1970–71 Kentucky Colonels season

August 2023 Kentucky Colonels ABA 1971 44 40 Eastern 2nd Gene Rhodes (10–5)Alex Groza (2–0)Frank Ramsey (32–35) Freedom Hall ABA Finals(lost to the Stars 3–4) The 1970–71 Kentucky Colonels season was the fourth season of the Colonels in the American Basketball Association. University of Kentucky star Dan Issel was signed by the Colonels. Issel was given a 10-year contract worth $1.4 million, while playing all but one game in the whole season, leading to him being named Rookie of the Year, alongside averaging 29.9 points and 13.2 rebounds per game during the season. Despite a 10–5 record, Rhodes was fired during the season. After having business manager Alex Groza coach the team for 2 games, Frank Ramsey was hired to coach the rest of the season. In the Semifinals, the Colonels beat The Floridians in a four-game sweep. In the Eastern Division Finals, they beat the Virginia Squires in six games to reach their first ABA Finals. In the championship series, they lost to the Utah Stars in seven games. Notably, this was the first season for the Colonels after rebranding from their original colors of chartreuse and white. Roster Kentucky Colonels 1970–71 #012F6B #FFFFFF #012F6B #FFFFFF 35 Darel Carrier SG 6 3 185 October 26, 1940 Western Kentucky 25 Bobby Croft C 6 10 200 March 17, 1946 Tennessee 10 Louie Dampier PG 6 0 170 November 20, 1944 Kentucky 32 Tom Hagan G 6 3 185 January 29, 1947 Vanderbilt 4 Dennis Hamilton PF 6 8 210 May 8, 1944 Arizona State 8 Dan Hester C 6 8 210 November 8, 1948 LSU 4 Les Hunter basketball PF 6 7 210 August 16, 1942 Loyola Chicago 44 Dan Issel C 6 9 235 October 25, 1948 Kentucky 22 Jim Ligon PF 6 7 210 February 22, 1944 Kokomo High School 9, 24 Cincy Powell SF 6 7 220 February 25, 1942 University of Portland 33, 54 Mike Pratt basketball SG 6 4 195 August 4, 1948 Kentucky 2 Walt Simon SF 6 6 200 December 1, 1939 Benedict College 5, 50 Sam Smith basketball, born 1943 SF 6 7 230 January 27, 1944 Kentucky Wesleyan College 42 Al Williams basketball F 6 6 200 February 3, 1948 Drake University 3, 45 Howie Wright SG 6 3 185 February 22, 1947 Austin Peay State University Gene Rhodes / Alex Groza / Frank Ramsey https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/KEN/1971.html<noinclude> Final standings Eastern Division Eastern DivisionWLPCTGBVirginia Squires *5529.655 –Kentucky Colonels *4440.52411.0New York Nets *4044.47615.0The Floridians *3747.44018.0Pittsburgh Condors3648.42919.0Carolina Cougars3450.40521.0 ABA Playoffs ABA Eastern Division Semifinalshttp://www.remembertheaba.com/PlayoffPages/1971Playoffs.html 1970–71 ABA Regular Season Standings Remembertheaba.com 2016-07-02 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20150611213734/http://www.remembertheaba.com/PlayoffPages/1971Playoffs.html 2015-06-11 Game Date Location Score Record Attendance 1 April 2 Kentucky 116–112 1–0 3,182 2 April 4 Kentucky 120–110 2–0 3,881 3 April 6 Florida 102–120 2–1 4,126 4 April 8 Florida 117–129 2–2 4,268 5 April 10 Kentucky 118–101 3–2 4,996 6 April 12 Florida 112–103 4–2 4,478 Colonels win series, 4–2 ABA Eastern Division Finals Game Date Location Score Record Attendance 1 April 15 Virginia 136–132 1–0 4,250 2 April 17 Virginia 122–142 1–1 5,000 3 April 19 Kentucky 137–150 1–2 4,777 4 April 21 Kentucky 128–110 2–2 5,221 5 April 23 Virginia 115–107 3–2 10,013 6 April 24 Kentucky 129–117 4–2 12,822 Colonels win series, 4–2 ABA Finals Game Date Location Score Record Attendance 1 May 3 Utah 117–136 0–1 12,051 2 May 5 Utah 125–138 0–2 13,208 3 May 7 Kentucky 116–110 1–2 12,337 4 May 8 Kentucky 129–125 (OT) 2–2 9,863 5 May 12 Utah 127–137 2–3 13,260 6 May 15 Kentucky 105–102 3–3 11,793 7 May 18 Utah 121–131 3–4 13,260 Colonels lose series, 4–3 Awards and honors 1971 ABA All-Star Game selections (game played on January 23, 1971) Dan Issel Cincy Powell ABA Rookie of the Year Dan Issel (shared with Charlie Scott) ABA All-Second Team Dan Issel (tied with Zelmo Beaty for the Center position) References 2 Colonels on Basketball Reference External links RememberTheABA.com 1970–71 regular season and playoff results RememberTheABA.com Kentucky Colonels page Category:Kentucky Colonels seasons Kentucky Kentucky Colonels, 1970-71 Kentucky Colonels, 1970-71 Category:1970 in Louisville, Kentucky Category:1971 in Louisville, Kentucky