Baloncesto Superior Nacional
The Baloncesto Superior Nacional, abbreviated as BSN, is the first tier level professional men's basketball league in Puerto Rico. It is organized by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation; the Baloncesto Superior Nacional, played under FIBA rules consists of 8 teams, of which the most successful have been Leones de Ponce, Atléticos de San Germán and Vaqueros de Bayamón with 14 titles each. The league has produced players that have distinguished themselves in the NBA, EuroLeague, Spain's ACB, other tournaments throughout the world. Among them, NBA players Butch Lee, José Ortiz, Ramón Rivas, Daniel Santiago, Carlos Arroyo and José Juan Barea started their careers playing for BSN teams; the league began in 1930, is noted for having had several head coaches who went on to achieve international recognition in their careers. Among those are Basketball Hall of Fame members Tex Winter and Red Holzman, who coached the Leones de Ponce in the 1960s, Phil Jackson, who coached the Piratas de Quebradillas and Gallitos de Isabela in the late 1980s.
Others notable coaches who have worked for BSN teams include Gene Bartow, Lou Rossini, Del Harris, P. J. Carlesimo, Bernie Bickerstaff and Herb Brown. During the 1980s, notable players followed in the footsteps of players such as Juan "Pachin" Vicens and Butch Lee, the first Puerto Rican and BSN player to enter the NBA. Among those are: Mario'Quijote' Morales, Raymond Dalmau, Jose'Piculin' Ortiz, Ramón Rivas, Jerome Mincy, Georgie Torres, Angelo Cruz, Angel Santiago, the late Federico'Fico' Lopez, Rolando Frazer, Mario Butler, Rubén Rodríguez, who showcased their talents to all of Puerto Rico's TV viewers and game goers. On October 8, 2015, the BSN team owners selected Fernando Quiñones Bodea to succeed Carlos J. Beltrán as president of the league; the BSN tournament is played under the regular FIBA basketball rules. The teams play a total of four games amongst them. For the 2017, the regular season will extend to 36 games. Of the 10 participating teams, the top 8 move on to the postseason. Aibonito Polluelos de Aibonito Played their home games at Cancha Marron Aponte Aguada Conquistadores de Aguada Aguadilla Tiburones de Aguadilla Played their home games at the Luis T. Diaz Coliseum Cabo Rojo Taínos de Cabo Rojo Played their home games at Rebekah Colberg Cabrera Coliseum Caguas Criollos de Caguas Played their home games at Héctor Solá Besares Coliseum Canóvanas Indios de Canóvanas Played their home games at Coliseo Carlos Miguel Mangual Carolina Gigantes de Carolina Played their home games at the Guillermo Angulo Coliseum Cayey Toritos de Cayey Played their home games at the Cayey Municipal Coliseum Santurce Cangrejeros de Santurce Played their home games at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum Humacao Caciques de Humacao Played their home games at the Humacao Arena Morovis Titanes de Morovis Played their home games in the José Pepe Huyke Coliseum Villalba Avancinos de Villalba Played their home games at the José Ibem Marrero Coliseum Manati Atenienses de Manatí Played their home games at the Juan Cruz Abreu Coliseum Rubén Rodríguez established most of the early long-standing record in the BSN.
He broke both the single-season points record with 810 in 1978 and the most career points record with 11,549. The current holder of the career mark is Georgie Torres, who broke it before retiring in 2001 with 15,863 points in 679 games, playing his entire career after the establishment of the three-point line. Rodríguez holds the mark for most rebounds in a career with 6,178, he held the single-season rebound record with 380 in 1978, which stood until Lee Benson broke it in 2008. Neftalí Rivera holds the record for most points in a game in the Baloncesto Superior Nacional when he scored 79 points on May 22, 1974. In that game he achieve the record by making 11 free throws. In 1989, Pablo Alicea of the Gigantes de Carolina established a record for most assists in one game with 25; the record stood for over two decades until May 1, 2012, when Jonathan García of the Caciques de Humacao broke it recording 33 assists against the Brujos de Guayama. García's mark is an unofficial world record pending the approval of Guinness World Records, since there is no higher number recorded in any amateur or professional international league or in FIBA competition.
