# | Name | Pos | Class | Ht. | Wt. | Hometown (School) | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
#15 | Alex Groza (L) | C | So. | 6-7 | 220 | Martins Ferry, OH (High) | All-American [Consensus (1st), NABC (1st), Converse (2nd), True Magazine (1st), Helms (2nd)]; All-SEC [Second Team]; All-SEC Tournament; |
#12 | Ralph Beard (L) | G | So. | 5-10 | 175 | Louisville, KY (Male) | All-American [Consensus (1st), NABC (1st), Converse (1st), True Magazine (1st), Helms (1st)]; All-SEC [First Team]; All-SEC Tournament; |
#26 | Ken Rollins (L) | G | Jr. | 6-0 | 175 | Wickliffe, KY (High) | All-SEC [First Team]; All-SEC Tournament; |
#27 | Wallace Jones (L) | F-C | So. | 6-4 | 205 | Harlan, KY (High) | All-American [Converse (2nd), Helms (2nd)]; All-SEC [First Team]; All-SEC Tournament; |
#14 | Joe Holland (L) | F | So. | 6-4 | 190 | Benton, KY (High) | All-SEC [First Team]; All-SEC Tournament; |
#25 | Jim Line (L) | F | Fr. | 6-2 | 185 | Akron, OH (North) | - |
#19 | Jack Tingle (L) | F | Sr. | 6-3 | 185 | Bedford, KY (Trimble High) | All-American [NABC (2nd), True Magazine (2nd)]; All-SEC [First Team]; All-SEC Tournament; |
#51 | Bob Brannum (L) | C | So. | 6-5 | 205 | Winfield, KS (High) | - |
#23 | Cliff Barker (L) | G-F | So. | 6-2 | 185 | Yorktown, IN (High) | - |
#35 | Mulford Davis (L) | F | Sr. | 6-1 | 185 | Elwood, IN (High) | - |
#30 | James Jordan (L) | F | Jr. | 6-3 | 185 | Chester, WV (High) | - |
#13 | J. Ed Parker (L) | F-G | Sr. | 6-0 | 150 | Lexington, KY (Henry Clay) | - |
#18 | Dale Barnstable (L) | F-G | Fr. | 6-3 | 175 | Antioch, IL (High) | - |
#20 | Kenton Campbell | C | Jr. | 6-4 | 195 | Newark, OH (High) | - |
#31 | Albert Cummins (L) | G | Fr. | 5-10 | 160 | Brooksville, KY (High) | - |
#24 | Malcolm McMullen | F-C | So. | 6-5 | 205 | Hamilton, OH (High) | - |
| Schedule | Player Statistics | Game Statistics |
1946-47 Squad |
Front Row (l to r): Head Coach Adolph Rupp, Jim Line, Jack Tingle, Dale Barnstable, James Jordan, Assistant Coach Harry Lancaster |
Season Review - Basketball (Kentuckian)
Despite their loss to Utah, 49-45 in the final game of the National Invitational Tournament, the 1946-47 Wildcat basketball team was rated by many as the best cage squad in the nation. There is little doubt that this Kentucky aggregation was the finest hoop team in the long history of the University.
In a rugged 37-game schedule, the Blue and White quintet won 34 contests, while losing only to Oklahoma A&M, DePaul and Utah. Only a total of 16 scant points separated UK from an undefeated campaign.
By winning the Southeastern Conference last March in Louisville, Kentucky boosted their consecutive SEC titles to four straight seasons. The Fayette County Felines have now copped the conference crown ten times: in 1933, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1946 and 1947.
In their own lair - Alumni gym - the "Caintuckey" Cats are nearly invincible. They won 16 straight games on the home court this season and have now taken 52 consecutive cage battles in Alumni gym since 1943. The tall Kentuckians started off the 1946-47 season by winning 11 straight (and 26 consecutive victories over a two-year stretch), but this streak was stopped in the Sugar Bowl cage game with the Oklahoma A&M Cowboys. The sharp-shooters from Stillwater, Okla., upset the Wildcats, 37-31 in New Orleans.
The Lexington Lynxes bounced back to take ten more games before the DePaul disaster in Chicago. The Cats lost to DePaul, 53-47, in spite of having trimmed the Blue Demons earlier in the year by 20 points - 65 to 45 - in Louisville.
Between these first two losses, the fighting felines had trounced a strong Notre Dame quintet, 60-30, in the Louisville Armory. Just two nights later, the Wildcats went to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and stopped the Crimson Tide's surprising 14-game winning streak.
Later Kentucky capture the conference halo by whipping Vanderbilt, Auburn, Georgia Tech and Tulane in rapid succession. A week later, UK humiliated the Temple Owls, 68-29, and prepared for the Invitational scrap several days later.
As defending champions, Kentucky nosed out Long Island U., 66-62, in the quarter-finals thriller. The king-sized Kentuckians then blasted North Carolina State 60-42, to move into the N.I.T. finals with the "Blitz Kids" of Utah, who had previously bumped off two seeded teams, West Virginia and Duquesne. Although losing 49-45, Kentucky scored 18 field goals to Utah's 15; however, it was the free throws that lost the Kelleher Trophy for the Wildcats. The "Blitz Kids" collected 19 charity tosses, while UK made only nine. All in all, it was a great season for the wiry Wildcats of the University of Kentucky.
