55 Thad Jaracz

Thad Jaracz (pronounced Jair-as) was born Thaddeus Vincent Jaracz, Jr. on December 15, 1946, in Lexington, Kentucky to Thaddeus (Ted) Vincent Jaracz, Sr. and Marion D. McCaw Jaracz.  His father, originally from Massachusetts, was a dairy farmer on Harrodsburg Road in Lexington who played football for Kentucky.

Jaracz came to Kentucky from Lexington’s Lafayette High School where he starred in basketball and baseball. A 6’5″, 230-pound center, Jaracz anchored the middle as a sophomore for Adolph Rupp’s undersized “Rupp’s Runts” in 1965–66.  He was the biggest and the youngest of the group.

Jaracz signed to play his college basketball at Kentucky on April 1, 1964.  Upon committing to Kentucky, Jaracz said, “I couldn’t turn down the Kentucky tradition.  I’ve been watching the Wildcats play since I started playing ball and when I got the opportunity to come here, I couldn’t turn it down.”  Rupp said of Jaracz, “Thad has the size and ruggedness we’ve been seeking for the past five years.”

As a freshman at Kentucky, Jaracz started 17 of 19 games played.  He averaged 14.7 points and 11.3 rebounds per game.

As a sophomore, Jaracz was the team’s third-leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 13.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as the Wildcats made it to the 1966 NCAA championship game, where they famously lost to the Texas Western Miners.  At the close of the season, Jaracz joined teammates Louie Dampier and Pat Riley on the Associated Press All-American team, earning third-team honors.  He was named SEC Sophomore of the Year.  He scored a career-high 32 points on December 8, 1965 against Illinois.  Senior starters on that team, Conley and Kron, started calling Jaracz “The Bear,” not so much because he was really mean and tough, but they wanted him to think he was.

As a junior, Jaracz was Kentucky’s leading rebounder with 215 and was third in scoring at 11.3 points per game.  He was chosen MVP of the UK Invitational Tournament.

As a senior at Kentucky, his role changed to leader after playing in the shadow of Pat Riley and Louie Dampier for his two previous varsity seasons.

Following the close of his college career in 1968, Jaracz was drafted both by the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association and the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association. However, he never played in either league.  In 1969, Jaracz was drafted by the US Army.  Being a few hours short of his political science degree, he enlisted as an officer and completed his degree at Fort Knox.  Later, he earned a master’s degree from West Texas University.  For the next 18 years, Jaracz served the armed forces in a career that took him around the world.  He returned to Kentucky in 1985, but ended up in Louisville where he taught at U of L and assisted with the ROTC program.  Jaracz remained at U of L until 1988.  He retired from the Army in 1990.

College Statistics: