1953–54 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

1953–54 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
SEC Regular season champions Helms Foundation National Champions
Conference	Southeast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	#2
AP	#1
1953–54 record	25–0 (14–0 SEC)
Head coach	Adolph Rupp
Assistant coach	Harry Lancaster
Home arena	Memorial Coliseum

The 1953–54 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented University of Kentucky. The Head Coach was Adolph Rupp. The team was a member of the Southeast Conference and played their home games at Memorial Coliseum. They were named national champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation.^[1]

Season summary

This team finished unbeaten a 25-0, and though it won the Southeastern Conference title and could have played in the NCAA tournament, it chose not to because star players Frank Ramsey, Cliff Hagan and Lou Tsioropoulos were ruled ineligible because they had already graduated. That rule has since been abolished, but it prevented the Wildcats from competing for the national championship.

Roster

1953–54 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
3.5 !F	66	Bibb, BillBill Bibb	76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2.0 !So	—	Owensboro, KY
3.5 !F	22	Bird, JerryJerry Bird	78 !6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	2.0 !So	—	Corbin, KY
1.5 !G	73	Chandler, DanDan Chandler	71 !5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	2.0 !So	—	Versailles, KY
3.5 !F	34	Coy, HughHugh Coy	73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	2.0 !So	Madison	Richmond, KY
1.5 !G	35	Curry, JessJess Curry	71 !5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	167 lb (76 kg)	2.0 !So	—	Portsmouth, VA
2.5 !G/F	42	Evans, BillyBilly Evans	73 !6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	3.0 !Jr	—	Berea, KY
1.5 !G	32	Evans, ClayClay Evans	69 !5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2.0 !So	—	Flemingsburg, KY
3.5 !F	44	Grawemeyer, PhilPhil Grawemeyer	79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	2.0 !So	duPont Manual	Louisville, KY
1.5 !G	25	Grigsby, PetePete Grigsby	60 !5 ft 0 in (1.52 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2.0 !So	—	Martin, KY
5.0 !C	6	Hagan, CliffCliff Hagan	76 !6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	4.0 !Sr	Owensboro	Owensboro, KY
5.0 !C	77	Hurst, HaroldHarold Hurst	79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	2.0 !So	Powell County	Waltersville, KY
1.5 !G	33	Puckett, LinvilleLinville Puckett	72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	2.0 !So	Clark County	Winchester, KY
1.5 !G	30	Ramsey, FrankFrank Ramsey	75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	4.0 !Sr	Madisonville	Madisonville, KY
1.5 !G	20	Rose, GayleGayle Rose	72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	3.0 !Jr	—	Paris, KY
1.5 !G	19	Rouse, WillieWillie Rouse	72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	3.0 !Jr	University	Lexington, KY
3.5 !F	16	Tsioropoulos, LouLou Tsioropoulos	77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	4.0 !Sr	Lynn Classical	Lynn, MA

Head coach

Adolph Rupp

Assistant coach(es)

Harry Lancaster

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2015-09-07

Postseason

The Wildcats were the top-ranked team in the nation with a record of 25–0. Despite the undefeated season, the Wildcats did not participate in any post-season tournament. Three players (Lou Tsioropoulos, Frank Ramsey, and Cliff Hagan) had technically graduated the year before (when Kentucky was banned from playing a competitive schedule due to the point-shaving scandal a few years earlier), so those players were ruled ineligible for the NCAA tournament. Despite the wishes of the players, coach Adolph Rupp ultimately decided his team wouldn't play.

Team players drafted into the NBA

No one from the Wildcats was selected in the 1954 NBA Draft, as Ramsey, Hagan, and Tsioropoulos had been drafted the previous year, and those teams held their rights.^[2]

References

↑ "NCAA Division I Men's Basketball – NCAA Division I Champions". Rauzulu's Street. 2004. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
↑ http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1954&lg=N

Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball

Venues	State College Gymnasium (1903–1914) Buell Armory Gymnasium (1910–1924) Alumni Gymnasium (1924–1950) Memorial Coliseum (1950–1976) Rupp Arena (1976–present) Joe Craft Center (practice)

Rivalries	Centre College (historical) Florida Georgetown College (historical) Indiana Louisville North Carolina Tennessee Transylvania (historical)

Culture & lore	Basketbowl Champions Classic Fabulous Five "The Shot" The Unforgettables History under Adolph Rupp The Rivalry: Red v. Blue 2011 game vs. Indiana

People	Head coaches Honored players Honorees NBA draftees Players Recruiting history

Seasons	1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

Helms and Premo-Porretta national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics; NCAA championships in bolded italics

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