| # | Name | Pos | Class | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (School) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #24 | Johnny Cox (L) | F | Sr. | 6-4 | 185 | Hazard, KY (High) | All-American [Consensus (1st), AP (1st), UPI (2nd), NABC (1st), USBWA (1st), Converse (1st), Helms (1st), Sporting News (2nd), Look Magazine (1st), Newspaper Enterprises Assn. (2nd)]; All- NCAA Regional Team; All-SEC [First Team (AP & Coaches)]; |
| #44 | Bill Lickert (L) | F-G | So. | 6-3 | 185 | Lexington, KY (Lafayette) | All-SEC [First Team (Coaches)Third Team (AP)]; |
| #30 | Bennie Coffman (L) | G | Jr. | 6-3 | 173 | Huntington, WV (Vinson) | - |
| #54 | Don Mills (L) | C | Jr. | 6-6 | 185 | Berea, KY (High) | - |
| #22 | Sid Cohen (L) | G | Jr. | 6-1 | 175 | Brooklyn, NY (Eastern District) | - |
| #51 | Dick Parsons (L) | G | So. | 5-9 | 155 | Yancey, KY (Harlan High) | - |
| #32 | Bobby Slusher (L) | F | So. | 6-4 | 190 | Four Mile, KY (Lone Jack) | - |
| #14 | Phil Johnson (L) | F-C | Sr. | 6-5 | 190 | Lexington, KY (University High) | - |
| #13 | Ned Jennings (L) | C | So. | 6-9 | 220 | Carlisle, KY (Nicholas County) | - |
| #54 | Howard Dardeen (L) | F | So. | 6-4 | 190 | Terre Haute, IN (Gerstmeyer) | - |
| #10 | Lowell Hughes (L) | G | Jr. | 6-0 | 175 | Prestonsburg, KY (High) | - |
| #12 | Al Robinson (L) | G | So. | 6-1 | 185 | Lexington, KY (Lafayette) | - |
| Schedule | Player Statistics | Game Statistics |
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1958-59 Squad |
Seated: Head Coach Adolph Rupp, Billy Ray Lickert, Sid Cohen, Al Robinson, Johnny Cox, Dickie Parsons, Bennie Coffman, Asst. Coach Harry Lancaster |
Season Review - Basketball (Kentuckian)
FLORIDA STATE: Fielding a sophomore-studded starting five, Kentucky recovered from its first-half jitters to overcome the Seminoles 91-68. A steady performance by Johnny Cox, enabled the Cats to widen their margin in the second-half, and win going away.
TEMPLE: Johnny Cox, sparked a last-half Kentucky rally for a 76-71 conquest of Temple. Behind 41-34 at the half, Cox an sophomore guard Dickie Parsons pushed the faltering Cats to a 49-45 lead after five minutes had elapsed in the second-half. Kentucky pulled away to a commanding lead as the game progressed.
DUKE: Reserves Sid Cohen and Phil Johnson combined to 30 points as the Wildcats upended the Blue Devils 78-64. Duke rallied gamely early in the second half but the Kentuckians started clicking and pulled away for their third straight win of the season.
SMU: Billy Ray Lickert made mockery of SMU's zone defense with a 23-point outburst. Lickert teamed-up with hot-shooting Dickie Parsons to foil the zone set up by the invaders from the Southwest Conference.
ST. LOUIS: Kentucky celebrated its first nationally televised "Game of the Week" with a 76-57 triumph over the Billikens of St. Louis. All-America candidate Johnny Cox ripped the nets for 27 points.
UKIT
A determined band of Kentucky Wildcats ran and shot their way to a soul-satisfying 97-91 victory over defending champion West Virginia to capture the UKIT crown.
Kentucky used a first-half blitz to build up an insurmountable lead and then coast to a 95-76 win over Ohio State to advance into the championship round. The No. 7 Mountaineers moved into the final round by crushing Oklahoma State 67-49. The Mounties hit an unbelievable 76.2 per cent in the first half. Oklahoma State edged Ohio State 63-59 in the consolation match
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MARYLAND: Bennie Coffman's brilliant clutch play saved the Wildcats in this thriller. Coffman's unforgettable three-point play enabled the Ruppmen to whip the Terps 58-56 in an overtime.
NAVY: Kentucky torpedoed the Middies 82-69 for their ninth win in a row. Navy's zone proved ineffective against the long-rang bombardment of Johnny Cox, hitting for 23 points, and Bennie Coffman with 19.