During this game, the Caciques established the team points record for a single game with 130 and for most scored during a single quarter with 46. The Vaqueros de Bayamón hosted the game with most assistance in the league, with 17,621 fans attending a home game against Río Piedras on September 8, 1969; this bested the previous top of 16,564 in a game between Santurce. The Vaqueros hold the record for most consecutive championships, winning five from 1971-75. *These titles are from Farmacia Martin team, merged with the Atléticos de San Germán Last Updated July 9, 2015 SINGLE GAME RECORD Assists - Jonathan Garcia Puerto Rico national basketball team Official site Puerto Rican league on Latinbasket.com Famous Basketball Players from Puerto Rico on ranker.com
2004 NBA draft
The 2004 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2004, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, was broadcast live on ESPN at 7:00 pm. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur college basketball players and other first-time eligible players; the NBA announced that 56 college and high school players and 38 international players had filed as early-entry candidates for the 2004 draft. On May 26, the NBA draft lottery was conducted for the teams that did not make the NBA Playoffs in the 2003–04 NBA season; the Orlando Magic, who had a 25 percent chance of obtaining the first selection, won the lottery, while the Los Angeles Clippers and the Chicago Bulls were second and third respectively. As an expansion team, the Charlotte Bobcats had been assigned the fourth selection in the draft and did not participate in the lottery; the Minnesota Timberwolves forfeited their first-round pick due to salary cap violations. By the end of the draft, around 40% of the players selected in it were born from countries outside the United States.
It would remain the highest influx of international players selected in the modern NBA draft era until the 2016 NBA draft, where half of the selected players were born in countries outside the US. In addition, four of the players selected in the draft were Russians, which not only marked the highest number of players born in that region to be taken in one draft, but was the highest representation of a country in one draft until 2016 when five Frenchmen would be taken in the draft. After the completion of the regular season, Emeka Okafor, the Bobcats' historical first rookie draft pick back when they were considered an expansion franchise, was named Rookie of the Year, while Ben Gordon earned the Sixth Man Award, becoming the first rookie in NBA history to do so. Dwight Howard has become an eight-time All-Star and has received seven All-NBA selections, a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, he had the distinction as the only NBA player straight out of high school to start all 82 games as a rookie.
There are four other players that would be named All-Stars at some point in their careers, Al Jefferson would be named to an All-NBA team. The draft is notable for many high schoolers being drafted within a few picks from each other; these players not selected in the draft have played at least one game in the NBA. "NBA.com Draft 2004". NBA. Archived from the original on April 20, 2007. Retrieved April 20, 2007. "Player profiles with their career transaction information". NBA. Archived from the original on April 19, 2007. Retrieved April 20, 2007. 2004 NBA Draft
EuroLeague
The EuroLeague, known as the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague for sponsorship reasons, is the top-tier European professional basketball club competition, organized by Euroleague Basketball since 2000. Introduced in 2000, the competition replaced the FIBA EuroLeague, run by FIBA since 1958; the FIBA European Champions Cup and the EuroLeague are considered to be the same competition, with the change of name being a re-branding. The EuroLeague is one of the most popular indoor sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 8,780 for league matches in the 2017–18 season; that was the fifth-highest of any professional indoor sports league in the world, the second-highest of any professional basketball league in the world, only behind the National Basketball Association. The EuroLeague title has been won by 21 different clubs, 13 of which have won the title more than once; the most successful club in the competition is Real Madrid, with ten titles. Real Madrid are the current champions, having defeated Fenerbahçe in the 2018 final.
The FIBA European Champions Cup was established by FIBA and it operated under its umbrella from 1958 until the summer of 2000, concluding with the 1999–00 season. That was. FIBA had never trademarked the "EuroLeague" name though it had used that name for the competition since 1996. Euroleague Basketball appropriated the name, since FIBA had no legal recourse to do anything about it, it was forced to find a new name for its championship series. Thus, the following 2000–2001 season started with two separate top European professional club basketball competitions: the FIBA SuproLeague and the brand new Euroleague 2000–01 season; the rift in European professional club basketball showed no signs of letting up. Top clubs were split between the two leagues: Panathinaikos, Maccabi Elite Tel Aviv, CSKA Moscow and Efes Pilsen stayed with FIBA, while Olympiacos, Kinder Bologna, Real Madrid Teka, FC Barcelona, Paf Wennington Bologna, Benetton Treviso, AEK and Tau Cerámica joined Euroleague Basketball. In May 2001, Europe had two continental champions, Maccabi of the FIBA SuproLeague and Kinder Bologna of the Euroleague.
