Did anyone here ever meet Coach Rupp?

[BlueVelvetFog]

He’s now an orange aid dispenser at South Park cinemas

 

[topps coach]

I think enough time has passed so I'll post it. Only a handful of us know about it.

I was talking to Coach "dolph" (that's what his friends called him) one day in his cigar room. He was telling me stories about different things, started talking about Bear Bryant. He went on and on about how he was gonna make him disappear, by any means necessary. Ended up with a plan to just garner huge support and humiliate him on the way out of town. He said, "and then I said, give him a lighter for winning a title instead of a Cadillac".

We laughed and ate crumpets for an hour talking about it.

Bear always said he got a fishing rod while Coach Rupp got a Cadillac

 

[IHATEUAVEL]

Bear always said he got a fishing rod while Coach Rupp got a Cadillac

Bear said he got a cigarette lighter

 

[Whatsup]

I kind of met him 1 time. I went to a game and he was approximately 100 feet from me brown suit and all. I yelled we love you Coach and he waved at us. I swear. Hee Haw.

 

[Bratkartoffeln]

Years ago I wrote a paper about him and I came across it today. I'm just curious if anybody here ever met him, and if so, what your experience with him was like.

Almost.

While a student at UK, one of the most amazing things I was able to "accomplish" was being a regular at noontime basketball at the Coliseum. A friend of mine and I worked ourselves into the games there with professors and staff and none other than Cliff Hagan, then-AD for UK. It was great fun to play against Mr Hagan--he was around 45 at the time and still was an outstanding player, teaching us lots of good and very dirty NBA tricks, like stepping on your foot when you tried to go for the rebound!

That said, one day I was the only one left shooting baskets, and all of a sudden Coach Rupp came walking through at courtside...going somewhere within the building alone, and I was totally surprised to see him, shocked in fact. I missed a chance to meet him then. As a student, if you were gregarious enough, you got to do some neat things...special things that other non-students didn't ever get to do (like play basketball with Cliff Hagan!). So, I had a golden opportunity to say hello to Coach Rupp, and yet was too shy to do it. I've always been reticent to bother celebrities, honoring their privacy but also not wanting to embarrass myself. I did that once again, inexplicably, when I was two feet from Jack Nicklaus. Sometimes we just simply fail to be human beings. Still, breathing the same air as those folks, the moments were pretty special.

 

[fla.cat]

I was a distance man and tried to run distance on the track team, but basically just couldn't keep up, with Coach Whalens aggressive training plans and truthfully just wasn't as good or as committed as others. I became a manager and Whalens office was basically across the hall from Rupps in MEmorial. As a result, we met in passing, and on rare occasion he would speak or ask about how u were doing. He actually eventually learned my nickname, my hometown, and would sometimes say hello and have a brief chat. He was not as sour as some people say, just not a talker, he seemed to usually to be thinking about something, even when talking to you, imo. The best exchange was when Jim Green, an all American sprinter, was apparently helping to host Tom Payne, and brought him back to the offices in Memorial. In the hallway, Rupp greeted them. I just happened to be walking out of Whalens office. That was the most animated or engaged I ever saw Rupp as a short conversation took place, regarding what Payne had seen in his tour with Green.
Obviously I didn't know him, but I really don't think his "image" as portrayed in the media is very accurate.He just seemed to me to be totally focused on his "boys" as he called his players. He just seemed to be totally about basketball (well his cows too). He had a good reputation in those offices, with other coaches, secretaries, etc., we all knew he would decide if there was going to be a little talk, or just a nod.
I remember our little short interactions fondly. I liked him as a person.

