45 Bob Guyette

Bob Guyette was born Robert Francis Guyette on August 29, 1953, in Ottawa, Illinois. At Marquette Academy, the 6-foot-9 center became the program’s career leader in scoring with 2,009 points and rebounding with 1,510. As a senior, he averaged 32 points and 20.9 rebounds, earned All-State and Sunkist All-America honors, and was named Illinois Mr. Basketball. His defining home performance came against fourth-ranked Mendota, when he amassed 42 points, 36 rebounds and 11 blocked shots in an upset victory. Recruited by more than 300 colleges, Guyette considered North Carolina, Notre Dame, Kansas and Marquette before signing with Kentucky on June 3, 1971.

Guyette joined a celebrated freshman class that became known as the “Super Kittens.” With freshmen then ineligible for varsity competition, he started all 22 games for the undefeated freshman team and averaged 14.1 points and 10 rebounds. Once eligible for the varsity, Guyette developed into a dependable three-year starter for Joe B. Hall. A skilled big man with a reliable medium-range shot and a hook with either hand, he enjoyed his finest statistical season as a junior, averaging 12.7 points and 7.9 rebounds while leading Kentucky with 55.7-percent shooting. Against LSU, he scored 26 points by making 10 of 11 field-goal attempts, establishing a Kentucky single-game shooting record at the time.

Guyette distinguished himself just as much in the classroom. A pre-dentistry student who completed his junior year with a perfect 4.0 academic record, he earned Academic All-SEC and Academic All-America recognition and became a Rhodes Scholarship candidate. He also received the Chandler Trophy, presented to the Kentucky player who best exemplified leadership, scholarship, character and ability. Guyette completed his Wildcats career with 758 points and 541 rebounds in 84 games, leaving his strongest legacy as an intelligent, unselfish frontcourt player who helped Kentucky recover from a 13-13 season to contend for a national championship.

His clutch play was especially important during Kentucky’s 1975 NCAA Tournament run. Guyette collected 14 points and 15 rebounds in the opening victory over Marquette, then helped the Wildcats upset unbeaten and top-ranked Indiana to reach the Final Four. In the national championship game, he delivered 16 points and seven rebounds as Kentucky battled UCLA before falling 92-85 in John Wooden’s final game as a coach.

Selected 49th overall by the Kansas City Kings in the 1975 NBA Draft and also drafted by the ABA’s New York Nets, Guyette chose to play for FC Barcelona. During five seasons in Spain, he helped Barcelona win three Spanish Cups and led the Spanish League in scoring in 1977. Back problems eventually ended his playing career, and he returned to complete his professional education at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry and the University of Alabama School of Medicine. Guyette became a board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon in Arizona and contributed to research and advances in facial surgery and sleep-apnea treatment. He was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1982.