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Two basketball greats headed to Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame

Former Wildcat coach Orlando “Tubby” Smith and former star Rex Chapman will be inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in late September.
Rex Chapman - photo by Walter Cornett | WildcatWorld.

Rex Chapman – photo by Walter Cornett | WildcatWorld.

John Calipari has said before that whoever is in the seat of Kentucky’s head basketball coach is the keeper of the tradition. Though Coach Cal is in charge of that now, one of his predecessors is headed to the UK Athletics Hall of Fame for keeping the tradition of winning going.

Former Wildcat coach Orlando “Tubby” Smith and former star Rex Chapman will be inducted into the UK Athletics Hall of Fame in late September. The 2013 class, which includes Smith, Chapman, Oliver Barnett (football), Leslie Nichols (women’s basketball), Press Whelan (track/cross country) and Jessie Witten (men’s tennis) will be formally inducted during Hall of Fame weekend, Sept. 27-28, in conjunction with Kentucky’s football game against Florida.

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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.

On This Day in UK Basketball History

On April 1, 1996, behind an NCAA title game record-tying seven three-pointers from Tony Delk, UK won its sixth national title. After two John Wallace free throws cut the UK lead to two, 64-62, the Wildcats responded with a Walter McCarty tip-in and a Derek Anderson three-pointer and Syracuse never threatened again.  Kentucky wins, 76-67.

 

On April 1, 2009, John Calipari was named Kentucky’s new head basketball coach.  His deal worth $31.65 million made him the highest-paid coach in college basketball.

 

Wildcats Born on This Date

April 1, 1941

33 Pat Doyle

April 1, 1958

15 Chris Gettelfinger

April 1, 1982

14 Erik Daniels

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