has ever had.
ReplyDeleteNow for the final against Duke. The Blue Devils (coached by Bill Foster) are in a zone to stop UK's big players. The zone has a hole at the free throw line. UK runs Givens to the free throw line, and he starts making jumper after jumper. Duke never switches its defense, and UK never stops feeding Givens. Robey says that the team was good at getting the ball to whoever had the hot hand. Givens scores 41 points, going 18-27 from the field, and 5-8 at the line.
ReplyDeleteLee closes out the game with a power dunk -- which was a symbol of that team -- and UK wins 94-88. UK went 16-25 from the line. Duke was 30-34.
ReplyDeleteThat James Lee dunk was fantastic. The first time I saw Zion Williamson play, I thought of James Lee.
DeleteJoe Hall says that they key reason they won: "They are greater people off the floor than they are on the floor."
ReplyDeleteThey landed in Lexington at 2 AM, the airport was packed with people. Personally, I cannot remember any championship ever that meant this much to any fan base.
ReplyDeleteMaybe the Cubs in 2016. Maybe the Red Sox in 2004. But that's it. There's never been a fan base that wanted to win a title as much as UK fans wanted to win in 1978.
DeleteLavon Williams and Fred Cowan say that after their success, more African-Americans in Kentucky started rooting for Kentucky.
ReplyDelete