Tony Delk hit seven three-pointers and scored 24 points, and freshman Ron Mercer came off the bench to score 20 to allow Rick Pitino to put the exclamation mark on his epic rebuilding job at UK by leading the school from probation to its first NCAA title in 18 years. Read article.
April 1, 1996: Kentucky turns to 3-pointers to earn 6th NCAA title
April 3, 1993: Mashburn fouls out, Kentucky falls in overtime
First, Kentucky lost backcourt stopper Dale Brown to injury. “A big factor,” Coach Rick Pitino said. Then UK lost All-American Jamal Mashburn to fouls. “That definitely killed us,” freshman Jared Prickett said. Still, Kentucky’s heart of a champion kept beating. But reputation aside, Michigan was too good, too big and too powerful not to pull…
December 29, 2001: Kentucky 82, Louisville 62
For a half, Pitino’s coaching mystique hung heavy in Rupp Arena. Then UK‘s superior talent delivered a sobering slap. “They thought they were going to come in here and Rick Pitino was going to send them to the promised land,” UK point guard Cliff Hawkins said. “It don’t work like that.” Read article.
December 9, 1989: Kansas 150, Kentucky 95
[singlepic id=462 w=320 h=240 mode=watermark float=left]Whew! Kansas 150, Kentucky 95. At the press conference announcing his hiring as UK coach, Rick Pitino said he would not sacrifice style in deference to weaknesses. Never mind the short-handed roster and lack of size, he said, we’ll run and press and shoot three-pointers. Read article.
December 27, 2003: Kentucky falls to 1-2 against Cards in Pitino Era
The sign asked: Et tu, Pitino? The game answered: And two, Pitino! Rick Pitino, forever labeled a back-stabber by Kentucky fans for his roundabout move to archrival Louisville, beat UK for a second straight season yesterday. Read article.
Bernadette Locke Mattox as Kentucky Men’s Assistant Coach: ‘a great experience’
Per the Providence Journal, in an article on women coaching men: Former Pitino assistant says her time at Kentucky was ‘a great experience.’ Read article.
Basketball is the right medicine for former Cat Mark Pope (Courier-Journal.com)
When Mark Pope was admitted into medical school at Columbia University in New York City, he wasn’t certain what specialty he would eventually pursue. He knew only that he wanted to help people and that practicing medicine would be a noble way to do it. Read article.