Kentucky rolls in Pelphrey's emotional return to Rupp Arena
LEXINGTON, Ky. — For the first time since “The Unforgettables'” jerseys were raised into the hallowed rafters of Rupp Arena in 1992, John Pelphrey was reunited with former Kentucky teammates Deron Feldhaus, Sean Woods, and Richie Farmer on Wednesday night in the place where they became legends.
The outcome of the game — a 104-54 romp by No. 19 Kentucky against Pelphrey’s scrappy but outmanned Golden Eagles — took a back seat to a pre-Thanksgiving feast of emotions.
“These guys changed and reset the trajectory of Kentucky basketball,” UK head coach Mark Pope said of Pelphrey and his fellow Unforgettables, who sat next to him during his postgame press conference and fielded questions about their time with the Cats. “They laid the foundation for what I got to experience when I came here as a player. They reset it for all of us who have played since then.”
Although taking the lopsided defeat, Pelphrey said he was pleased with the direction of his alma mater.
“They are good,” Pelphrey said of the Cats. “Rupp Arena is great. That is a beautiful jersey. Very, very humbled to have the chance to experience the things I have experienced here. It is emotional, it really is.”
Pelphrey got misty-eyed on several occasions during his nearly 19-minute postgame press conference, an unheard-of length for an opposing coach at Rupp Arena. He called the venue a “cathedral” and a “shrine of college basketball.” He gave shout-outs to former UK legends like Kenny Walker, “the real No. 34,” whose jersey featuring the same digits also hangs in the rafters alongside that of his own.
He noted that there were times he did not think he would ever live out his dream of playing for Kentucky, being a talented but 170-pound teenager in Paintsville who had to overcome many limitations to ultimately land a scholarship offer from Eddie Sutton.
Pelphrey even urged a current Wildcat from “the 606,” sophomore guard Trent Noah, who was one of three UK players with a team-high 16 points on Wednesday, to continue fighting for his legacy in Lexington. How bad do you want it? How much are you willing to sacrifice to prove the doubters wrong, Pelphrey asked.
Ultimately, Pelphrey did not have the horses to push Kentucky for 40 minutes. But the Golden Eagles did display his trademark competitiveness, hanging with the Cats, 25-25, until about seven minutes remaining in the first half.
Noah helped spark an 18-3 run by Kentucky, and the Cats extended the run to 35-10 into the second half to take complete control of the game.
Kentucky (5-2) also got 16 points from Otega Oweh and Denzel Aberdeen. Collin Chandler and Malachi Moreno also reached double figures with 14 and 13, respectively.
The Cats shot 70% in the second half, including their final 10 attempts from the field on the night.
Tennessee Tech (3-4) was led by Ja’Quavian Florence with 11 points and Dani Pounds with 10.
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In our regular postgame feature, Cats Illustrated touches on some quick-hitters from the UK victory…
GAME BALL:
Trent Noah, Kentucky — The sophomore guard from Harlan County had his best night as a Wildcat with 16 points and six rebounds off the bench. He was 5-of-6 from the field, including four treys.
BY THE NUMBERS:
7th – 100-point performance for Kentucky under Mark Pope.
8 – UK players made at least one 3-pointer, including the first of walk-on Walker Horn’s career.
15/30 – Kentucky’s 3-point shooting, a season-high for makes and percentage.
27 – Assists by the Wildcats, a season-high. Collin Chandler led UK with five.
50 – The largest margin of victory for UK under Pope.
66/50/84 – Kentucky’s shooting percentages from 2PFG/3PFG/FT line. It’s only the third time the Cats have hit those three figures in a game since 2005.
QUOTABLE:
“The team is deep. The team is skilled. I think they have a tremendous upside. They will not be the same team 30 days from now, 60 days from now. They are going to continue to get better and better and better.” — Tennessee Tech head coach John Pelphrey on the Cats.
UP NEXT:
Kentucky returns to action on Tuesday in the ACC/SEC Challenge against North Carolina. Tipoff is slated for 9:30 ET at Rupp Arena.