45 Cliff Berger

Cliff Berger was born Clifford Jens Berger on September 25, 1946, in Illinois to Benjamin J. Berger and Lillian J. Berger. By 1950, his family was living in Centralia, Illinois, where he later became a unanimous All-State selection and High School All-American at Centralia Township High School. Berger helped the Orphans finish 32–2 and reach the 1963 state championship game, then led them back to the state tournament in 1964. As a senior, he scored 796 points, averaged 26.5 points and 14 rebounds, and shot 59.6 percent from the field. One of the nation’s most sought-after young centers, Berger chose Kentucky because of its basketball tradition, its people and the university’s dental school.

Freshmen were not eligible for varsity competition when Berger entered Kentucky in 1964, but he immediately became a leading member of Harry Lancaster’s freshman team. The 6-foot-8 center scored 282 points and averaged 14.8 per game, twice reaching a season-high 24 points. Contemporary reports also credited him with 21 points and 15 rebounds against Tennessee’s freshmen and 23 points against the UK Dental School.

As a sophomore, Berger became an important reserve for the 1965–66 team remembered as “Rupp’s Runts.” He appeared in 25 games, scoring 84 points and collecting 86 rebounds while giving Adolph Rupp an experienced center behind Thad Jaracz. Berger’s dependable relief work helped Kentucky win the SEC championship, earn the nation’s No. 1 ranking and advance to the NCAA championship game against Texas Western. He also earned Academic All-SEC recognition.

Berger moved into a larger role during his junior season and started Kentucky’s final 13 games. He scored 226 points in 20 appearances, averaging 11.3 points and six rebounds while leading the Wildcats with a 55.7 field-goal percentage. His improved scoring and rebounding gave Kentucky a productive interior presence during a difficult 13–13 season, and he finished tied with Jaracz for third on the team in scoring.

As a senior in 1967–68, Berger became an experienced reserve behind sophomore center Dan Issel. He played in 24 games and contributed 102 points and 57 rebounds as Kentucky finished 22–5, won the SEC championship and earned an NCAA Tournament berth. Shortly before the NCAA Mideast Regional, however, Berger suffered a severely sprained ankle in practice and was declared out for the remainder of the season. Rupp said the injury hurt Kentucky “an awful lot” because it left the Wildcats without an experienced replacement for Issel. Berger completed his varsity career with 412 points and 263 rebounds in 69 games.

One of Berger’s most memorable moments came during Kentucky’s 69–65 double-overtime victory at Georgia in January 1966. After Jaracz fouled out, Berger entered and made four pressure free throws during the second overtime, including two with 1:55 remaining and another pair 97 seconds later. He had changed his free-throw style only hours before the game. Berger’s finest scoring stretch came the following season, when he recorded 24 points and 11 rebounds at LSU, followed two nights later with a career-high 26 points at Mississippi and then 23 against Mississippi State.

Berger distinguished himself academically as well as athletically. A pre-dental student, he was selected for Omicron Delta Kappa, the national leadership honor society, and received the K-Men’s Scholastic Award as Kentucky basketball’s top four-year scholar-athlete. He earned Academic All-SEC honors twice and reportedly posted the highest career scholastic average in the conference. Selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the ninth round of the 1968 NBA Draft, Berger instead continued his education, earning his bachelor’s degree from Kentucky in 1968 and his dental degree from the UK College of Dentistry in 1972. He completed his oral and maxillofacial surgery training at the Medical College of Georgia in 1975 and entered private practice in Savannah, Georgia, where he became board-certified and later served as president of the Georgia Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Berger was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1973.