1953–54 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

1953–54 season of University of Kentucky men's basketball team March 2026 August 2023 1953–54 Kentucky Wildcats Basketball 5354-Kentucky-Wildcats-basketball.jpg 240px Southeast Conference SEC 2 1 25–0 14–0 Adolph Rupp Harry Lancaster Memorial Coliseum SEC Regular season co-championsAP Poll regular season championsHelms Foundation National Champions 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. Kentucky ended the season ranked No. 1 in the final post-tournament AP Poll, and were additionally named national champions by the Helms Athletic Foundation.NCAA Division I Men's Basketball – NCAA Division I Champions Rauzulu's Street 2004 http://www.rauzulusstreet.com/basketball/college/helmscollegechampionship.htm June 9, 2014 October 1, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20181001213129/http://www.rauzulusstreet.com/basketball/college/helmscollegechampionship.htm dead Season summary This team finished unbeaten 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 Kentucky Wildcats y y Bill Bibb y 66 F 6 4 190 SO Owensboro, KY — Jerry Bird 22 F 6 6 200 SO Corbin, KY — Dan Chandler 73 G 5 11 160 SO Versailles, KY — Hugh Coy 34 F 6 1 185 SO Richmond, KY Madison Jess Curry 35 G 5 11 167 SO Portsmouth, VA — Billy Evans 42 F/G 6 1 170 JR Berea, KY — Clay Evans 32 G 5 9 165 SO Flemingsburg, KY — Phil Grawemeyer 44 F 6 7 180 SO Louisville, KY duPont Manual Pete Grigsby 25 G 5 0 165 SO Martin, KY — Cliff Hagan y 6 C 6 4 200 SR Owensboro, KY Owensboro Harold Hurst 77 C 6 7 190 SO Waltersville, KY Powell County Linville Puckett 33 G 6 0 165 SO Winchester, KY Clark County Frank Ramsey basketball y 30 G 6 3 185 SR Madisonville, KY Madisonville Gayle Rose 20 G 6 0 170 JR Paris, KY — Willie Rouse 19 G 6 0 190 JR Lexington, KY University y Lou Tsioropoulos y 16 F 6 5 200 SR Lynn, MA Lynn Classical *Adolph Rupp *Harry Lancaster http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/Statistics/roster1953-54.html 2015-09-07 Rankings 1953–54 NCAA men's basketball rankings 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.http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1954&lg=N 1954 NBA Draft on databaseBasketball.com 2013-01-18 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20130105193838/http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1954&lg=N 2013-01-05 References Kentucky Category:Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball seasons Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball