33 Linville Puckett

Linville Puckett was born on July 27, 1933, in Clark County, Kentucky to Owen Puckett and Molly Burell Hall Puckett.  He played on the 1954 University of Kentucky team which finished 25-0.

Puckett was the last of seven brothers who played for Clark County High School.  Puckett was a basketball hero there, leading legendary coach Letcher Norton’s 1951 team to a state championship.  He was the “adhesive” that held the state champions together. He was considered one of the most stylish guards ever to wear the Red and White.  An excellent shot, he scored close to 600 points for the Cardinals that year. He was quick-thinking and nimble, and he also was outstanding in his ball-handling and on defense.  Puckett was named all-district, all-regional, all-state tournament and all-Kentucky Invitational.  Puckett scored 47 points in a Sweet 16 tournament game against Somerset on March 20, 1952, breaking future Kentucky teammate Cliff Hagan’s record of 41.  He was a three-time All-State honoree. Puckett was also named to the All-Tournament teams following the 1950, ’51 and ’52 state tournaments.

As a sophomore at Kentucky, Puckett was a late-season headliner who started the final seven games and proved a vital cog in the Wildcats’ attack in the latter stages of the highly successful 1953-54 campaign.  On February 15, 1954, Puckett hit a 53 1/2-foot field goal against Mississippi State that set a record for Memorial Coliseum.  Puckett made the shot with one second remaining in the third quarter and the horn sounded before the ball was half the distance on its way.  It “chunked” through the net without touching the rim.  Although it was a record for Memorial Coliseum, it was more than 10 feet shorter than Cliff Barker’s record heave of 63 feet, seven and 1/2 inches made in Alumni Gymnasium.  At season’s end at the annual banquet, Rupp stated that Puckett’s jersey should be retired after he graduates for his contributions to the 1953-54 team.

In early January of 1955, Georgia Tech had beaten UK 59-58 in Lexington, breaking a 129-game home court winning streak: UK was supposed to get even in Atlanta, but it didn’t happen.  Tech won again, this time 65-59.  When Kentucky got back to Lexington, the players decided they would go home overnight — without Rupp’s permission. This should have been no problem because Rupp had given them the next day off from practice.

But Adolph Rupp learned that they were gone that night, and called a surprise practice for the next afternoon. Somehow all the players found out about the practice and got back on time. But they
knew they were in trouble.  They met at a service station on the corner of South Limestone and Euclid Avenue, near Memorial Coliseum, to plan their strategy.  At this point, Puckett said, his role began to develop.  “I wasn’t guilty of anything that came up in the whole situation,” he said. “I never left town. I was just taking up for the team. All the players were afraid to talk to Rupp and they came to me at the filling station. They’d already heard that Adolph was going to take our movie passes and our $15-a-month laundry money. If he did, they asked me if I would tell him they were gonna quit.  That’s what we did. The whole team quit.”

Puckett recalled that when Rupp got the team together, he asked each player about the previous night.  “He asked me if I went home,” Puckett said. “I said, ‘Yes, sir, I sure did.’ He asked me why. I was lying, but I said, ‘I don’t have a reason. I just did.’ ”  Then Rupp dealt out the expected punishment: No more free movies and the players would lose their $15 a month.

There have been various versions from players who were there as to exactly what Puckett said. The way Puckett remembers it, he told Rupp, “Coach, if you need them that badly, keep mine for the rest of the year,” and walked out.  All but two of the players followed.  Then the players decided to hold their own meeting. Later Rupp and his assistant, Harry Lancaster, were called in.

After some discussion, Rupp asked, “Do you want to play? If you do, be on the floor at 3:15.”  They practiced, but the next day Puckett didn’t show. Two days later, he enrolled at Kentucky Wesleyan.

Puckett said he quit the Kentucky team because the game of basketball had become overemphasized at Kentucky.  “It isn’t regarded as a game but as a matter of life or death, with resemblance of of one going to war.”  Puckett also declared that whether you “are playing on the nation’s No. 1 team or the most mediocre club in America, I am certain that I will enjoy it somewhere else.”

Puckett wondered sometimes what might have happened if he had stayed at UK. “You always have in your mind the rest of your life what you could’ve done,” he said. “I knew I was a good player. I kind of regret it in a way because I never did know what my potential could’ve been as far as playing pro.  But the way the situation happened, I’m glad it did.”  Puckett revealed a curious relationship with Rupp.  “We didn’t have any problems,” he said. “I used to go to his farm with him after practice. He’d say, ‘C’mon, Puck, let’s go to the farm.’ Adolph and I never had any words at all.”  However, Puckett said he “didn’t feel comfortable” with Rupp.  “I went over to UK from Clark County, and I didn’t have any more pressure put on me at UK,” Puckett said. “My coach at Clark County, Letcher Norton, was tough. You couldn’t find anybody tougher.  We used to practice three to five hours a day. From the time you walked in the gym until you left, he was tough.  But after that, he was a friend. If you had problems, you could talk to him.  When you’re young, you’re just not used to some things. I used to meet Adolph in the hall, and he’d turn his head.  I started to school late, so I was 19 when I got out of high school. A lot of kids now get out at 16 or 17. They’re not really mature; they’re worse off than I was. They need someone who’s a friend, not just the boss.”

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