The leaders of both organizations realized the need to come up with a unified competition. Although only a year old, Euroleague Basketball negotiated from a position of strength and dictated proceedings. FIBA had no choice but to agree to Euroleague Basketball's terms; as a result, European club competition was integrated under Euroleague Basketball's umbrella and teams that competed in the FIBA SuproLeague during the 2000–01 season joined it as well. In essence, the authority in European professional basketball was divided over club-country lines. FIBA stayed in charge of national team competitions, while Euroleague Basketball took over the European professional club competitions. From that point on, FIBA's Korać Cup and Saporta Cup competitions lasted only one more season before folding, when Euroleague Basketball launched the ULEB Cup, now known as the EuroCup. In November 2015, Euroleague Basketball and IMG agreed on 10-year joint venture. Both Euroleague Basketball and IMG will manage the commercial operation, the management of all global rights covering both media and marketing.
The deal was worth €630 million guaranteed over 10 years, with projected revenues reaching €900 million. On 26 July 2010, Turkish Airlines and Euroleague Basketball announced a €15 million strategic agreement to sponsor the top European basketball competition across the globe. According to the agreement, starting with the 2010–11 season, the top European competition would be named Turkish Airlines Euroleague Basketball; the EuroLeague Final Four would be named the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four, whereby the new league title would appear in all media accordingly. This title partnership was set to run for five seasons, with the option of extending it to an additional five. On 23 October 2013, Turkish Airlines and Euroleague Basketball agreed to extend their partnership, up until 2020. FIBA era: FIBA European Champions Cup: FIBA European League: FIBA EuroLeague: FIBA SuproLeague: Euroleague Basketball era: Euroleague:. EuroLeague:.*There were two separate competitions during the 2000–01 season.
The SuproLeague, organized by FIBA, the Euroleague, organized by Euroleague Basketball. The EuroLeague operated under a tournament system, from its inaugural 1958 season, through the 2015–16 season. FIBA European Champions Cup: The champions of European national domestic leagues, the current European Champions Cup title holders, competing against each other, played in a tournament system; the league culminated with either a single game final, or a 2-game aggregate score finals. FIBA European Champions Cup: The champions of European national domestic leagues, competing against each other, played in a tournament system; the league culminated with a Final Four. FIBA European League: The champions of the European national domestic leagues, the current European League title holders, along with some of the other biggest teams from the most important national domestic leagues, played in a tournament system; the league culminated with a Final Four. FIBA EuroLeague: The champions of th
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association, as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division; the team plays its home games at the Toyota Center, located in downtown Houston. The Rockets have won four Western Conference titles; the team was established as the San Diego Rockets, an expansion team based in San Diego, in 1967. In 1971, the Rockets moved to Houston; the Rockets won only 15 games in their debut season as a franchise in 1967. In the 1968 NBA draft, the Rockets, picking first overall, selected power forward Elvin Hayes, who would lead the team to its first playoff appearance in his rookie season; the Rockets did not finish a season with a winning record until the 1976–77 season, when they traded for center Moses Malone. Malone went on to win the NBA Most Valuable Player award twice and led Houston to the conference finals in his first year with the team, he led the Rockets to the NBA Finals in 1981 where they were defeated in six games by the Boston Celtics, led by Larry Bird and future Rockets coach Kevin McHale.
In the 1984 NBA draft, the Rockets drafted center Hakeem Olajuwon, who would be paired with 7 feet 4 inches Ralph Sampson, forming one of the tallest front courts in the NBA. Nicknamed the "Twin Towers", they led the team to the 1986 NBA Finals—the second NBA Finals appearance in franchise history—where Houston was again defeated by the Boston Celtics; the Rockets continued to reach the playoffs throughout the 1980s, but failed to advance past the first round for several years following a second-round defeat to the Seattle SuperSonics in 1987. Rudy Tomjanovich took over as head coach midway through the 1991–92 season, ushering in the most successful period in franchise history; the Olajuwon-led Rockets went to the 1994 NBA Finals and won the franchise's first championship against Patrick Ewing and the New York Knicks. The following season, reinforced by another All-Star, Clyde Drexler, the Rockets repeated as champions with a four-game sweep of the Orlando Magic, who were led by a young Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway.
Houston, seeded sixth in the Western Conference during the 1995 playoffs, became the lowest-seeded team in NBA history to win the title. The Rockets acquired all-star forward Charles Barkley in 1996, but the presence of three of the NBA's 50 greatest players of all-time was not enough to propel Houston past the Western Conference Finals; each one of the aging trio had left the team by 2001, the Rockets of the early 2000s, led by superstars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, followed the trend of consistent regular season respectability followed by playoff underachievement as both players struggled with injuries. After Yao's early retirement in 2011, the Rockets entered a period of rebuilding dismantling and retooling their roster; the acquisition of franchise player James Harden in 2012 has launched the Rockets back into championship contention in the mid-2010s. Moses Malone, Hakeem Olajuwon and James Harden have been named the NBA's Most Valuable Player while playing for the Rockets, for a total of four MVP awards.
The Rockets, under general manager Daryl Morey, are notable for popularizing the use of advanced statistical analytics in player acquisitions and style of play. The Rockets were founded in 1967 in San Diego by Robert Breitbard, who paid an entry fee of US $1.75 million to join the NBA as an expansion team for the 1967–68 season. The NBA wanted to add more teams in the Western United States, chose San Diego based on the city's strong economic and population growth, along with the local success of an ice hockey team owned by Breitbard, the San Diego Gulls; the resulting contest to name the franchise chose the name "Rockets", which paid homage to San Diego's theme of "a city in motion" and the local arm of General Dynamics developing the Atlas missile and booster rocket program. Breitbard brought in Jack McMahon coach of the Cincinnati Royals, to serve as the Rockets' coach and general manager; the team, that would join the league along with the Seattle SuperSonics built its roster with both veteran players at an expansion draft, college players from the 1967 NBA draft, where San Diego's first draft pick was Pat Riley.
The Rockets lost 67 games in their inaugural season, an NBA record for losses in a season at the time. In 1968, after the Rockets won a coin toss against the Baltimore Bullets to determine who would have the first overall pick in the 1968 NBA draft, they selected Elvin Hayes from the University of Houston. Hayes improved the Rockets' record to 37 wins and 45 losses, enough for the franchise's first playoff appearance in 1969, but the Rockets lost in the semi-finals of the Western Division to the Atlanta Hawks, four games to two. Despite the additions of Calvin Murphy and Rudy Tomjanovich and the management of Hall of Fame coach Alex Hannum, the Rockets tallied a 67–97 record in the following two seasons and did not make the playoffs in either season; because of the low performance and attendance, Breitbard looked to sell the team, in 1971, Texas Sports Investments bought the franchise for $5.6 million, moved the team to Houston. The franchise became the first NBA team in Texas, the nickname "Rockets" took on greater relevance after the move, given Houston's long connection to the space industry.
Before the start of the 1971–72 season, Hannum left for the Denver Rockets of the American Basketball Association – renamed Denver Nuggets, who joined the NBA in 1976 – and Tex Winter was hired in his place. However, Winter's clashes with Hayes, due to a system that contrasted with the offensive style
Baloncesto Fuenlabrada
Baloncesto Fuenlabrada, S. A. D. known as Montakit Fuenlabrada by sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team based in Fuenlabrada, Spain. The team plays their home games at Fernando Martín. Founded in 1983, Fuenlabrada started to compete at a local level; the club joined national competitions two years and worked its way up, reaching the first regional division in the late 1980s. By 1991, it became Baloncesto Fuenlabrada and a year it merged with CB Torrejón de Ardoz to compete in the Spanish second division. Fuenlabrada acquired Club Peñas Recreativas de Huesca's rights to earn the right to compete in the Spanish first division in the 1996–97 season; the club went down to the second division, but inked scoring machine Velimir Perasović and returned to the elite level a year later. With Perasović, Carlos Cazorla, Ferran Lopez and Salvador Guardia as its main pillars, the addition of Nate Huffman allowed Fuenlabrada to make it to the Spanish League playoffs in 1999 and their debut in the Korać Cup.
