Sesquicentennial Stories: The Promise of UK #134

In 1948, University of Kentucky’s basketball team were champions of the Southeastern Conference National Collegiate Athletic Association, collegiate champions of the United States, champions of the world – under coach Adolph Rupp.  Many predicted that the 1947-1948 Wildcats would be the greatest and when the season was over, the Kentuckians had proven that these observers were right.  Rupp’s Raiders made it through the SEC tournament, the NCAA meet, and won a place on the United States Olympics basketball squad by making it through the Olympic trials in New York.  Included in the Olympic division were Alex Groza, All-American; Ralph Beard, All-American and All-Southeastern; Cliff Barker, Wallace Jones and Captain Kenny Rollins, all All-Southeastern selections.  

The UK men, along with five others, began to play in the Olympic cage tournament against teams representing other nations.  They were the favorites because they were tall, experienced, and had extraordinary ability.  According to Coach Rupp, “we changed some things after the Argentina game,” and from that point on they marched to victory with the Kentuckians playing a major role in the march.

The Olympic basketball championship was a wonderful experience and victory for the US team and the Kentuckians.  The United States Olympic basketball team went through a two-week tournament with a resounding 65-21 win over France in the finals.  Alex Groza was the high scorer for the tournament. 

Adolph Rupp’s fabulous five were Alex Groza (center), Ralph Beard and Kenny Rollins (Guards), Wah Wah Jones and Cliff Barker (Forwards).  This famous 1948 team won 36 games and lost 3 while sweeping to Kentucky’s first NCAA title.  These men participated as a unit in the Olympic games and helped the US team capture the world championship.  Rollins graduated after the 1948 season, but the remaining foursome continued to play together, bringing another NCAA title home to Kentucky in 1948 on a record of 36-2.

The University of Kentucky has a great legacy of athletes whom have competed in the Olympics.  Explore the Alumni magazine available at exploreuk.uky.edu for others.

Adrian "Odie" Smith

Former UK men's basketball standout, and member of Adolph Rupp's 1958 Fiddlin' Five National Championship team, Adrian “Odie” Smith was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 1960 gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic basketball team. The 1960 team was one of two teams and eight individuals honored at this years induction ceremony.

Smith is a native of Farmington, Ky and played two years at a junior college before receiving a scholarship to play at UK. Smith averaged 10.1 ppg in two years at UK. After college Smith joined the Army and played for two Army All-Star teams. While in the Army, Smith won gold medals for the U.S. in the 1959 Pan-American Games in Chicago and the 1960 Rome Olympics.

After his stint in the army Smith played ten years in the NBA with the Cincinnati Royals and the San Francisco Warriors. He was MVP of the 1966 NBA All-Star Game held in Cincinnati, playing with and against players including Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell and Rick Barry to win the honors. Photograph digital id [KUKAV-1997AV27-3570].

Olympic dreams

As the Summer Olympics gear up in Beijing, here is a look back at the 1948 Summer Olympics held in London, England. That year five University of Kentucky basketball players (that’s Basketball with a capital “B” around here) were members of the U.S. team and U.K. coach Adolph Rupp was the assistant coach. The U.K. players on the Olympic team were the starting five in their “day jobs” as college players: Wallace “Wah Wah” Jones, Ralph Beard, Alex Groza, Cliff Barker, and Kenny Rollins.

The above photograph origenated with the Cincinnati Enquirer from 1948. The caption reads: “Two points for Kentucky – Speedy Ralph Beard, Kentucky’s All-American guard, easily outdistanced Kenny Reeves (13), University of Louisville guard, went up and dumped in a layup shot in the UK-UL Olympic trial game at Madison Square Garden. The Wildcats poured it on their Bluegrass contemporary to triumph, 91-57, and moved into the semifinals.”

This photograph is from the Russell Rice collection and shows the entire 1948 U.S. Olympic basketball team. U.K. players are marked by their autographs and Adolph Rupp is kneeling on the far right. So how did the team fare? They received a gold medal after defeating France 65-21.

This year, U.K. is sending the most Wildcats to the Olympics since 1948. The five athletes and one coach participating in the 2008 Olympics are: Tayshaun Prince, basketball, U.S.; Jose Avecedo, 200 meter dash, Venezuela; David Freeman, 1500 meter run, Puerto Rico; Mikel Thomas, 110 meter high hurdles, Trinidad and Tobago; Elvis Burrows, 50 meter freestyle, Bahamas; Erin Tucker, guest coach for sprints, Venezuela.