| # | Name | Pos | Class | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (School) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #19 | Forest Sale (L) | C-F | Sr. | 6-4 | - | Lawrenceburg, KY (Kavanaugh) | National Player of the Year [Helms]; All-American [Consensus (1st), Converse (1st), College Humor (1st), Helms]; All-SEC [First Team]; All-SEC Tournament; |
| #00 | John DeMoisey (L) | C-F | Jr. | 6-4 | 170 | Walton, KY (High) | All-SEC [First Team]; All-SEC Tournament; |
| #2 | Bill Davis (L) | G | So. | 5-11 | - | Hazard, KY (High) | All-SEC [Second Team]; All-SEC Tournament; |
| - | Darrell Darby (L) | F | Sr. | 5-10 | 160 | Ashland, KY (High) | - |
| #12 | Ellis Johnson (L) | G | Sr. | 6-0 | 185 | Ashland, KY (High) | All-American [Helms]; All-SEC [First Team]; All-SEC Tournament; |
| #11 | George Yates (L) | C | Sr. | 6-4 | 178 | Elizabethtown, KY (High) | - |
| - | Howard Kreuter (L) | F | Jr. | 5-11 | 185 | Newport, KY (Covington Holmes) | - |
| - | Jack Tucker (L) | F | So. | 6-0 | - | Cynthiana, KY (High) | - |
| #26 | Dave Lawrence (L) | F | So. | 6-1 | - | Corinth, KY (High) | - |
| - | Ralph Kercheval | G | Jr. | 6-1 | 190 | Lexington, KY (Senior) | - |
| - | Maurice Jackson | G | So. | 5-10 | - | Lexington, KY (Henry Clay) | - |
| #16 | George Skinner (L) | G | Sr. | 6-1 | 180 | Lexington, KY (Henry Clay) | - |
| #8 | Evan Settle (L) | G | Jr. | 5-10 | - | Crab Orchard, KY (Owenton High) | - |
| - | John Morris | C | So. | 6-2 | - | Lexington, KY (Henry Clay) | - |
| - | Joe Rupert | C | So. | 6-1 | 180 | Catlettsburg, KY (High) | - |
| Schedule | Player Statistics | Game Statistics |
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1932-33 Squad |
Front Row (l to r): J.W. Biggerstaff, Evan Settle, Charles Gates, Vernon Nugent, Jack Tucker, Maurice Jackson, Dave Lawrence |
Season Review - Varsity Basketball (Kentuckian)
Playing one of the hardest schedules ever attempted by a Kentucky basketball team, Coach Adolph Rupp's Wildcat netters won 21 out of 24 games they participated in during the 1932-33 season and wound up the season by winning the finals at the tournament of the Southeastern Conference at Atlanta. Winning the crown in an easy fashion, the Cats brought the championship to the Bluegrass for the first time since 1921 and were heralded by basketball experts as the greatest Southern team of all time.
Meeting members of six athletic organizations and one foreign team, the Big Blue displayed brilliant form in all their games. Teams from the Big Ten, Missouri Valley Conference, Southern Conference, Southern Intercollegiate Association and the Southeastern Conference were played by the Cats during the year.
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Along with "Aggie" Sale and Ellis Johnson on the varsity team were George Yates and Darrell Darby, who have played three years of excellent basketball for the Wildcats. When the next season rolls around Coach Rupp will have a mighty tough time replacing these veterans.
In the 24 games played by the Kentucky team during the season they scored 1,126 points to 646 for their opponents.
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By virtue of their impressive record, the Cats were ceded number one in the tournament and played Mississippi. After playing on even terms with the Delta boys in the first half, they pulled away in the last period to win going away. Florida, their second round opponent, proved easier and were defeated 48 to 24. Louisiana State university, touted to be the second strongest team in the meet, could offer little to stop the onrushing Blue and White Powerhouse and succumbed 51 to 38.
And in the grand finale of the championship the Cats won from Mississippi A. and M., 46 to 27.
SOUTHEASTERN TOURNAMENT
Kentucky 49, Mississippi 31
Playing without the use of any of their many plays, the Cats won their way to the second round of the tourney by turning on the power in the last half after having been unimpressive in the opening twenty minutes. At the half the Powerhouse was ahead 22 to 15. Sale found the range in the last period to ring up 17 points and "Frenchy" DeMoisey scored eight times from the field to take second honors with 16 points.
Kentucky 48, Florida 24
Bewildered by the fast working Kentucky team, the Florida Gators were no match for the well-oiled Cat machine and offered little trouble to the Big Blue who advanced to the semi-finals with ease.
Using the reserves the greater portion of the last half, after leading at the end of the first half, 22-9, the Cats coasted. Sale played one of the best games of his career to score 20 points, while DeMoisey accounted for 11 points.
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A powerful L. S. U. team, that boasted of several star performers, could not halt the Wildcats, and after giving the Blue team a stiff battle for a few minutes, withered.
