Kentucky Wildcats is one of the consistent top teams that compete every year in NCAA.
They are well-known around the world because of their success and the famous players that played for them. The Kentucky Wildcats is the official team that represents the University of Kentucky in men’s and women’s intercollegiate basketball. The fans of the wildcats are known as the Big Blue Nation and they have superb effort in supporting their team.
History
In 1902, the basketball program originally began on the campus as a women’s sport then in a year later, it was men’s basketball we’re added.
In 1930, coach Adolph Rupp was hired by the University of Kentucky as the head coach of the basketball team. His coaching span lasted for over 40 years, up until the year 1972. With his coaching ability and intelligence, he led the Wildcats to four NCAA crowns in the year of 1948, 1949, 1951 and 1958. In 1978, under Joe Hall, the wildcats attained its fifth NCAA championship. Another NCAA championship was under Rick Pitino and the latest was in 1998 under, Orlando “tubby” Smith.
In the year 2007, the university showed the world the Joe Craft Center, which is worth 30 million dollars and a state-of-the-art training facility for the men’s and women’s team.
One of the most elite teams in the world of basketball is the University of Kentucky because they have the winningest program in the history of college basketball. The wildcats are the first Division I team to reach 2,000 wins on December 20, 2009 after winning over Drexel University.
They are also the leading team in the all-time winning percentage with .760 with the record of 2017 wins, 636 losses.
The men’s team has acquired a total of seven NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championships but it is only the second to UCLA’s whooping eleven championships. And as mentioned, the seven championships were under 4 different coaches, Adolph Rupp(1948, 1948, 1951 and 1958, Joe Hall(1978), Rick Pitino(1996) and Tubby Smith(1998).
They also won the 1933 Helms National Championship, two NIT Championships in 1946 and 1976. They also have gained 44 SEC regular season titles.
Their star player in 2009-2010 season John Wall was drafted as the #1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft because of his athleticism, explosiveness, ballhandling and especially his speed. In 2010 Draft of the NBA, the Wildcats have 5 players drafted, they are John Wall(PG), Erick Bledsoe(PG/SG), Patrick Patterson(PF), DeMarcus Cousins(C/PF) and Daniel Orton(PF), all of them we’re in the first round and that sets a record for most players from a single university to be drafted in the first round.
The women’s basketball team were created in 1902 but they competed for the first time on February 21, 1903. The University Senate passed a bill to terminate women’s basketball team because “Basketball had proven to be a strenuous sport for boys and therefore was too strenuous for girls.
The women’s basketball continued after 50 years of absence and acquired the basketball varsity status in 1974. They were called as the Lady Kats and they were under coach Sue Feamster. In 1982, they won the SEC Tournament and on 1983, with the same great trio of Valerie Still, Patty Jo Hedges and Lea Wise, they lead the team to being #4 ranking in the nation and was the highest in team’s history.
Matthew Mitchell is the current coach and on 2010 was named as the SEC Coach of the year after leading his team in a 26-8 season.
Return from Kentucky Wildcats Basketball to College Basketball
Return from Kentucky Wildcats Basketball to Best Basketball Tips