Perasović kept filling the baskets for several seasons, leading Fuenlabrada to two more playoffs appearances in 2001 and 2002, helped by David Wood, Chuck Kornegay and a young José Manuel Calderón and coached by Óscar Quintana. Fuenlabrada made its ULEB Cup debut in the 2002–03 season, in which Herrmann was chosen as the Spanish League MVP; the club came back, for good, a year later. Players like Saúl Blanco, Jorge García, Kristaps Valters and Brad Oleson kept Fuenlabrada in the first division for years without much trouble; the club returned to the Spanish League playoffs in the 2010–11 season with Salva Maldonado as head coach and a young Gustavo Ayón as its star center. One year the club would be eliminated in the quarterfinals of the EuroChallenge by Triumph Lyubertsy. Despite this European achievement, Fuenlabrada would continue fighting to avoid relegation being relegated to LEB Oro in 2015. However, the club continued in Liga ACB as Ford Burgos and Club Ourense Baloncesto would not fulfill the requirements for promoting.
Fuenlabrada took advantage and led by Marko Popović, Jonathan Tabu and Ivan Paunić, Fuenlabrada made it to the Spanish League playoffs, earning the right to return to the EuroCup 13 years later. In the 2016-2017 season, Fuenlabrada played well and qualified to the EuroCup Top16. However, they only finished 12th in the ACB. After a 9th place finish in the 2017-2018 ACB season, Fuenlabrada earned the right to compete in the FIBA Basketball Champions League. Fuenlabrada won the first 3 games, before suffering a complete fiasco and finishing the tournament with 11 consecutive losses. Baloncesto Fuenlabrada has had several denominations through the years due to its sponsorship: San Esteban Public High School Court. Miguel Hernández Public High School Gymnasium. Pabellón Fernando Martín. Managers since 1993: 20 seasons in ACB 2 seasons in LEB 2 seasons in EBA 2 seasons in Primera División B LEB Oro: 2005 Copa Príncipe de Asturias: 1998, 2005 Torneo Comunidad de Madrid: 1998 ACB Most Valuable Player Wálter Herrmann – 2003EuroCup Basketball Rising Star Rolands Šmits – 2017ACB Rising Star Brad Oleson – 2009 Gustavo Ayón – 2011All-ACB Second Team Marko Popović – 2016ACB Three Point Shootout Champion Sergiy Gladyr – 2012 Baloncesto Fuenlabrada B known as Fundación Baloncesto Fuenlabrada, is the reserve team of Fuenlabrada.
Created in 1995, it was re-opened in 2013 by achieving a vacant berth in LEB Plata. In its first season after the re-opening, Fundación Baloncesto Fuenlabrada finished as champion of the 2013–14 LEB Plata and runner-up of the Copa LEB Plata. Despite promoting to LEB Oro, the club decided to continue playing in the same league of the previous season, but in Getafe as a result of a collaboration agreement with the town and CB Getafe, the main club in that city. Maná Fuenlabrada 1996–2001 Reybol Fuenlabrada 2001–2002 Maná Fuenlabrada 2002–2003 Fuenlabrada-Getafe 2009–2011 Fuenlabrada-Illescas 2011–2012 Fundación Baloncesto Fuenlabrada 2013–2014 Viten Getafe 2014–2016 Fundación Baloncesto Fuenlabrada 2016– LEB Plata: 2014 Baloncesto Fuenlabrada Official Website
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky is a public co-educational university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state's two land-grant universities, the largest college or university in the state, with 30,720 students as of Fall 2015, the highest ranked research university in the state according to U. S. News and World Report; the institution comprises 16 colleges, a graduate school, 93 undergraduate programs, 99 master programs, 66 doctoral programs, four professional programs. The University of Kentucky has fifteen libraries on campus; the largest is the William T. Young Library, a federal depository, hosting subjects related to social sciences and life sciences collections. In recent years, the university has focused expenditures on research, following a compact formed by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1997; the directive mandated that the university become a Top 20 public research institution, in terms of an overall ranking, to be determined by the university itself, by the year 2020.
