Kentucky Dad Pod Episode 3 with Tony Delk

Episode 3 of The Kentucky Dad Podcast featured one of the best players in Kentucky basketball history.

Tony Delk scored 1,890 points and drained 283 three pointers over a four year span in Lexington. Despite all of his statistical achievements, he will always be remembered for the key role that he played on one of the best college basketball teams to ever be assembled, the 1996 national champion Kentucky Wildcats.

In the Cats’ 76-67 victory over Syracuse in the title game, Delk played 37 minutes and scored 24 points, which included a memorable four-point play in the second half. That season, he was named SEC Player of the Year, the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player, and was drafted 16th overall by the Charlotte Hornets.

Not bad, right?

If you never had the chance to see Tony Delk play, that’s a real shame, because he was wired to score the basketball and was virtually unstoppable once he got hot.

During the podcast, he tells stories of dropping 70 points in high school and 53 points in an NBA game. Out of every player that has ever worn blue, Tony Delk was one of the best to ever do it.

Now that he’s done playing basketball, the former Wildcat faces an even bigger challenge: Being a world-class father to his three daughters. Taylor is 21, Bella is 16, and his youngest daughter, Trinity, is 14 years old. These days much of his time is also spent operating the Tony Delk Basketball Academy, an organization that develops on and off court skills for athletes of various ages.

If you’re not familiar with the Kentucky Dad Podcast, it is a weekly show that highlights Kentucky Sports Figures and their role as a parent. Of course, UK sports topics will come up, especially with a former UK great like Tony Delk, but overall the conversation is centered around the joys and pains of parenting.

Episode 3 was really special, as things were shared that many people may not know about Tony Delk. He talked about growing up in Tennessee and being faced with the real life challenges of poverty but overcoming that struggle due to the sound guidance from his own parents, who were married over 50 years.

The first time his father ever saw him play basketball wasn’t until he arrived at the University of Kentucky and a game was televised.

Even though Tony has several brothers and sisters, they were all much older, so in a sense, he was like an only child. That independence is something that he credits to driving his work ethic and mental maturity.

Although, he mentioned he has an on-going five-year addiction to Candy Crush!

Check out Episode 3 of the Kentucky Dad Podcast! Subscribe and review on iTunes! Follow on Twitter @KentuckyDadPod