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20 Ray Freudenberger

Name
Ray Freudenberger
Position
Forward
Hometown (Last School)
Long Island, NY
Ht
6'3"
Seasons
1962-63
Birthday
December 27, 1940

Ray Freudenberger was born Raymond Peter Freudenberger on December 27, 1940.

Freudenberger was a junior college transfer from New York Agricultural and Technical Institute (Long Island Aggies).  He tried out for Kentucky’s basketball team on his own and was a member of the “lost battalion,” a group of third-stringers who worked against the first two teams in practice sessions.  He frequently drew the unenviable task of guarding Cotton Nash.

When asked why he chose to attend Kentucky, he said, “I had it in the back of my mind to play ball at Kentucky.  And a bunch of my friends came down here.”

His only playing time at Kentucky came during the last 2:03 minutes of the Dartmouth game on December 27, 1962.  “That really was a great moment for me,” he said. “I’ve got the game clipping in my car.”

Freudenberger was ruled academically ineligible for his second semester at Kentucky thus ending his career with the Wildcats.

Freudenberger, who hailed from Commack, New York, played his high school basketball at Hauppauge.  His prep school average was 11 points per game.

He mounted a 10-point average in junior college where he made the all-conference second team.

Freudenberger served in the Army during the Vietnam War era.  He passed away on July 5, 2017, at the age of 76. He is buried in the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida.

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Kentucky vs Tennessee (On time)

On This Day In UK Basketball History

On February 11, 1987, Kentucky defeated Tennessee 91-84 in overtime.  Kentucky was down 10 points to Don DeVoe’s Volunteers with 1:13 left in Rupp Arena when the Wildcats unleashed a ferocious rally. Rex Chapman hit a running 12-footer over 6-foot-11 UT center Doug Roth with three seconds left to force overtime —where UK won before 23,002 fans.  One of the all-time miracle comebacks in Kentucky basketball history.

 

Wildcats Born on This Date

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