SENIORS
Brannum Tingle |
MUFF DAVIS: a six-foot. forward from Elwood, Ind. The handsome Hoosier's cage career was interrupted by the war. Last year, after his discharge from the Army, Davis returned to the Wildcats for his final season. He scored 54 points in the 17 games in which he played. Mulford had the second highest average on the team of goals attempted and made, with a percentage of .387, being second only to Line's .41 average of shots made.
BUDDY PARKER: a five-foot, eleven-inch guard from Lexington. In three years on the varsity, Buddy tallied a total of 225 points. In the fall of 1944, Parker was stricken with infantile paralysis but gamely fought back and won a place on the Wildcat cage crew. The 21-year-old Lexingtonian came to UK from Henry CIay High School. He served for a period in the Navy.
JUNIORS
KENNY ROLLINS: a six-foot guard from Wickliffe, Ky. Last year Rollins was elected as captain of the Wildcats. He was also awarded the Most Valuable Player trophy of UK's team. The popular Kentuckian served for three years in the Navy during the war. He didn't get into the limelight as often as some of the other stars, but a Cincinnati sports writer called Ken "the 'classiest of the classy Kentucky Wildcats." Rollins flipped in 310 points to finish third in scoring on the Cat squad. He made All-Southeastern Conference and All-Southern this season.
DUTCH CAMPBELL: a six-foot, four-inch center from Newark, Ohio. "Big Dutch" made All-Southeastern in his freshman year, after tossing in 146 markers at the pivot position. He has scored 248 points in three years on the Lynx team. Campbell came to UK after starring for two years with the great Newark, Ohio, high school quintet. He served as a reserve center this season.
SOPHOMORES
Groza Holland Barker |
RALPH BEARD: a five-foot, ten and one-half-inch guard from Louisville. A 175-pound ball of fire on the hardwood, he plays a dashing, driving, darting game. Tennessee fans, after watching Beard help trounce the Vols, called roaring Ralph "the closest thing to perpetual motion we've seen yet." The loquacious Louisville lad has made the All-Southeastern team two straight seasons. This past campaign, after scoring 392 points for Kentucky, Beard was a unanimous choice for All-American honors. He was also named as "the most outstanding visiting player to appear in New York" during the 1946-47 season. Ralph has tallied 671 points in two years with the Cats.
WAH WAH JONES: a six-foot, four-inch forward and center from Harlan. "The Harlan Hurricane" was the fifth highest scorer on the cage team with 217 points in 33 games. He was the "man of the hour" in both post-season tournaments, scoring 50 markers in. the SEC tourney and was again UK's individual high scorer in the N.I.T. in New York with 36 tallies. Wallace Jones, like Beard, has made the All-SEC quintet in his first and second years with the Ruppmen. Wah Wah has scored 507 markers in his two seasons. He made All-American at forward late this spring.
ALEX GROZA: a six-foot, seven-inch center from Martin's Ferry, Ohio. The Brobdingnagian basketeer was the team's leading scorer with 393 points. Alex served in the Army after playing one season with the Lexington Lynxmen. He was discharged last September and was a big factor in UK's successful campaign. The gargantuan Groza was named on the All-American team after the season ended. He and Jones were also selected on the AlI-N.I.T. squad. He made All-Southern along with Beard and Rollins.
JOE HOLLAND: a six-foot, three-inch forward from Benton. Joe finished fourth in individual scoring with 224 tallies in 37 games. The Benton basketeer excels on rebounds under both hoops and is considered one of the best in the South when it comes to grabbing the ball off the backboards. Hustling Joe Holland served in the Navy and played with the strong Iowa Seahawks' cagers. He made All-SEC after playing brilliantly in the tournament.
CLIFF BARKER: a six-foot, one and one-half inch forward from Yorktown, Ind. The colorful and versatile cager in 34 games, hooked in 120 points. Like Holland, clever Cliff hit his peak for the season in the SEC tourney in Louisville last March. He is rated by some experts as one of the best ball handlers in the nation.
BOB BRANNUM: a six-foot, five-inch center from Winfield, Kansas. He made All-American here in 1944, before his induction into the Army. "Bruising Bob," playing in 29 contests, scored 125 markers at the pivot slot.
FRESHMEN
JIM JORDAN: a six-foot, three-inch guard from Chester, W. Va. At North Carolina, Jordan made All-American in 1945 and 1946, scoring 389 points in the latter season. The 185-pound cager appeared in 29 contests and scored 80 markers in his first year with UK.
JIM LINE: a six-foot, two-inch forward from Akron, Ohio. The 20-year-old Buckeye has a wicked left-handed push shot that tallied 199 points in 35 struggles. He finished seventh in the individual scoring column for the Lynxmen.
DALE BARNSTABLE: a six-foot, two-inch guard from Antioch, III. He started the season at forward, but was switched to guard early in the season. An Army veteran, Barney is one of the best long-shot artists on the squad. He tallied 71 markers in 29 games.
