1953–54 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
1953–54 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
SEC Regular season champions; Helms Foundation National Champions
Conference	Southeast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 1
1953–54 record	25–0 (14–0 SEC)
Head coach	Adolph Rupp
Assistant coach	Harry Lancaster
Home arena	Memorial Coliseum

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.^[1]

Season summary

This team finished unbeaten a 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

1953–54 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	66	Bill Bibb	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	—	Owensboro, KY
F	22	Jerry Bird	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	—	Corbin, KY
G	73	Dan Chandler	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	So	—	Versailles, KY
F	34	Hugh Coy	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Madison	Richmond, KY
G	35	Jess Curry	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	167 lb (76 kg)	So	—	Portsmouth, VA
G/F	42	Billy Evans	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	—	Berea, KY
G	32	Clay Evans	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	So	—	Flemingsburg, KY
F	44	Phil Grawemeyer	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	duPont Manual	Louisville, KY
G	25	Pete Grigsby	5 ft 0 in (1.52 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	So	—	Martin, KY
C	6	Cliff Hagan	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Owensboro	Owensboro, KY
C	77	Harold Hurst	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	So	Powell County	Waltersville, KY
G	33	Linville Puckett	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	So	Clark County	Winchester, KY
G	30	Frank Ramsey	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Madisonville	Madisonville, KY
G	20	Gayle Rose	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jr	—	Paris, KY
G	19	Willie Rouse	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	University	Lexington, KY
F	16	Lou Tsioropoulos	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Lynn Classical	Lynn, MA

Head coach

Adolph Rupp

Assistant coach(es)

Harry Lancaster

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2015-09-07

Postseason

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 NBA

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.^[2]

References

↑ "NCAA Division I Men's Basketball – NCAA Division I Champions". Rauzulu's Street. 2004. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2013-01-18.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "NCAA Division I Men's Basketball – NCAA Division I Champions". Rauzulu's Street. 2004. Retrieved June 9, 2014.

[2] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2013-01-18.

Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
Venues	State College Gymnasium (1903–1914) Buell Armory Gymnasium (1910–1924) Alumni Gymnasium (1924–1950) Memorial Coliseum (1950–1976) Rupp Arena (1976–present) Joe Craft Center (practice)
Rivalries	Centre College (historical) Florida Georgetown College (historical) Indiana Louisville North Carolina Tennessee Transylvania (historical)
Culture & Lore	Basketbowl Champions Classic Fabulous Five "The Shot" The Unforgettables History under Adolph Rupp The Rivalry: Red v. Blue 2011 game vs. Indiana
People	Head coaches Honored players Honorees NBA draftees Players Recruiting history
Seasons	1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics

1953–54 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
SEC Regular season champions Helms Foundation National Champions
Conference	Southeast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 1
1953–54 record	25–0 (14–0 SEC)
Head coach	Adolph Rupp
Assistant coach	Harry Lancaster
Home arena	Memorial Coliseum