It was before my time and probably before most peoples time that post here but looking at past stats and all the high scoring games makes me wonder if Rupp was known more for his offense or defense? No doubt he was way ahead of his time. I know he wrote some books but I haven’t read any of them. Just wondering if anyone on here has any insight or good stores to tell since it’s a slow time for basketball news
Was Rupp an offensive genius?
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He was considered a innovator of the game in the forties with his fast break style of basketball some believe he patterned after a local hs coach at Clark County letcher Norton
Rupp never had a player or team shoot 40% from 3. He was useless.
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Yes, and UK was the 1st CB dynasty winning four titles before anyone else in 11 seasons:
‘48, ‘49, ‘51 and ‘58.
‘48, ‘49, ‘51 and ‘58.
without a doubt
he changed the game both offensively & defensively with the 131 zone
he changed the game both offensively & defensively with the 131 zone
I heard he never let his teams shoot threes. Thought I'd look it up. It's actually true. They never shot a three. Not one.
Genius, my ***!
Rupp was friends with some of the top pro coaches of the day and would talk basketball with them, so yes he was on the cutting edge of basketball in the day. He was getting top talent and wanted a faster pace to help talent show their skills. He was one of if not the first to play a national schedule. He did this to allow his players to play in areas where there was pro ball, giving them more chance to be noticed. Prior to Rupp, most college ball was local. By traveling to other parts of the country, it lead to highlighting differences in officiating in different areas, creating a problem for the NCAA. This didn't make Rupp very well liked by the NCAA.
If not the inventor, he was the popularizer of the fast break, which is a 1000000x greater accolade to have than inventing some BS like the "four corners". The great Red Auerbach once said about Rupp and his teams that he would rather watch a Kentucky basketball practice than any two teams playing a game.
Rupp was ahead of his time, I was able to see his teams from the early 60's they were a fast break first kind of a team but when that wasn't there their offense consisted of player movement and passing, no one exemplified that more than Rupps Runts, he was definately a genius.
Coach Rupp despised zone defense (strictly man to man).
But the last decade or so, he shocked the world with a 1-3-1 half court trap.
But the last decade or so, he shocked the world with a 1-3-1 half court trap.
Wasn’t a zone. Was actually a stratified transitional hyperbolic paraboloid defense.
Some of you are too young to know...but Rupp really did not like Zone. Joe B brought the 1-3-1 zone to Kentucky. He fought constantly for Rupp to use it more, so much so that Joe B. left Kentucky, and the Administration got him to come back with the promise of being head coach by making Rupp retiring at mandatory age 70. Rupp tried to get his age set aside by the state legislators and for a while had the votes, but the deal with Joe b. won the day.
Rupp did not like the deal or Joe B and was very bitter about Joe returning. Joe B. went on to recruit Dan Issel and company as his 1st class, as Rupp was still head coach at that time. Joe coach the freshman Issel and company team and ran 1-3-1 zone exclusively that year. He took over the Head coaching job the next year!
Joe in his last years went to numerous John Calipari practices of John Calipari, who he was very fond of, always trying to get Cal to run the 1-3-1. He even offered to teach the team, but Cal never would use it, but Joe B. did teach Cal the 1-3-1!
Rupp Like Cal was Run, Run, Run and would not except change! In his last years teams started playing slow down (think four corners) and they ceased to be as good of a team.
Seems like yesterday .... Time flies when you are old, but the memories of Kentucky Basketball never fade!!
Rupp did not like the deal or Joe B and was very bitter about Joe returning. Joe B. went on to recruit Dan Issel and company as his 1st class, as Rupp was still head coach at that time. Joe coach the freshman Issel and company team and ran 1-3-1 zone exclusively that year. He took over the Head coaching job the next year!
Joe in his last years went to numerous John Calipari practices of John Calipari, who he was very fond of, always trying to get Cal to run the 1-3-1. He even offered to teach the team, but Cal never would use it, but Joe B. did teach Cal the 1-3-1!
Rupp Like Cal was Run, Run, Run and would not except change! In his last years teams started playing slow down (think four corners) and they ceased to be as good of a team.
Seems like yesterday .... Time flies when you are old, but the memories of Kentucky Basketball never fade!!
Apparently they have not given up the grudge 80 years later.
He won a lot of games. So he had to be doing something right!
I would love to have the classic K and that wildcat back as our logo.
PastorBob, Loved your post.
Going by my memory...which means 98.5% chance I am wrong :
* Coach Rupp did use the 1-3-1 in the 60's (trapping half court).
* Joe became head coach after Issel graduated.
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The ol’ Kentucky Weave was Rupp’s version of the dribble drive. Unique at the time and tough to defend.