"Sparky" Wade, dynamic little guard from the Creole state, was the whole show for the losers, tallying 15 points, but "Aggie" Sale and John DeMoisey collected 20 and 17 respectively for the Blue Grass five.
Kentucky 46, Mississippi 27
Flashing a great attack and a defense that was almost perfect, the Wildcats brought home the championship of the first Southeastern basketball tournament by defeating a game team from the Mississippi A. and M. college.
Seldom did the youngsters from the Delta country get close enough to get a shot and they were forced to fire away from behind the foul circle and seldom connected. The Cats were able to penetrate their opponents' defense at will and at the end of the first 20 minutes of play the Kentuckians were in the lead 29 to 7.
Sale and DeMoisey again led the Wildcat attack with 14 and 15 points, respectively, and the defensive playing of Johnson and Davis was in good part responsible for the final result.
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After defeating Georgetown 62-21, and Marshall 57-23, the Big Blue won their first two conference tilts from Tulane.
In the first of a two-game series played in the Alumni gym, the Cats easily defeated the Tulane Greenies but did not play with their accustomed form and missed innumerable easy shots.
Profiting from their lesson the previous night, the Tulane basketball team banded together to stop the Wildcat scoring ace, John DeMoisey, and to slow the attack of all the other Cats except Captain Forrest "Aggie" Sale, who showed his old-time form to register 16 points.
The Cats started out like they intended to defeat the smaller team by a bigger score than they had on their first meeting, but after leading at the half, 2G-5, Tulane showed a tenacious defense and held the high scoring team to I6 points, but could score but seven points themselves.
Davis and Johnson, the Wildcat guards, played a great offensive and defensive game until they were replaced with reserves, as Rupp tried out all his promising substitutes.
Kentucky 58, Chicago 26
Employing a deceptive attack that centered around John DeMoisey, the Wildcats defeated the University of Chicago Maroons in an impressive manner in the Chicago held house.
Only once did the Maroons hold the lead and that for only a minute soon after the game got under way, obtaining a 7-6 advantage. But DeMoisey and Sale quickly found the range and looped them in from all angles. It was a typical Western Conference game and the Chicago team's play bewildered the Big Blue for a short time, but they soon became accustomed to it and pulled away to an easy victory.
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A giant Ohio State quintet of crack shots shattered the undefeated record of the Wildcats by administering one of the worst defeats suffered by a Big' Blue Team in recent years. The battle was staged before a capacity crowd and 2,000 other fans were turned away because of lack of room.
The Ohio team breezed along and led at the end of the first half 20-12. and when Haskett went out of the game midway of the last half on four personal fouls, the Wildcats were trailing 38-17, The style of play employed by the Red and Black team was more like football than basketball and put the Cats at a disadvantage.
Kentucky 41, Tennessee 23
Displaying a great offense and a nearly perfect defense, the Wildcats turned back a Volunteer threat with little trouble. The Vols were expected to be tough foes but they could not stop the Cats after the Blue Clad Kentuckians had found the range. The Cats topped the Orange and White team 27 to 9 at half time.
The game was more of a laughing contest than a basketball game, both teams tumbling, somersaulting, and cutting high steps between plays. Sale and DeMoisey again led the Cat attack with 12 and 11 markers respectively and Little Bill Davis counted nine points. McPherson and Phillips were the best of the Vols.
Kentucky 40, Vanderbilt 29
"Little Primer Bill" Davis and the Cats ousted the Commodores from the Big 13 Title chase by silencing all the Vandy threats by winning in the final frame.
After playing on even terms with the Cats in the first half, the Tennesseans could not stop Davis and DeMoisey in the last minutes and the Big Blue from the Blue Grass of Kentucky hit from all sides to place the game on ice.
Kentucky 32, Creighton 26; Kentucky 22, Creighton 34
Traveling nearly a thousand miles to engage the Blue Jays of Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, the Big Blue won the first of a two-game series after flashing its great attack in the closing minutes.
The Cats, playing the Missouri Valley champs off their feet throughout, fired them in from all sides in the last period to win handily.
The long trip and the hard battle on the previous night proved too much for the Rupp coached machine, and they bowed to the Jays on the second meeting of the two teams. Creighton was away to a fast start and topped the Big Blue, 24-8 at the half. Kentucky came back strong in the last 20 minutes but could not overtake the Jays.
Kentucky 44, South Carolina 36
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The Carolinians had a clever ball-club, one that constantly threatened, but after their star Rowland became injured they could do but little. For 15 minutes the game was fairly close, until Darby and his teammates began to get the range and assured the result.
Kentucky 42, Tennessee 21
With Captain "Aggie" Sale and "Frenchy" DeMoisey hitting at top form, the Cats had an easy time defeating the Tennessee Vols in the Memorial field house in Knoxville.
Again Johnson and Davis slowed down the enemy forwards, while the two big siege guns of the Blue Grass team, Sale and DeMoisey, roared at top speed to score 20 and 11 points respectively.
