Kentucky Wildcats History
The Teams of Tradition


The Fabulous Five

One frequently asked question tossed at basketball historians and sports authorities is, "Who were the ‘Fabulous Five’ of Kentucky?” The answer is Alex Groza (center), Ralph Beard and Kenny Rollins (guards), “Wah Wah” Jones and Cliff Barker (forwards). This famous 1947-48 team, captained by Rollins, won 36 and lost 3 while sweeping to Kentucky’s first NCAA title. The Fabulous Five then went on to participate as a unit in the Olympic Games, helping the USA team capture the world championship. Rollins graduated after the 1948 season, but the remaining four starters continued to play havoc with collegiate basketball and captured another NCAA title for Kentucky in 1949
with a record of 32-2.


The Fiddlin' Five
Before the 1957-58 season began, Coach Adolph Rupp commented about the upcoming season, ‘They might be pretty good barnyard fiddlers, but we have a Carnegie Hall schedule, and it will take violinists to play that competition”. When the Wildcats became notorious for, as Rupp put it, “fiddlin’ around and fiddlin’ around then finally pulling it our at the end,” the team was tagged with the nickname “The Fiddlin’ Five.” The ‘Fiddlin’ Five” became Rupp’s fourth national championship team when it defeated Elgin Baylor and Seattle in the title game at Louisville’s Freedom Hall, 84-72. After the game Rupp said, “Those boys certainly are not concert violinists, but they sure can fiddle.”



The Unforgettables
During the Coach Rick Pitino era, several of his teams adopted various nicknames -among them Pitino's Bombinos and the Untouchables. But no team captured the hearts of Wildcat fans more than “The Unforgettables” of 1991-92. After battling probation for two seasons, the ‘92 squad set our to make its presence felt in postseason play. Led by seniors Richie Farmer, Deron Feldhaus, John Pelphrey and Sean Woods, the Wildcats advanced all the way to the East Regional Championship to face Duke. In what many have labeled the “greatest college game ever played,” Christian Laettner drained a shot at the buzzer that kept UK our of the Final Four. Athletics Director C.M. Newton summed up their accomplishments during a postseason ceremony in which the seniors’ jerseys were retired, “Today, our program is back on top, due largely to four young men who persevered, who weathered the hard times, and who brought the good times back to Kentucky basketball. Their contributions to UK basketball cannot be measured in statistics
or record books.”





Kentucky Wildcats History
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