 

[IHATEUAVEL]

I was a distance man and tried to run distance on the track team, but basically just couldn't keep up, with Coach Whalens aggressive training plans and truthfully just wasn't as good or as committed as others. I became a manager and Whalens office was basically across the hall from Rupps in MEmorial. As a result, we met in passing, and on rare occasion he would speak or ask about how u were doing. He actually eventually learned my nickname, my hometown, and would sometimes say hello and have a brief chat. He was not as sour as some people say, just not a talker, he seemed to usually to be thinking about something, even when talking to you, imo. The best exchange was when Jim Green, an all American sprinter, was apparently helping to host Tom Payne, and brought him back to the offices in Memorial. In the hallway, Rupp greeted them. I just happened to be walking out of Whalens office. That was the most animated or engaged I ever saw Rupp as a short conversation took place, regarding what Payne had seen in his tour with Green.
Obviously I didn't know him, but I really don't think his "image" as portrayed in the media is very accurate.He just seemed to me to be totally focused on his "boys" as he called his players. He just seemed to be totally about basketball (well his cows too). He had a good reputation in those offices, with other coaches, secretaries, etc., we all knew he would decide if there was going to be a little talk, or just a nod.
I remember our little short interactions fondly. I liked him as a person.

I drove him to his farm in
Bourbon County many times He loved those Polled
Herfords

 

[TroutBum]

Years ago I wrote a paper about him and I came across it today. I'm just curious if anybody here ever met him, and if so, what your experience with him was like.

Not yet but I expect to one day, after I walk through those pearly gates!

 

[Dirt Court King]

Can sympathize Dirt had the same problem with Lyons in HS......

The 1st time I saw Ronnie I said no way this kid is better than me!! Boy was I wrong he was a little hand full... Lol

 

[Poetax]

That was Brookings, and he used to eat lunch there, quite a bit. It was his favorite chili. I used to eat there, as a student, and it was pretty good chili.

Thank you Ben, I had only lived in Lexington for a month, and it seemed like the place disappeared the next time I was down there. I couldn’t remember the name but I do believe there was a KY Fried Chicken place down on the corner from there.

 

[Ben101er]

The 1st time I saw Ronnie I said no way this kid is better than me!! Boy was I wrong he was a little hand full... Lol

Ronnie lived in Holmes Hall his freshman year, and so did I. We used to play some pick up games together and we went to the Red Mile a few times. He got tips from some of the trainers and would hit some long shots, when they were very few and far between.

 

[Poetax]

The 1st time I saw Ronnie I said no way this kid is better than me!! Boy was I wrong he was a little hand full... Lol

My hometown school played Mason CO every year and I played against Ronnie in 1968 and 1969. And the rumors that he would take a shot two steps after crossing the half court line was true.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

My hometown school played Mason CO every year and I played against Ronnie in 1968 and 1969. And the rumors that he would take a shot two steps after crossing the half court line was true.

I saw Ronnie Lyons play in a softball tournament at Prestonsburg in 1975. Never have I seen anyone so quick at shortstop. He was playing for a team called Grayson Construction from Maysville and they were really good. He was also a great hitter and almost everything he hit was a hard line drive. However, his quickness was just on another level and that's probably why he was able to play at UK being undersized.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

That was Brookings, and he used to eat lunch there, quite a bit. It was his favorite chili. I used to eat there, as a student, and it was pretty good chili.

When did Brookings close down? I was at UK from 1977-80 and I don't recall ever going there.

 

[Ben101er]

When did Brookings close down? I was at UK from 1977-80 and I don't recall ever going there.

Not sure. There was a Bar B Que place, just off Winchester Rd, that had the chili recipe, but, they sold out about 3 years ago, and the new place doesn't serve it.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

Not sure. There was a Bar B Que place, just off Winchester Rd, that had the chili recipe, but, they sold out about 3 years ago, and the new place doesn't serve it.

At least we'll always have Ale 8.

 

[Dirt Court King]

My hometown school played Mason CO every year and I played against Ronnie in 1968 and 1969. And the rumors that he would take a shot two steps after crossing the half court line was true.

Yes and when he shot the ball it didn't spin looked like a knuckle ball..I saw him one day in freshman practice dribble down the court full speed and dribble behind his back...He was so fast!! Glad I never played against him in high school!!

 

[Poetax]

When did Brookings close down? I was at UK from 1977-80 and I don't recall ever going there.

I believe it closed before ‘77, that’s why I couldn’t remember the name. Didn’t really know the town at that time and didn’t realize it was that close to Memorial.

 

[anon_q409idbs5m40a]

I believe it closed before ‘77, that’s why I couldn’t remember the name. Didn’t really know the town at that time and didn’t realize it was that close to Memorial.

Thanks, I knew it was an icon but was never there.