Kentucky 67, Clemson 18
A big but uncertain Clemson team could offer little opposition to the power presented by Coach Adolph Rupp's powerhouse and the Cats scored at will, ending the game with a team of reserves on the floor.
After only three minutes of playing time had elapsed, the Cats were in front 12 to 0 and were coasting 39 to 8 as the first half elapsed. The Clemson centers controlling the tip could do little else and Sale and Yates blazed away to score 22 and nine points respectively. The entire Cat team performed with a skill and form even better than the score indicates.
Kentucky 81, University of Mexico 22
Playing a foreign team for the first time, the Wildcats gave a high class performance for the Fal Club team from the University of Mexico. The visiting team thrilled the crowd at times, but were no match for Coach Rupp's crack shooting blue clad team.
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Kentucky 45, Georgia Tech 22
In a slow, cautiously played engagement, the Big Blue decisively defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Alumni gym.
Away to a small lead, the Wildcats protected their advantage to continue to lead as the first half closed, 16 to 7.
In the final half the cornered Techmen attempted a comeback that nearly placed them on a par with the Cats but the Blue Powerhouse turned on a little more power and began to hit the goal from all angles to win easily. "Aggie" Sale was again the Big Gun in the Wildcat attack, garnering 19 markers.
Kentucky 33, Alabama 23
Playing before a great assembly in Birmingham, the Wildcats rolled up their seventh straight Big Thirteen victory, by defeating the Crimson Tide of Alabama in a close and hard fought engagement.
The Tide took a three-point lead just before the gun ended the initial twenty minutes of playing, but Kentucky returned to the floor and unloosing an attack that swept all before it, had taken a five-point advantage before many minutes of the second half had clicked by, and added to their lead, protecting it until the game closed. "Aggie" Sale and John DeMoisey again led the Big Blue attack.
Kentucky 45, Vanderbilt 28
A Vanderbilt team that threatened constantly but could not stop a blue-clad will o' the wisp that flitted in and out under their basket, lost to the Cats in a game that was by turns well played and poorly played.
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The Vanderbilt game played before a packed house, closed the home season for the Ruppmen. DeMoisey took second scoring honors with 10 points, while Foster, behemoth Commodore pivotman, was best for the visitors, scoring 10 points.
DeMoisey Elected Captain
Members of the championship team were honored at the close of the season at a banquet given by the Lexington Alumni Association. John DeMoisey, of Walton, was elected captain for 1933-34 to succeed retiring Captain Forrest "Aggie" Sale. The five seniors on the squad were given gold basketballs by the Athletic Council.
Letters Awarded
Letters were awarded to the following: Captain Forrest "Aggie" Sale, Captain-elect John DeMoisey, Darrell Darby, Ellis Johnson, George Yates, George Skinner, Evan Settle, Dave Lawrence, William Davis, Jack Tucker, and Manager Charles Maxson.
Freshman Basketball
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Although not having the unbeaten record of their predecessors, the 1932-33 Kitten basketball team won eight and lost but one game during the campaign and avenged that loss in a later contest.
Playing a preliminary to the varsity game, the green-clad proteges of Coaches Miller and Campbell opened their season with a 35-19 triumph over a strong Georgetown outfit.
The Kittens traveled to Williamsburg for their second encounter and easily disposed of the Cumberland College varsity representatives, 43-8. Although still early in the season, the yearlings were in fine form, and led by Jerome and Lewis, had little difficulty with the southern team.
Lee's College was the next victim of the accurate-shooting Kittens when they were handed a 63-18 setback in Jackson.
A sensational Eastern State Teachers' College freshman team invaded the Alumni gym and outscored the Kentucky standard bearers, 38-36, to give the Frosh their only defeat of the season. Brown, hefty visiting forward, could not be stopped by the Kittens whose rally in the second half fell short by two points.
In a return engagement, the Kittens journeyed to Georgetown and again whipped the Georgetown Cubs, this time by a 37-25 score. Every member of the winning team broke into the scoring column, with the honors fairly evenly divided.
Coach Miller's charges continued their conquest when they overwhelmed the Lee's College outfit for the second time, 65-10. The collegians offered little opposition and the entire Green team turned in scores.
Although the Coffman Red Devils of Central City came here with a big reputation, the Frosh outplayed and far outclassed their opponents.
In the best played game of the year, the Kittens avenged their single defeat by whipping the Eastern Frosh team, 37-32. The game was contested throughout and the last two minutes left the score tied, 31-31. Glen Mester was substituted and proved to be the vital spark when he cinched the victory on three successive field goals.
To close the season, the Frosh defeated a strong Athens Independent team, 32-28, at Athens. The Independents were headed by McGinnis Brothers, former Wildcat stars.
Numerals were awarded to Garland Lewis, "Slip" Jerome, Eddie Esch, Glen Mester, Linwood Arnall, Milerd Anderson, Louis Edwards, Sam Potter, and John Hershfeld.
(from Stevens Point Daily Journal, December 21, 1932)
