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Happy Birthday to Joe B. Hall!

Joe B. Hall - photo by Walter Cornett | WildcatWorld.comJoe Beasman Hall, better known as  was born November 30, 1928 in Cynthiana,  and was the head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky from 1972 to 1985. He previously coached at Central Missouri State University and Regis University before returning to in 1965 to serve as an assistant coach under Adolph Rupp.

 

Coach Hall was given a difficult task, to follow in the footsteps of his legendary predecessor, Adolph Rupp. In the 1978 NCAA Tournament, he coached the Wildcats to their fifth NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship. He was named National Coach of the Year in 1978 and Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year on four different occasions. His record at UK was 297 – 100, and 373-156 over his career.

 

Along with the 1978 title, Hall also guided Kentucky to a runner-up finish to UCLA in the 1975 NCAA tournament (which included an upset of heavily-favored and previously undefeated Indiana in a regional final), aFinal Four appearance in the 1984 NCAA Tournament (losing to eventual champion Georgetown), and an NIT championship in 1976. He won 8 Southeastern Conference regular season championships and oneSoutheastern Conference tournament championship (1984).

 

Coach Hall is one of only three men to win an NCAA championship as a player (1949- Kentucky) and coach (1978- Kentucky). The only others to achieve this feat are Bob Knight and Dean Smith.

 

Coach Hall played one year of varsity basketball at Kentucky before transferring to the University of the South (Sewanee), where he completed his basketball playing eligibility but did not graduate. After Sewanee, Hall toured with the Harlem Globetrotters and later returned to Kentucky to complete his undergraduate studies. Hall graduated from Kentucky in 1955.

 

Coach Hall currently co-hosts a popular radio sports talk show with former University of Louisville basketball head coach Denny Crum.

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