Jamie Vaught: After sassing Adolph Rupp, Hall of Famer Louie Dampier believed UK career was over
(Editor’s Note: During our national COVID-19 crisis, longtime sports columnist Jamie H. Vaught will be writing about the ex-Wildcats who were featured in one of his first four books on UK basketball, using excerpts that were published in his out-of-print volumes. His latest and fifth book, titled “Chasing the Cats: A Kentucky Basketball Journey,” was released in late February 2020.)
Long before...
Jamie Vaught: Book about Boston Celtics glory days brings back memories of UK great Frank Ramsey
I have just finished reading a remarkable and enjoyable basketball book about the glory days of the Boston Celtics and its primary stars Bob Cousy and Bill Russell.
Titled “The Last Pass: Cousy, Russell, the Celtics, and What Matters in the End,” the new 360-page hardcover (Penguin Press, $28) by Gary M. Pomerantz is definitely one of the best ones that I have read in a long time. Since the volume...
Jamie Vaught: Youthful UK defense was disappointing, but brighter days are ahead
Kentucky’s youthful defense took a beating Saturday but experienced reinforcements are on the way (UK Athletics Photo)
As you saw it on Saturday night, Kentucky’s defense in the second half was nothing to brag about.
Facing a decent Louisiana-Lafayette club, the Wildcats — who were leading 27-7 in the third quarter — suddenly lost their comfortable margin, allowing...
Jamie Vaught: Kentucky family happy to see ‘Little Louie’ Dampier voted into Hall of Fame
Louie Dampier, one of Kentucky’s best pure shooters in history, has finally made it to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
A seven-time All-Star Game performer in the old American Basketball Association, Dampier, along with the other new Hall of Famers, will be enshrined during the festivities in Springfield, Mass., on Sept. 11. The event will be televised live by NBA TV.
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Sports Notes: Murray State joins Wildcats
in quest for record-setting winning streak
Murray State players and coaches celebrated an overtime road win Saturday that clinched the OVC regular season title (MSU Athletics Photo)
Much attention has been given to Kentucky’s season-opening 25-game winning streak, a feat that has matched the mark set by the 1953-54 Wildcats, the school’s only modern-era undefeated squad.
If UK can knock off Tennessee on the road Tuesday,...
Jamie Vaught: Colorful ABA’s Kentucky Colonels once rivaled Wildcats’ popularity
(Jamie Vaught Photo)
When I wrote a recent column about ex-American Basketball Association (and NBA) superstar Dan Issel and a possible NBA franchise in Louisville, it brought back a lot of good childhood memories.
As mentioned in that column two weeks ago, Issel played for the popular Kentucky Colonels for several years and led them to the league championship in 1975. Established in...