In the early commonwealth of Kentucky, higher education was limited to a number of children from prominent families, disciplined apprentices, those young men seeking entry into clerical and medical professions. As the first university in the territory that would become Kentucky, Transylvania University was the primary center for education, became the father of what would become the University of Kentucky. John Bryan Bowman founded the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, a publicly chartered department of Kentucky University, after receiving federal support through the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act in 1865. Courses were offered at The Henry Clay Estate. Three years James Kennedy Patterson became the first president of the land-grant university and the first degree was awarded. In 1876, the university began to offer master's degree programs. Two years A&M separated from Kentucky University, now Transylvania University. For the new school, Lexington donated a 52-acre park and fair ground, which became the core of UK's present campus.
A&M was a male-only institution, but began to admit women in 1880. In 1892, the official colors of the university, royal blue and white, were adopted. An earlier color set and light yellow, was adopted earlier at a Kentucky-Centre College football game on December 19, 1891; the particular hue of blue was determined from a necktie, used to demonstrate the color of royal blue. On February 15, 1882, Administration Building was the first building of three completed on the present campus. Three years the college formed the Agricultural Experiment Station, which researches issues relating to agribusiness, food processing, nutrition and soil resources and the environment; this was followed up by the creation of the university's Agricultural Extension Service in 1910, one of the first in the United States. The extension service became a model of the federally mandated programs that were required beginning in 1914. Patterson Hall, the school's first women's dormitory, was constructed in 1904. Residents had to cross a swampy depression, where the now demolished Student Center stood, to reach central campus.
Four years the school's name was changed to the "State University, Kentucky" upon reaching university status, to the "University of Kentucky" in 1916. The university led to the creation of the College of Home Economics in 1916, Mary E. Sweeney was promoted from chair of the Department of Home Economics to Dean of the College.. The College of Commerce was established in 1925, known today as the Gatton College of Business and Economics. In 1929, Memorial Hall was completed, dedicated to the 2,756 Kentuckians who died in World War I; this was followed up by the new King Library, which opened in 1931 and was named for a long-time library director, Margaret I. King; the university's graduate and professional programs became racially integrated in 1949 when Lyman T. Johnson, an African American, won a lawsuit to be admitted to the graduate program. African Americans would not be allowed to attend as undergraduates until 1954, following the US Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision. In 1939, Governor Happy Chandler appointed the first woman trustee on the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees, Georgia M. Blazer of Ashland.
She served from 1939 to 1960. In 1962, Blazer Hall was opened as the Georgia M Blazer Hall for Women in tribute to her twenty-one years of service as a University of Kentucky trustee. Ground was broken for the Albert B. Chandler Hospital in 1955, when Governor of Kentucky Happy Chandler recommended that the Kentucky General Assembly appropriate $5 million for the creation of the University of Kentucky College of Medicine and a medical center at the university; this was completed after a series of studies were conducted that highlighted the health needs of the citizens, as well as the need to train more physicians for the state. Five years the College of Medicine and College of Nursing opened, followed by the College of Dentistry in 1962. Nine years after the founding of The Northern Extension Center in Covington, representing the Ashland Independent School Board of Education, Ashland attorney Henderson Dysard and Ashland Oil & Refining Company founder and CEO Paul G. Blazer presented a proposal to President Dickey and the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees for the university to take over the day-to-day operations an
Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team is an American college basketball team that represents the University of Kentucky. Kentucky is the most successful NCAA Division I basketball program in history in terms of both all-time wins and all-time winning percentage; the Wildcats are coached by John Calipari. Kentucky leads all schools in total NCAA tournament appearances, NCAA tournament wins, NCAA Tournament games played, NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearances, NCAA Elite Eight appearances, total postseason tournament appearances. Further, Kentucky has played in 17 NCAA Final Fours, 12 NCAA Championship games, has won 8 NCAA championships. In addition to these titles, Kentucky won the National Invitation Tournament in both 1946 and 1976, making it the only school to win multiple NCAA and NIT championships. Kentucky leads all schools with sixty-three 20-win seasons, sixteen 30-win seasons, six 35-win seasons. Throughout its history, the Kentucky basketball program has featured many notable and successful players, both on the collegiate level and the professional level.
