Kentucky honors former player George Atkins following his death
Kentucky has paid their respects after the passing of one of their former players back in the 60s.
George Atkins, a Wildcat who played for Adolph Rupp, passed away a few days ago at the age of 82. The program shared their thoughts today in a tweet regarding his death.
Atkins spent three seasons as a member of the team from 1960 to 1963, including a redshirt in 1960. In a handful of appearances, he posted few statistics in a span where the Wildcats went 58-21 (.734) in one of the final decades of Rupp’s tenure in Lexington.
Atkins, a native of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, was also involved in aspects of his life beyond the basketball court, specifically in politics.
Atkins graduated from the Gatton College of Business and Economics in 1963 with a commerce degree. From there, he would go on to become the mayor of Hopkinsville in 1972. He then became the state auditor in 1975. He also ran for governor in 1979 before pulling from the race and becoming the eventual winner’s finance secretary and cabinet secretary and ran for lieutenant governor in 1989 before losing in the running.
Atkins continued his support for his alma mater as president of the UK Alumni Association in 1975. He would continue on as an active member in the organization going on from there.
Atkins’ memorial was in Louisville last week on Friday. They then held another in Hopkinsville the following day.
Mark Pope, Kentucky add Alvin Brooks III to staff
Kentucky head coach Mark Pope reportedly added Baylor assistant coach Alvin Brooks III to the Wildcats’ staff, according to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello.
“Kentucky’s Mark Pope is adding Baylor assistant Alvin Brooks III to his staff, sources told ESPN,” Borzello wrote on Twitter. “Brooks has worked under Scott Drew in Waco since 2016, spent the previous four seasons at Kansas State.“
Brooks coached nearly a decade under Scott Drew at Baylor, helping the team win the 2021 National Championship. Prior to that, Brooks was an assistant at Kansas State from 2012-16.
Brooks was in the assistant coach role since 2004 where he had stops at Arkansas-Fort Smith, Midland, Bradley and Sam Houston State before going to a Power Five school.
Along with former BYU assistant Cody Fueger, Pope is reportedly brought in former Georgia head coach Mark Fox and G-League Ignite head coach Jason Hart, per the Athletic’s Kyle Tucker.