ILLINOIS: Kentucky nearly blew a big 10 point advantage, but managed to eke out a 76-75 victory over the "fighting Illini." The game was played before a record crowd of 18,274 in Freedom Hall in Louisville.
GEORGIA TECH: A coolish Kentucky rallied to a 72-62 Southeastern Conference victory. A rebounding edge of 73-39 enabled the Wildcats to take their first SEC victory of the season.
VANDERBILT: Vandy's fired-up Commodores handed the Wildcats their first defeat of the season by 75-66. Kentucky was behind by an unbelievable 19 points late in the first half.
LSU: The Wildcats captured their second straight nationally televised game by 76-61. The Tigers made a battle of it for the first half but the rangier Cats dominated the second-half.
TULANE: The Greenies threatened midway in the second chapter, but the Wildcats won going away. Kentucky's fast-break led to the Green Wave's downfall. Kentucky 85, Tulane 68.
TENNESSEE: Arch-rival Tennessee was Kentucky's third straight TV victim. The always-dangerous Volunteers gave the Cats fits for. a half, but Sid Cohen came off the bench to spark a second-half surge that engulfed the visitors from Knoxville. Kentucky 79, Tennessee 58.
GEORGIA TECH: Blazing-hot Kentucky put on a dazzling offensive display to smother a "flat" Georgia Tech by 94-70. The Wildcats played one of their better games of the season and the Tech boys were having one of their off nights.
GEORGIA: The Wildcats presented Coach Adolph Rupp with his 600th win in this mismatch. A crowd of 10,500 watched Kentucky manhandle the hapless Bulldogs by the whopping score of 108-55.
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FLORIDA: An uninspired Kentucky rolled to a routine 94-51 conquest of the Gators. The Wildcats held Florida to the lowest number of points an opponent scored against the Wildcats during the season.
OLE MISS: Kentucky piled up its highest total on the road in disposing of the Ole Miss Rebels 97-72. Little Dickie Parsons scorched the nets for 21 points while leading the Wildcats to their 18th victory in 19 starts.
MISS. STATE: Fired-up Miss. State constructed an insurmountable I5-point advantage and then coasted past the No. 1-ranked Wildcats for a 66-58 triumph. The win nailed down the SEC title for Coach Babe McCarthy's Maroons who later declined a berth in the NCAA tournament because of their policy against integrated athletics.
NOTRE DAME: Billy Ray Lickert and Dickie Parsons teamed up to lead the Wildcats to a convincing 71-52 triumph over Notre Dame. Lickert did a masterful job in holding the Irish's celebrated Tom Hawkins in check.
VANDERBILT: The Commodore's threw a scare into the Ruppmen before bowing 83-71. An all-out team effort enabled the Cats to atone for their previous loss to the Commodores.
AUBURN: Kentucky's pressing defensive tactics stopped Auburn's famed "shuffle" offense in its tracks as the fired-up Wildcats demolished the Tiger's 30-game winning streak. Bill Lickert turned in another superb defensive game as he held the highly touted Rex Frederick to a paltry five points.
ALABAMA: The Crimson Tide's slow down tactics failed to keep Kentucky from registering a 39-32 win. Kentucky jumped out to an 11 point lead early in the second half and then reverted to some ball control tactics of their own to insure the victory.
TENNESSEE: All-American Johnny Cox closed out the last regular season game of his career in a blaze of glory as he rammed home 38 points and pulled down 17 rebounds. Kentucky 69, Tennessee 56.
An inspired band of Louisville Cardinals roared back from a 15-point deficit to upset defending NCAA champion Kentucky by 76-61 in the first round of the Mideast-regional at Evanston.
The Wildcats were razor sharp in building up a 15-point lead with 9:07 left in the first half. The Coach Peck Hickman's charges began to apply their hawking defense that completely befuddled the Bluegrasser's, and the Cardinal gunners were beginning to find the range.
Down by eight at the half, ten fired-up Redbirds continued their pressing defensive tactics and forced the Wildcats to take hurried shots and commit floor miscues. The hawking UL defense continued to harass the Wildcat the rest of the way and their shooters continued to pile it on for a decisive 15-point margin.
On the following evening a vengeful Kentucky team, with "blood in their eyes," took third place honors in the Mideast regional with a 98-69 trouncing of Marquette's Warriors. Few could believe that this was the same Kentucky team that looked so "flat" the night before.
Junior-college transfer Benny Coffman had his best night of the season with 28 points. All told, the Wildcat sizzled the nets for an incredible 51.8 per cent. Many of the spectators on hand thought that Kentucky had the best team in the Mideast regional after their dazzling offensive show against Marquette.
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