Kentucky holds the record for the most NBA Draft selections as well as the most #1 NBA Draft picks. The Wildcats have been led by many successful head coaches, including Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall, Eddie Sutton, Rick Pitino, Tubby Smith, John Calipari. Kentucky is the only program with 5 different NCAA Championship coaches. Three Kentucky coaches have been enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame: Rupp and Calipari. Former Wildcat players that have gone on to become head coaches include C. M. Newton, Pat Riley, Dan Issel, Dwane Casey, John Pelphrey, Steve Masiello and Travis Ford. During this early era Kentucky was unstable in that the school went through multiple coaches, many stayed only one or two seasons. Records indicate that the first head coach of the Wildcats was W. W. H. Mustaine, who in 1903 called together some students, took up a collection totaling $3 for a ball, told the students to start playing; the first recorded intercollegiate game at the college was a 15–6 defeat to nearby Georgetown College.
The team went 1–2 for their first "season" losing to Kentucky University but defeating the Lexington YMCA. Through 1908, the team did not manage a winning season, had an all-time record of 15–29. In the fall of that year a full-time head coach was hired, Edwin Sweetland; this made him the first paid coach in Kentucky's basketball history. That year, the team went 5–4, only three years boasted their first undefeated season with nine victories and no losses; the 1914 team under Alpha Brummage, led by brothers Karl and Tom Zerfoss, went 12–2 and defeated all its Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association opponents. In 1919, George Buchheit became the new head coach of the Wildcats. An alumnus of the University of Illinois, he brought with him a new system of basketball; the "Buchheit system" or "Illinois system", focused on defense and featured one player standing under each basket, while three roamed the court. Buckheit varied the system. While the Illinois system employed a zone defense, Buchheit's system used an aggressive man-to-man scheme.
On offense, he used a complicated system of passing called "figure eight" offense. Although the team had a losing season in Buchheit's first year, they won the first-ever Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association tournament the next year, defeating the favored Georgia Bulldogs. Both of these teams were composed of native Kentuckians, anchored by All-American Basil Hayden; the tournament victory was considered Kentucky's first major success, the 1921 team became known as the "Wonder Team."In 1922, the team was unable to build on the success of the "Wonder Team." Although every player was eligible in 1922, two key players and Sam Ridgeway, were injured before the start of the season. Hayden returned from his knee injury during the season, but was never able to play at the level he had the previous year. Ridgeway fought a year-long battle with diphtheria, although he recovered, never played for the Wildcats again; the remaining three members of the "Wonder Team" went 9–5 for the season, bowed out of the SIAA tournament in the second round.
Buchheit remained as coach through the 1924 season before moving on to coach Trinity College. A different coach would guide the team for each of the next four years. C. O. Applegran followed Buchheit, his 1925 team posted a respectable 13–8 record. Applegran in college had played for the University of Illinois; the next year, Ray Eklund led the team to a 15–3 record, produced UK's second All-American, Burgess Carey. The record was enough for Kentucky to win their first regular season conference championship in the Southern Conference. Seeing the cupboard bare for the upcoming year, Eklund resigned shortly before the start of the 1927 season; the team scrambled to find a new coach, former player Basil Hayden left his coaching job at Kentucky Wesleyan College to answer the call. An inexperienced coach and a roster depleted of talent left the Wildcats with a 3–13 record that year; the disappointment convinced Hayden that he wasn't the "coaching type", he resigned after the season. For the Wildcats, 1927 would be their last losing season for six decades.
The Wildcats' new coach for the 1927–28 season was John Mauer. Although he had a talented group of players moving up from the junior varsity team, Mauer discovered that his players did not know the fundamen
