From the “Kentucky Basketball: The Season Never Ends” Calendar: Sure, it was just an exhibition game. Sure, Kentucky actually lost to the national team from Yugoslavia, 86-84. Nobody cared. This was about Rex Chapman’s first game at Rupp Arena in a Kentucky uniform. Receiving the ball from Ed Davender, standing behind the three point line with the crowd extolling him to shoot, he instead passed the ball. Moments later, he did shoot – about 3 feet behind the line. When the ball swished through, Rupp nearly imploded from the deafening roar. And with UK shooting 10 of 16 from behind the arc, the three point era (and the Rex Chapman era) had begun. See newspaper clipping from this game.
Walter Cornett, of Glendale, Kentucky, is the owner and operator of Walter’s Wildcat World. He founded WildcatWorld.com in 1998 making it one of the oldest Kentucky basketball fan sites in operation today.
