Kentucky Sports Radio
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
[Moderated by Matt Jones]
One of the things the UK Athletics Department does well is honoring former Kentucky greats. Today at Rupp Arena, one of the greatest teams in college basketball history will be honored and celebrated. The 1948 Kentucky basketball team, known as the Fabulous Five, was historically great. It lost only two games in the regular season before becoming the SEC Regular season, SEC Tournament and NCAA National Champion. The team was led by the great Ralph Beard and Alex Groza and was considered the first truly “rock star” college basketball team of the modern era. However its greatness did not stop there. It then went on and played the Phillips Oilers, the then AAU champion at a time when AAU basketball was a top sport, nearly beating the supposedly unbeatable team. Members of that AAU team then combined with the Kentucky Wildcats to form the 1948 United States Olympic Team, which went to London, England and brought home the gold medal.
That is an amazing accomplishment that almost boggles the mind in the modern era. A collegiate team went to the Olympics as a whole, and in the process brought home the gold medal, defeating Switzerland, Czechoslovakia, Argentina, Egypt, Peru, Uruguay, Mexico and France in the process. This team represented the University of Kentucky and truly deserves to be honored as one of its most historic group of athletes. Unfortunately the great Ralph Beard passed away this year and wont be at the event, but his memory will live on at the ceremony today. If you are going to the game, soak in what an historic day it is, but even if you arent going, take some time to read about the Fabulous Five. The history of Kentucky basketball is what makes it great and today Kentucky honors some of its true legends.
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Bill Keightley Report : Never to be forgotten.
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January 25th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
When you talk about greatest teams in NCAA history it is impossible to top those two criteria:
NCAA champions and Olympic Champions.
It will never, ever be done again. Incredible.
January 25th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Before Billy G is done he will have one of the greatest teams of all time too. GO CATS
January 25th, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Yep, the NBA’ers can’t even win the Olympics now.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:36 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaS-WzjUsQ8
Kige Ramsey and the WKU mascot FTW!!!!
January 26th, 2008 at 12:38 am
As an African American male this is the hardest part about being a UK fan. Truly a great team from that run down of accomplishments, but well before my era and at a time when my people couldn’t participate.
RIP- Beard. I can only hope that he and the ‘48 team were as great off the court as they were on.
January 26th, 2008 at 12:46 am
AJStewart — I hear you, but is that the hardest part of being a UK fan — or the hardest part of being an American?
January 26th, 2008 at 12:53 am
They haven’t done such a great job in acknowledging the harm to the freshman from the 1961 football team that were abused by Charlie Bradshaw.
They haven’t said anything, I don’t think.
But the freshman from that year are having a reunion this summer and Rich Brooks, what a good guy he is, is coming. UK athletic administration, not so much.
January 26th, 2008 at 1:07 am
#5 No offence but it should be hard to be a fan of any school then because they where all like that a long time ago not just Kentucky, Kentucky just singled out. Rupp got single out to make that movie better. They where racist pigs every where.
January 26th, 2008 at 1:47 am
5) I agree with what you are saying, but unfortunately that was the landscape of college basketball then, do I agree with it, no, but at least UK had a huge part to change that landscape by playing Texas Western in 1966, unfortunately UK and Rupp had to take some heat just for playing in that game. No one ever mentions that fact that Texas Western played an all white Duke team in the semis, that seems to go unnoticed for some reason. The thing about UK basketball that makes it so great is that we have maintained a level of excellence dating back to 1948 and no other university can say that.
January 26th, 2008 at 2:43 am
Beautiful post Matt. The story of the ‘48 team is one I tell a lot of non-Kentucky fans to help them understand what it all means.
January 26th, 2008 at 5:49 am
7) Thanks for brining that up. These kids go unnoticed while we still honor players involved in a gambling scandal!
January 26th, 2008 at 6:22 am
#9. No one mentions the fact that Tex Western played an all-white Duke team in the semis because they didn’t play Duke. UK played Duke in the Final Four. Not TW. TW played Utah to get to the Championship game.
January 26th, 2008 at 8:11 am
How many and who are still living from this team?
January 26th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Total respect and thanks for mentioning. However, weren’t they the “Fiddlin’ Five?” The Fab Five were Michigan I thought? (I may be wrong, wouldn’t be the first time.) GO CATS.
January 26th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Fiddlin Five was the 1958 team
January 26th, 2008 at 9:18 am
#14. are you serious?
January 26th, 2008 at 9:51 am
The history of slavery, racism, opression, classism, sexism, homophobia, and corporatism in this country is embarassing considering that we brazenly call ourselves the land of the free. Desegregation on college campuses and in college athletics was a small but important part of a movement which has been largely aborted in the last 35 years of neo-conservative rule in the United States.
That having been said, UK 82, SC 68.
January 26th, 2008 at 9:56 am
#16 i agree, #14 is a good example of why we should be honoring this team. There was a fab five 45 years before the boys in Michigan showed up. That being said the Michigan Fab Five are the most overrated team in history. You hear so much about them and they never even won the Big Ten title let alone a National Title. Sorry if im venting, Im still bitter about that game, Mashburn deserved a National Title.
January 26th, 2008 at 10:20 am
Is UK football covered here?
January 26th, 2008 at 10:21 am
18 they did it as freshman, that is impressive.
January 26th, 2008 at 11:07 am
Come on Matt you said
” However its greatness did not stop there. It then went on and played the Phillips Oilers, the then AAU champion at a time when AAU basketball was a top sport, nearly beating the supposedly unbeatable team. ”
They played 4 times and the Cats beat them once. So they didn’t nearly beat the unbeatable team they BEAT the unbeatable team.
After the Olympic trails game where the Oilers won by 4 49-53. ( a game that the New York Times hailed as the greatest game ever played) They played 3 more times so the committee could be sure that they got the right team to represent the United States. They played 3 more times the final time in Lexington.
But in Kansas in June of 48 the Cats beat the Oilers in a double overtime game.
After another close game in Lexington they put the teams together and asked Rupp to be the assistant coach with Omar Browning to be the head coach.
This team has been honored before - should be honored today - and will forever be honored because of all they accomplished. Feats that will never be repeated.
1948 Fab Five - the birth of GREATNESS!!!!
January 26th, 2008 at 11:26 am
[...] Kentucky to Honor 1948 National Champs [...]
January 26th, 2008 at 11:36 am
Blackhawk,
Your information is incorrect. The Oilers beat UK in New York in the Olympic Trials. It was this game that gave Omar Bradley the right to be called the Olympic team’s head coach (although in reality both played significant roles, Bradley took much of the coaching responsibilities for the AAU players and Rupp took much of the coaching responsibilities for the college players).
The other three games were exhibitions held that summer to raise funds for sending the entire team over to England.
Jon
January 26th, 2008 at 11:48 am
It is certainly appropriate to honor this team -The Fabulous Five (not the Fab Five). They won the first (and second) of seven NCAA championships the Cats have won. There are some players alive, although some have passed, as have a great number of fans from that era. Let’s prreicate them while we can. I am going to pass on the race discussion - everything is not about race.