Thank you. I wasn't sure what he was talking about. Rupp had two more seasons after Issel (70/71 & 71/72) with Tom Payne and Jim Andrews.
Likewise, he said Rupps teams ceased to be good toward the end, but they were consistently one of the best teams in basketball with 3 Elite 8s and 2 Sweet 16s in his final 5 seasons, ranked in the top 5 at some point in all 5 years, and an 82% winning percentage.
His postseason success dropped off but the Issel, Pratt, Casey teams were highly ranked the entire seasons 1969-71. I think the 1970 team ended the regular season ranked #1 but lost to Artis Gilmore and Jacksonville or at least I think so. That was the year I was born but my memory is not nearly that good.
Genius? Al McGuire said it best about coaches: you have to be smart enough to do it and dumb enough to think it important. I've watched some of the stuff from 58 and 66 on Youtube clips. The game was vastly different in those days. The athleticism of the players was much less, the skills were rougher, and the amount of contact permitted was tiny and strictly enforced. Hoops was what got played between football and baseball.
Rupp was among a handful of coaches who took the game seriously. Ed Diddle, Clair Bee, Adolph Rupp, Phog Allen. The UK coach before Rupp -- John Mauer -- went on to coach baseball and football elsewhere.
I think the UK coach who changed the game the most was Joe B. He brought year round training and muscle to the game and initiated the practice of defenses daring the refs to call contact.
Rupp was among a handful of coaches who took the game seriously. Ed Diddle, Clair Bee, Adolph Rupp, Phog Allen. The UK coach before Rupp -- John Mauer -- went on to coach baseball and football elsewhere.
I think the UK coach who changed the game the most was Joe B. He brought year round training and muscle to the game and initiated the practice of defenses daring the refs to call contact.
It was, I was at the Game! Dayton, OH. Issel was fouled out on a cheap foul and that was it.
Clarification needed I think. Pastor wasnt saying Hall took over as coach when he recruited Issel. He was saying Hall came back as Rupps assistant and did that and coached the Freshman team or Rupp until he retired. Hall did the same with the Grevey, Conner, Flynn, Guyette Freshman team that went undefeated. But all while Rupp was still the head man.
I forget the guys name, but per Tev Laudeman in The Rupp Years, Adolph Rupp said (referring to the NCAA president in charge during the scandal years and the undefeated team that couldn't play in the tournie) that he would not retire till that man was forced to hand him a championship trophy. In laudemans book is a picture of that man handing him a trophy for the Fiddling Five.
There was another year in the fifties when UK was not invited to the tournie. Only eight teams were invited at the time. The NCAA said UK had to do a play in game with NC State. UK had a stronger resume ( defending champions, rated higher and had beaten the #1 team). Rupp thought they were bluffing and called their bluff. They were not bluffing and left UK out.
Yes, they have disliked UK for a long time.
Oh btw, the coach before Rupp was Johnny Mauer who coached a slow methodical brand of ball that was nicknamed Submarine ball. One of his selling points to the hiring committee was a new faster brand of ball. One of the players was on the hiring committee and Rupp had already talked to them and had their backing.
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That’s crazy, I’m glad he got the satisfaction of making the dude hand him a trophy. Thank you for the information, I love learning all these stories I had never heard of. It’s important to keep them alive so people always know the history of our team.
Just go and look at the game scores over Rupp’s last few seasons. They scored over 100 points fairly often. And that was before the shot clock and three pointers. Rupp put an emphasis on scoring a lot.
Rupp retired in the spring of 72. The Grevey class were freshmen 72-73 so Rupp never coached them. He knew how good they were going to be and really wanted to continue coaching, but in those days 70 was the absolute top. He'd turned 70 the previous September, but I guess they permitted him to finish the academic year. (Can you imagine discussing the 1922 year back in 1972? People would think you were crazy.)
No I know that. Didnt say Rupp coached them, Hall did as freshman, while Rupp was sill the varsity coach
Don't know if sarcasm or not but he used a zone maybe the last two years at UK he hated zone defense for years
I had been meaning to respond to this claim for a while. In the last years leading up to Rupp's retirement, Kentucky was scoring more points than they ever had before, and more than any team has scored since.
In particular the two highest scoring teams in Kentucky history remain today as Rupp's 1970 team (96.8 ppg) and 1971 (95.4 ppg) teams. It's true that his final season (1972) there was a dip in scoring down to 82.5 ppg. That may have been due to a change in playing style but that was probably due to a dip in talent and injuries during the season. Still relatively high historically.
Below is the trend chart showing UK's scoring historically (in blue), including how it compares to opponent scoring (green) and the NCAA average scoring for that season (red).
Link to UK Statistical Trends