ALBERT CUMMINS: a five-foot, ten-inch guard from Brooksville. The smallest man on the squad is the 20-year-old Cummins, who scored 27 points as a reserve guard this season. He is also one of the fastest men on the team.
Sports of the Times
By Arthur Daley
From Old Kaintuck
New York Times - March 24, 1947
Fast horses, strong whiskey and fine tobacco are not the only products of superlative quality found in Old Kaintuck. There also is the University of Kentucky basketball team which probably is the best in the land. Anyone seeking corroboration need turn no further than Col. Adolph Rupp, a transplanted hillbilly from Kansas, who can extol the virtues of the Blue Grass country with even more vehemence than Col. Matt Winn, one of the survivors of Daniel Boone's first expedition into the territory.
But where Col. Winn will stress the fast horse and his beloved Kentucky Derby, Col. Rupp will expound at length - and just try to stop him ! - on his Wildcat dribble artists. He's got a good talking point too. His "pore lil' country boys" are the very best - unless some team can prove differently.
It will be up to Utah tonight to attempt to prove it as the Utes square off against the lads from Lexington in the final of the National Invitation Tournament in Madison Square Garden. However, the Rocky Mountain contingent has made a habit of proving such unprovable propositions.
Eliminated in the first round of this same tournament three years ago, Utah was named as a last-minute substitute for Arkansas in the National Collegiate title show. Thereupon the Utes scored a couple of upset to win the Western final, scored another upset to win the unofficial national championship. So far in this tournament, they've surprised by upending both Duquesne and West Virginia, heavy favorites. If the clock hasn't yet struck midnight, the Fairy Godmother again may wave here magic wand for this Cinderella team.
Surplus Talent
However, it will take a feat of magic to beat Old Kaintuck. The droll and delightful Col. Rupp, suh, is more heavily loaded than a moonshiner's shotgun. He has All-America players picking up splinters on his bench and one such operative quit the squad in disgust because he couldn't even make the second team. The Colonel can always use one foolproof system. He can keep substituting until he finds which performers are "hot." Then he yanks the luke-warm boys and leaves the super-heated ones in there.
In that respect he almost reminds you of the Joe McCarthy of old. And, like Marse Joe, he has the admirable trait of being extremely adroit in his shuffling of his talent. Fred Russell tells the tale of the excitable Rupp being detected coaching from the bench. A technical foul therefore was called against Kentucky.
"By crimminey," exploded the never-shy Col. Rupp, "my coaching is worth a technical foul any time." Doggone, but he's really got something there.
The truth of the matter is that the Colonel never would win a popularity contest among his fellow coaches, especially in Dixie where he's been such a dominating figure for so long. He's well liked personally but professionally he has the same approximate appeal as a man with the bubonic plague. Most coaches can - and do - avoid scheduling him but the chaps in his own Southeastern Conference are stuck. They have to play against him.
So they cheer violently for every team in the league except Kentucky, hoping against hope that the Wildcats will be beaten in some miraculous fashion so that the rest of the them will have some sort of chance. A story filtered down to Florida a week or so ago - maybe true, maybe apocryphal but surely illustrative.
Embarrassing Moment
Gen. Bob Neyland, the Tennessee football coach and ordinarily not a demonstrative man, was rooting hard for the Volunteers during the Southeastern Conference tournament. His fervor so amused the lady in back of him that she couldn't resist the remark: "My, but you certainly are for Tennessee, aren't you ?"
"Madam," said the gallant General, "I'm for everyone but Kentucky."
For a while the General couldn't understand the frosty silence which enveloped his section of the stands. It was almost as though an icy blast from the Arctic had struck him in the back of the neck. Then a neighbor whispered in his ear that the query had come from none other than Mrs. Adolph Rupp.
Yet you can better understand the feeling that the Wildcats engendered in the hearts of all non-Kentuckians during that tournament when you look at the scores. Col. Rupp's "pore lil' country boys" edged out Vanderbilt in the first round, 98-29; barely beat Auburn in the semi-final, 84-14, and virtually had the blind staggers in nosing out Georgia Tech in the final, 75-53.
It's a team so good that you wonder how any quintet managed to beat it at all this season. Two of them did, though, the Oklahoma Aggies and DePaul - out of thirty-six who tried. That would indicate that Kentucky is human and that the job can be done. In neither of its preliminary games here did the Wildcats look overpowering except in the final quarter of its semi-final engagement. Then Col. Rupp's boys hit their stride and won going away.
Somehow or other, however, you can't escape comparing Old Kaintucky to the old-time Yankees. Although the emphasis always was placed on the scoring abilities of each, it was the overlooked but truly extraordinary defensive play which weighted the scales so heavily in their favor. Col. Rupp has in the person of Col. Ralph Beard one of the finest all-around stars in this generation. He also has super-players in Col. Wah-Wah Jones, Col. Alex Groza and a dozen other Kentucky colonels of incomparable skill.
Utah still can win, of course, but only if the Fairy Godmother still has a powerful lot of magic hidden away in her wand.