The 1953–54 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented University of Kentucky. The head coach was Adolph Rupp. The team was a member of the Southeast Conference and played their home games at Memorial Coliseum. They were named national champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation.[2]
This team finished unbeaten 25–0, and though it won the Southeastern Conference title and could have played in the NCAA tournament, it chose not to because star players Frank Ramsey, Cliff Hagan and Lou Tsioropoulos were ruled ineligible because they had already graduated. That rule has since been abolished, but it prevented the Wildcats from competing for the national championship.
The Wildcats were the top-ranked team in the nation with a record of 25–0. Despite the undefeated season, the Wildcats did not participate in any post-season tournament. Three players (Lou Tsioropoulos, Frank Ramsey, and Cliff Hagan) had technically graduated the year before (when Kentucky was banned from playing a competitive schedule due to the point-shaving scandal a few years earlier), so those players were ruled ineligible for the NCAA tournament. Despite the wishes of the players, coach Adolph Rupp ultimately decided his team wouldn't play.
Team players drafted into the NBAedit
No one from the Wildcats was selected in the 1954 NBA Draft, as Ramsey, Hagan, and Tsioropoulos had been drafted the previous year, and those teams held their rights.[3]
Referencesedit
^sports-reference.com 1953-54 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
^"NCAA Division I Men's Basketball – NCAA Division I Champions". Rauzulu's Street. 2004. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
^. Archived from the original on January 5, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
April 12, 2024
1953, kentucky, wildcats, basketball, team, represented, university, kentucky, head, coach, adolph, rupp, team, member, southeast, conference, played, their, home, games, memorial, coliseum, they, were, named, national, champions, helms, athletic, foundation, . The 1953 54 Kentucky Wildcats men s basketball team represented University of Kentucky The head coach was Adolph Rupp The team was a member of the Southeast Conference and played their home games at Memorial Coliseum They were named national champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation 2 1953 54 Kentucky Wildcats men s basketballSEC Regular season co championsHelms Foundation National ChampionsConferenceSoutheast ConferenceRankingCoachesNo 2APNo 1Record25 0 14 0 SEC Head coachAdolph RuppAssistant coachHarry LancasterHome arenaMemorial ColiseumSeasons 1952 531954 55 1953 54 Southeastern Conference men s basketball standings vte Conf OverallTeam W L PCT W L PCTNo 1 Kentucky 14 0 1 000 25 0 1 000No 14 LSU 14 0 1 000 20 5 800Alabama 10 4 714 16 8 667Tulane 10 4 714 15 8 652Auburn 8 6 571 16 8 667Ole Miss 7 7 500 12 12 500Tennessee 7 7 500 11 12 478Vanderbilt 5 9 357 12 10 545Mississippi State 5 9 357 11 10 524Florida 3 11 214 7 15 318Georgia 2 12 143 7 18 280Georgia Tech 0 14 000 2 22 083Rankings from AP Poll 1 Contents 1 Season summary 2 Roster 3 Rankings 4 Postseason 5 Team players drafted into the NBA 6 ReferencesSeason summary editThis team finished unbeaten 25 0 and though it won the Southeastern Conference title and could have played in the NCAA tournament it chose not to because star players Frank Ramsey Cliff Hagan and Lou Tsioropoulos were ruled ineligible because they had already graduated That rule has since been abolished but it prevented the Wildcats from competing for the national championship Roster edit1953 54 Kentucky Wildcats men s basketball teamPlayers CoachesPos Name Height Weight Year Previous school HometownF 66 Bill Bibb 6 ft 4 in 1 93 m 190 lb 86 kg So Owensboro KYF 22 Jerry Bird 6 ft 6 in 1 98 m 200 lb 91 kg So Corbin KYG 73 Dan Chandler 5 ft 11 in 1 8 m 160 lb 73 kg So Versailles KYF 34 Hugh Coy 6 ft 1 in 1 85 m 185 lb 84 kg So Madison Richmond KYG 35 Jess Curry 5 ft 11 in 1 8 m 167 lb 76 kg So Portsmouth VAG F 42 Billy Evans 6 ft 1 in 1 85 m 170 lb 77 kg Jr Berea KYG 32 Clay Evans 5 ft 9 in 1 75 m 165 lb 75 kg So Flemingsburg KYF 44 Phil Grawemeyer 6 ft 7 in 2 01 m 180 lb 82 kg So duPont Manual Louisville KYG 25 Pete Grigsby 5 ft 0 in 1 52 m 165 lb 75 kg So Martin KYC 6 Cliff Hagan 6 ft 4 in 1 93 m 200 lb 91 kg Sr Owensboro Owensboro KYC 77 Harold Hurst 6 ft 7 in 2 01 m 190 lb 86 kg So Powell County Waltersville KYG 33 Linville Puckett 6 ft 0 in 1 83 m 165 lb 75 kg So Clark County Winchester KYG 30 Frank Ramsey 6 ft 3 in 1 91 m 185 lb 84 kg Sr Madisonville Madisonville KYG 20 Gayle Rose 6 ft 0 in 1 83 m 170 lb 77 kg Jr Paris KYG 19 Willie Rouse nbsp 6 ft 0 in 1 83 m 190 lb 86 kg Jr University Lexington KYF 16 Lou Tsioropoulos 6 ft 5 in 1 96 m 200 lb 91 kg Sr Lynn Classical Lynn MA Head coachAdolph RuppAssistant coach es Harry LancasterLegend C Team captain S Suspended I Ineligible W Walk on nbsp Injured nbsp Current redshirtRoster Last update 2015 09 07Rankings editMain article 1953 54 NCAA men s basketball rankingsPostseason editThe Wildcats were the top ranked team in the nation with a record of 25 0 Despite the undefeated season the Wildcats did not participate in any post season tournament Three players Lou Tsioropoulos Frank Ramsey and Cliff Hagan had technically graduated the year before when Kentucky was banned from playing a competitive schedule due to the point shaving scandal a few years earlier so those players were ruled ineligible for the NCAA tournament Despite the wishes of the players coach Adolph Rupp ultimately decided his team wouldn t play Team players drafted into the NBA editNo one from the Wildcats was selected in the 1954 NBA Draft as Ramsey Hagan and Tsioropoulos had been drafted the previous year and those teams held their rights 3 References edit sports reference com 1953 54 Southeastern Conference Season Summary NCAA Division I Men s Basketball NCAA Division I Champions Rauzulu s Street 2004 Retrieved June 9 2014 1954 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball com Archived from the original on January 5 2013 Retrieved January 18 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1953 54 Kentucky Wildcats men 27s basketball team amp oldid 1192926961, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,