1958 NCAA champion Ed Beck passed away

[caption id="attachment_269827" align="alignnone" width="986"] (Photo: UK Athletics)[/caption] Ed Beck, an NCAA basketball national champion and former letterman for your University of Kentucky Wildcats, passed away on Wednesday. He was 83. Beck played three seasons under Adolph Rupp from 1955-58, serving as one of Rupp's team captains in the 1956-57 and 1957-58 seasons. He scored 459 points over the course of his career and earned Second Team All-SEC honors as a junior. One year later, Beck claimed the league's Defensive Player of the Year award and helped guide Kentucky to its fourth national championship in school history. UK athletics director Mitch Barnhart had this to say about Beck's passing: “Ed Beck was an important member of the Kentucky basketball family. He cemented his place in UK lore as one of the great rebounders in program history and a leader of one of our most beloved teams. Seeing him and his teammates return home for the reunion of the 1958 team reunion earlier this year was truly special. We offer our condolences to Ed’s family and friends.” John Calipari tweeted, "Thinking about the Beck family tonight and hope everyone can say a prayer for him and his family. I'm glad we were able to do the 1958 reunion back in February and bring Ed back to Kentucky to honor him and his teammates. He will be missed." [caption id="attachment_269828" align="alignnone" width="1200"] (Photo: Elliott Hess | UK Athletics)[/caption]