Why basketball is king on the Bluegrass

by JL Blue on Mar 21, 2007 4:48 PM EDT in Events

Photo courtesy of Jon Scott's UK stats.

By far the best thing about running this site is the chance to interact and hear from the readers and fans out there.

And while I certainly enjoy the notes from readers who say "I like your site" or "You're a moron," the best kind of notes are the ones I never expected to get, notes from a kid who needed to interview UK players for a school project or a loyal reader knee deep in West Virginia fans.

The following letter came from a reader, Bob Combs. I think it reminds us that, while players and coaches may come and go, we're passionate about UK hoops, and hoops in general, for far bigger reasons and with far broader ends:

This Friday at the afternoon session of the Boys State Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena, my father will be recognized by the Ky. High School Coaches Association as the third Region "Court of Honor" coach.

He is 92 years old and is probably the oldest living basketball player that played for U.K. and Adolph Rupp. He was a starting guard for the 1938 Wildcats. He is in the Ky. High School Athletic Hall of Fame as a basketball coach. He was in education as a principal and coach for 43 years.

He took four teams from tiny Hartford High School to the state "Sweet 16." He coached former WKU coach Johnny Oldham. I will be bringing my 91-year-old mother and my father to the ceremony. I was a coach and principal at Apollo High School in Owensboro from the 1980's through the 1990's. I retired from Ky. in 1999 and I am now the principal of South Spencer High School in Indiana. This is quite an honor for my family and I thought it would be news worthy.

Indeed it is, Mr. Combs.

Folks, please join me in honoring Mr. Combs' father, Charles Combs, point guard of the 1937-38 Kentucky Wildcats.

What we think is so important, life and death in basketball terms, pales in comparison to the history that is the Kentucky program.

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Comments

Outstanding

Really. Nothing gets me thinking about what makes Kentucky basketball different from all the other programs out there like seeing a real piece of the history and tradition. The people of Kentucky, young and old, have been with this program for decades, nigh on a century. Our successes and legends, our failures and flame-outs, are all part of what makes us the premier program in the country.

It's hard for us to deal with losing, but nothing reminds me so much about why we care as this. We were on top before the rest of them, and we'll be on top again after they are gone.

by Logan5 on Mar 21, 2007 7:54 PM EDT reply actions

Awesome ...

Great to see our past boys in blue get noticed again.

A great memory. Thanks for the reminder.

by Glenn Logan on Mar 22, 2007 8:37 AM EDT reply actions

Cool

I enjoy reading things like this. More posts about the history of UK hoops would be a great addition to the site.

Looking for a rock to wind a piece of string around.

by JLeverenz on Mar 22, 2007 10:08 AM EDT reply actions

I remember...

the 1984-85 season. sometime in december we lost four straight, almost all to ranked teams. i remember asking my dad "will kentucky ever be good again?"

the answer, as always, is yes.

nice article. enjoyed reading it.

by catlanta91 on Mar 22, 2007 10:43 AM EDT reply actions